A United Airlines passenger who paid $7,388 for a premium business class ticket has criticised the airline after allegedly enduring a 14-hour flight with a malfunctioning seat on a Boeing 777-200ER.
The passenger, identified as Cathy, was travelling on a United Polaris flight from San Francisco to Beijing when her business class seat reportedly suffered a control failure during the journey. According to reports, cabin crew manually forced the seat into a fully flat position, which allegedly blocked access to the seatbelt and left her unable to buckle in during periods of turbulence.
Cathy claimed that despite repeatedly raising safety concerns, the seat remained unusable for most of the flight and was only returned to an upright position shortly before landing in Beijing. The aircraft was reportedly fully booked, leaving no alternative seat available for the passenger.
Following the incident, United Airlines initially offered Cathy a $150 travel voucher as compensation, later increasing the amount to $350 after she challenged the offer. Dissatisfied with the airline’s response, she shared details of the experience publicly, describing the compensation as inadequate given the safety concerns and lengthy disruption.
The incident has once again highlighted passenger expectations around premium cabin reliability and onboard safety standards during long-haul international flights.