A British Airways business class passenger says he was passed over for a welcome drink prior to departure, alleging he was passed over because he was black. But alleged comments by the flight attendant suggest something else may have been going on.
British Airways Passenger Alleges He Was Skipped Because He “Didn’t Belong” In Business Class
On September 24, 2025 a man traveled on British Airways flight BA 194 from Houston (IAH) to London (LHR) and was seated in 9F in Club World (business class). He says he paid $5,000 for his ticket. During the pre-departure drink service, flight attendants offered beverages to other passengers in his row but skipped him. He says he asked, “Am I not being offered a drink?” and was told, “Oh, I thought you had been upgraded.” He argues that excuse is implausible and that he was singled out because he was the only black person in the cabin at that time.
He says every other passenger around him got a drink, including a white passenger seated just behind him. He waited, hoping the flight attendant would return, then asked her directly. When she said she assumed he was upgraded, he says that only added insult: not only had he paid to book directly into business class, but service protocol at British Airways does not distinguish between those who are upgraded and those who are not. In his words, “she saw me and decided I didn’t belong.”
The passenger has lodged a formal complaint with British Airways, but has not heard back.
Could It Have Been An Honest Mistake?
It’s tempting to dismiss instances like this as human error: crews serve dozens of passengers under time constraints and sometimes, mistakes happen. But this case has elements that make that defense weak. The fact that he was the only black passenger in that row, that no real apology was offered or correction made, and that the excuse given, amounts to an assumption based on appearance all point to implicit bias rather than a simple oversight.
I readily acknowledge that as a white man I am almost always treated with respect (and when a flight attendant treats me poorly, it is not because I’m white, but because all passengers are treated horribly). In that sense, I cannot fully understand what it may feel like to travel as a person of color. For that reason, I am not dismissing this passenger’s experience.
Even so, I just wonder whether the FA inadvertently skipped over him and then became defensive and offered the upgrade quip when called out. Could it have all been a misunderstanding? What was the passenger hoping to achieve by repeatedly pressing the flight attendant over the alleged slight?
From a reputational standpoint, airlines must err heavily on the side of humility and correction in these cases. The first move should have been to stop, apologize, and offer the beverage, even if it was delayed. A flight attendant assuming someone doesn’t belong because of race is unacceptable, whether conscious or not, but so is treating a passenger differently becuase he upgraded (and again, this passenger did not upgrade, but purportedly paid $5K for his ticket).
I suppose this could be another reddit tall tale, but it has the elements of something that happened and I hope that the matter is clarified, even if the matter simply boils down to an honest mistake. Flight attendants should dutifully ensure that they are not skipping over any passengers while providing onboard service.
CONCLUSION
If the allegations are true, this is a serious breach of trust: a paying business class passenger denied service because of perceived nationality or race is not a simple oversight. That said, even if it was just an honest oversight, it was still an unacceptable service lapse. Life is too short to be constantly offended, but the “I thought you upgraded” defense strikes me as highly insulting and worthy of reproach.
Hat Tip: View From The Wing
I suppose it’s possible this happened. One thing sure, the allegation is made somewhere online, picked up by a travel blog, then another travel blog and down the line. So the airline has to prove it didn’t happen and good luck with that. I know a fellow (pre-internet days) who wrote a letter of complaint every time he flew. Could be any little problem. He was hoping to get something free from the airline. It’s amazing how often he’d get a letter of apology back with an upgrade certificate or $20 voucher. I’m surprised TWA didn’t have a thick file of letters from the guy, if so they never checked it because they usually came through. None of us know if the BA passenger was intentionally slighted because of his race but he’ll likely get something because he directed his complaint at the travel blogging industry. It’s the world we live in, folks.
Do we know what the flight attendant said or are we presuming that the passenger’s statement is correct? While absolutely possible I find the man’s assertions unlikely. First off, don’t upgraded passengers get drinks too? Then there’s the core idea: that the FA is not only a racist that has never been caught before being one despite making it to senior crew serving the front of the plane, but that same flight attendant is a racist idiot who displays their racism in a way that can readily be witnessed by other people. That’s a fair string of suppositions. I suspect that if the passenger’s claim is true then BA has other complaints in the FA’s file and should apologize profusely and fire the employee for unacceptable conduct.
I wonder if the FA was referring to self-upgrading. They may have thought that seat was supposed to be empty by mistake and decided to serve the thought-to-be-legit J pax before dealing with the issue. How does one every know in these they-said-they-said cases?
How exactly does one upgrade on BA? There’s no upgrade wait-list. I’m not saying the FA didn’t make that comment, but it seems like a comment made by someone accustomed to US-style upgrade rules. The only way someone would have an onboard cabin change might be an op-up, but that probably would happen before they boarded.
My point is that upgrade status is meaningless on BA because there aren’t battlefield upgrades. It all seems a little sus, but I wasn’t there and I could be wrong.
