A Black passenger has accused British Airways of racism after alleging that a flight attendant deliberately skipped him during the welcome drink service. The incident, which took place on September 24 aboard a flight from Houston to London, has sparked outrage online after the passenger shared his experience in a detailed Reddit post.
In the post titled “I paid $5,000 for Business Class on British Airways and the flight attendant decided I didn’t belong there”, the flyer claimed that the flight attendant deliberately skipped him while serving drinks to Business Class passengers. “As I settled in, the flight attendants began offering welcome drinks to every passenger in my row. Everyone except me. The people before me got their champagne. The person right behind me (white) got a drink. But when the flight attendant reached me, she skipped me completely,” the Redditor wrote.
The passenger said he initially assumed it was an oversight but decided to ask politely when the attendant did not return. “Excuse me, am I not being offered a welcome drink?” he recalled asking. “Her answer? ‘Oh, I thought you had been upgraded.’”
He added, “Let’s be very clear: I was the only Black passenger in that row. She had no way of knowing my ticket type. Even if I had been upgraded, protocol is to offer all Business passengers a welcome drink. So she saw me and decided I didn’t belong.”
The passenger said the exchange left him feeling “small, humiliated and angry”. “This wasn’t about a glass of champagne. It was about bias, assumption, and respect,” he wrote, adding that he has since filed a formal complaint with British Airways.
“I’ve already filed a formal complaint with @British_Airways, asking for accountability not a scripted apology. I want to know how they’ll ensure no other Black passenger ever has to feel like this on their flights,” he said.
The passenger concluded his post urging the airline to “do better,” saying, “If you can charge $5,000 for a seat, you can train your staff to treat every passenger with dignity.”
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Social media reactions
The post has sparked outrage online, with many calling the treatment by the flight attendant “completely unacceptable”.
Reacting to the incident, one user wrote, “This is wholly unacceptable behaviour and warrants a follow up to ensure it can’t happen again to anyone else. In the meantime you should be entitled to some compensation in the form of Avios as a minimum. I can’t express how livid I would be if this happened to me. While compensation to you doesn’t make their behaviour acceptable, it should never be allowed to happen again.”
“That is absolutely horrible. I hope your complaint gets heard at the highest levels. What a disgrace from BA,” commented another.
“This is absolutely not acceptable. Upgraded ticket, even avios redemption ticket, should receive the same service as other business class passengers with regular purchase during flight,” wrote a third user. “This is just pure racism,” remarked one user.