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An American Airlines passenger travelling in first class claimed that they had a bed bug crawling up their leg during a domestic flight in the United States – before it then tried to bite their finger.
A Reddit post, written by an anonymous user who says they booked a first-class seat on American Airlines Flight 4412 out of La Guardia, New York, towards Detroit Metro Airport, said they were reading their book when they noticed a small brown bug crawling up their leg.
“I put it on the cocktail napkin to show the FA [flight attendant] who promptly informed the Captain using the phone/intercom,” the user wrote on the post uploaded three days ago.
“I had to change my clothes in the airport and bagged them. They are being washed right now. Hoping no stragglers got on my backpack or checked bag during the clothing swap. I already logged a complaint with AA.”
The passenger said they were “sufficiently freaked out for my flight home,” hoping they would not get the same aircraft again, and stated they hoped it would be grounded to be cleaned properly.
Yet, when the Reddit user checked, they said her plane turned right back around to LaGuardia without any delay.
Around one hour into the passenger’s flight, they said they saw the bug crawling on their pant leg, which they described as a sharp contrast to the dark colour of their trousers.
“I was able to have it climb on my finger and then put it on the napkin to show the FA,” they wrote. “D*** thing tried to bite my finger! SO GROSS!!”
After posting the incident on Reddit and filing a complaint with American Airlines, the passenger said they were given this response from the airline: “Please accept my deepest apologies for the experience you’ve described.
“Our commitment to placing you at the centre of all we do is unwavering, and your feedback underscores this commitment.
“Rest assured; your insights will be made available to our leadership team as we work to ensure we provide the high-quality customer experience you deserve,” they said, according to the Reddit user.
In a follow-up email, after the first-class passenger complained that their initial response was “insufficient”, American Airlines came back to say they credited the passenger’s frequent flyer account with 7,500 bonus miles as a “tangible apology”.
“I can certainly understand how uncomfortable it must have been for you when finding a bug on your seat,” the airline added.
“We want all our customers to have a pleasant flight when travelling with us. I am sorry to hear that was not your experience.”
The Reddit user said that if they had bought the bug on the plane with them, “it would certainly have been engorged already” rather than one hour into the flight.
They added that they would have rather had their flight delayed than fly on a plane with bed bugs.
A similar incident occurred on another American Airlines flight a few months prior, when passenger Ethan Judelson claimed that the plane had to make an emergency landing after passengers noticed lice in a woman’s hair.
The incident took place on 15 June on a flight from Los Angeles to New York, however, American Airlines said the flight was diverted to Phoenix “due to the medical needs of a customer.”
The Independent has contacted American Airlines for comment.
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