I myself have been double-upgraded on BA , ( by a check-in counter manager ) .
I have also been kindly accommodated by a BA manager in New Delhi , who stepped in for me when I was nearly overwhelmed by a mob at Indian Airlines .
BA definitely delivered for me , a disabled passenger , who tries to be presentable in a coat and tie , and cooperative .
Sure, and these sounds to me like operational or goodwill upgrades. My point is that there isn’t a list of 15 people trying to use a systemwide before every BA flight, so last-minute upgrades are generally not the norm. It would be exceedingly odd for a FA to assume someone just got upgraded at the last minute.
I have personally witnessed a KLM FA single out the one passenger of color in a mostly empty J cabin as “not belonging there” and attempt to send them back to economy. In this case it was our nanny whom we booked in J along with us to help with the baby, and I don’t see any other reason beyond appearance the FA would have reached that conclusion. Happened right in front of me and there were no similar questions asked about whether my wife or I were in the correct cabin.
I know this is all secondhand and you can never tell which cases are true bias vs innocent misunderstanding, but I do believe the former really does happen
As a European American with a long history of working professionally and living in mostly minority communities in the US, when this happens it’s mostly “justified” by an excuse, not by a reason.
If BA’s protocol is to serve all Club World passengers regardless of racial , ethnic, or other status and then do a later “recheck” of who belongs in that cabin to find any “self-upgraders ” if needed, do mandatory retraining for all of the FAs on that flight for them and then report it without names and flight number redacted to be an example to all Fason that flight.
Why did you waste your time writing this? It’s a pre-departure beverage. There’s no proof any of this actually happened. It’s he said / she said. Just can’t let racism die, can you?
LOL for the clicks, of course.
Going to be a cynic here in saying this never happened. Or that the story is greatly embellished. In the age of posting on the Internet every gripe and crazy accusation by consumers it smells of keyboard hysteria. Was he missed, sure, I can’t argue that and who hasn’t been. But I highly doubt the response was directed as such or meant in such a manner. He distorted it. Or even created it in his mind.
I don’t get it…….maybe he should have simply asked “WHAT DOES BEING UPGRADED (which I was not because I’ve paid a full fare) HAVE TO DO WITH NOT BEING SERVED A PRE-DEPARTURE BEVERAGE ?? He was so hung up on race that I guess that simple question eluded him. Talk about not knowing how to communicate, ask a question !!
Story is suspect… first of all, anyone who has gotten the pre-departure beverage in J on BA isn’t terribly impressed with it– if memory serves it’s s choice of sparkling wine or OJ, and maybe water (if you don’t get told to drink the water in your water bottle)– it’s not exactly top shelf scotch, good champagne, or a cocktail of your choice.
Second, when the do the service if you have decent hearing it’s clear that they are offering two things– sparkling wine or juice… the better way to ask for one of those if you have been skipped is “Could I have a glass of the cheap wine too, please?” rather than “Am I not being offered a drink?”
When you start with the latter you’re starting with the presumption that the FA has an agenda against you and taking a confrontational stance against them from the moment they meet you. Maybe they were waiting to offer you a beverage because it looked like you were still putting your stuff away? Regardless, ask for what you want, rather than taking a passive aggressive path to an argument.
It is a little surprising that 90% of the few replies are taking the side of the flight attendant. If it was not deliberate why didn’t she apologize and offer him any drink of his choice to smooth it over? And I am not an ultra liberal if you knew me.
I’m not sure what “………I thought you had upgraded ” has to do with skipping him for a beverage? And if he “upgraded” wouldn’t you still serve him a drink? Wouldn’t the FA find out he was an upgrade once the final paperwork is received? In the meantime, serve him a drink!
I worked for a domestic carrier, so maybe the rules are different on international carriers.
Being an old white guy I don’t have any of that crap to fall back on if something happens to me.
So easy to play the race card.
I don’t understand why Black folks keep flying British Airways and American Airlines with all of the disrespect going on with them.
A more plausible scenario is that the FA thought the passenger was a “non-rev” and perhaps that lead to the interaction of the FA responding to the PDB inquiry with a “thought you were upgraded” comment. There have been several claims of racial discrimination because someone felt they were being singled out (mostly for being black) because they were asked to change clothes, weren’t given a seat, weren’t served a meal, etc only to find out that they were non-revs that clearly hadn’t been briefed by their sponsor.
I’m not saying that is the case here, but I’m inclined to be suspicious whenever I see stories like this.
This dude is obviously playing the victim card and is just making up stories. FAs do not look at the passenger manifest before pre-departure beverage service. They just load up their serving trays with drinks and ask if you’d like one (typically champagne or orange juice on BA). Moreover, the passenger manifest does not state how you booked your ticket (cash, miles, or upgrade). So this guy is obviously lying through his teeth. He may have been skipped, but if so, it was an honest mistake and not because of what he has asserted.