Economy class is never the most comfortable experience. But when one woman documented her experience flying economy on Air France for the first time, viewers were left divided.
On TikTok, users have shared their first-class experiences on all kinds of airplanes, including United and Spirit Airlines. But Daphne Blunt’s (@daphneblunt_) video is a little different, as she shared her more downgraded experience rather than the other way around.
She began the video, which has garnered 838,700 views, by saying, “I’m flying economy for the first time ever in my life. I’m literally so scared.”
She then showed her ticket to the camera as a second voice told her, “It’ll be OK.”
“Pray for me,” Daphne added. She then went to tag her bag, admitting she’d never tagged bags herself before.
“I did pay for extra legroom,” she added.
“Now what do we do? We take our own bags over there?” Daphne asked next. “There’s nobody there to do it for you?”
She then took her bags to the scanner and put one on the ramp. From there, she found out the bag was overweight and she’d have to pay.
Then, it was time to start boarding. She explained that she was in Zone 4 when she thought there was just A.
“Also, usually, I don’t board with the actual plane,” she added.
She then asked her friend if there was a meal service, with the friend confirming this and also adding that there were drinks. Daphne responded that she would abstain. “Is the seat, like, really tiny?” she asked her friend. To which she responded that its “normal.”
She then showed her friend re-packing her bag along with footage of her perching on the shuttle bus.
What Was The Actual Air France Journey Like?
Once she finally arrived in her seat, Daphne was left unimpressed. She shared a screen recording of herself texting: “This seat is so tiny lmao. And so upright.”
Things then went from bad to worse. As she was eating chips, she got bumped in the head by someone behind her. She facepalmed in her seat. The camera then panned to an emergency exit next to her, revealing she got the exit seat.
The final part of the flight showed her putting on sunglasses and clutching her bag.
After the flight, Daphne was speechless.
“That was … ” she began, before the other woman chimed in, saying, I’ve flown economy several times. I’m not gonna lie, that was bad for me. Bad, bad.”
The friend added, I don’t want to go into detail, but people were causing so much drama.”
Daphne then continued complaining that her chair only went back an “inch,” as the other woman vowed, “I’m never gonna fly economy again.”
The TikToker summed up the experience as “awful” and added that it was the “worst hour of [her] life.”
“I’m alive and now we get to go to one of the nicest hotels in the world, so…” she concluded.
BroBible reached out to Daphne via email.
What Did Commenters Say?
Commenters were unsure. One asked, “Is she being real or…”
“You are doing too much girl…” a second added.
While a third questioned, “Guysss is this satire or??”
“Please never downgrade again,” a fourth added. “You’re stressing me out.”
While a fifth said, “Who is this diva? Wish I could have this kind of problems.”
The comments also clarified that Daphne traveled via Air France from Paris to Nice. BroBible reached out to Air France via email.
Should We Get Rid Of Economy Class?
Blunt isn’t the only one with an axe to grind against economy class. In a Reddit post on the r/The10thDentist subreddit, one user made their case for banning economy class altogether.
“Economy class sections across all major airlines are getting worse and worse as time pass by,” they explained. “Corporate greed seems to always find a way to include more seats for maximum profit and yet the size of the planes remain. And who suffers? The passengers’ experience.”
They argued that people who fly airlines will “spend money anyway for convenience” and argued that, contrary to common belief, airlines aren’t and shouldn’t be “for everyone,” especially when sea and land travel exist.
“People pay for air travel because it’s the fastest and most convenient, regardless of the price,” they pointed out.
“So, instead of pretending that the majority of people who use economy won’t ever transition to business or first class, make these more comfortable seats become available for more passengers willing to pay the price.”
However, other Redditors were largely against the idea.
“You say that the customer experience suffers, but fail to take into account the alternatives. What is better for the customer, accessible air travel, or no travel at all?” one asks. “I know you mentioned land and sea travel, but these have major shortcomings. Firstly, they are very slow in comparison, a 2 hour flight can easy take 10+ hours via car, train or bus, and even longer by boat. Secondly, flights are by far the best option in many cases. I am in australia. If I want to visit any other country, land vehicles are off the table. Unless I want to spend weeks on a boat, so is sea transit. The only feasible option is air.”
A second added, “He also fails to realize that the highways in other countries are not as safe as the ones where he lives. I was born and live in the US, but me and my family visit my Dad’s side of the family in Mexico. After a scare on the highway last year, where we got chased by two cars who tried to stop us. We are never f—— driving there again.”
@daphneblunt_ honestly I’d rather not go than fly economy ever again 💀