Published 13:43 IST, January 21st 2020
YouTuber gets free upgrade to business class after faking a broken ankle on flight
Australian YouTuber and social media personality recently uploaded a video where he pretends to have a broken ankle in order to get a free upgrade on a flight.
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An Australian YouTuber by the name Jamie Zhu decided to try fooling fight attendants before take-off by pretending to have a broken ankle in order to get a free upgrade to Business class. Jamie Zhu uploaded the video of his act on YouTube as well as other social media platforms for his followers to see.
Free Business class upgrade due to 'broken ankle'
The video was uploaded on January 15 and has already been viewed more than 50,000 times. In the video, Jamie decides to stop by a chemist shop before heading towards his gate and askes the shop for a moon boot. A moon boot is a massive yet soft boot that people wear when they have broken their leg or foot.
After putting the boot on, Jamie can be seen limping towards his gate, but before reaching the gate he shows clips of himself running while wearing the boot to show his fans that it was just a hoax. After reaching the plane the video shows Jamie telling the flight attendant that his moon boot which he is wearing cause of his 'broken ankle' does not fit in his chair in Economy Class.
After showing the flight attendant that the moon boot does not fit in the seat he asks him if there is a different seat available. After checking with a more senior staff member she gives him a free upgrade. The remainder of the video comprises of the YouTuber filming himself relaxing in Business Class and sipping champagne.
Jamie Zhu was booked to fly economy class on a recent Cathay Pacific flight and came up with a cheeky idea to score a free upgrade, which he filmed for his 1.1 million Instagram followers. #socialmediainfluencer https://t.co/d233NWNUPK pic.twitter.com/ma1SrkUNEg
— Davina A. Kanko (@kanko_a) January 20, 2020
The video also shows Jamie reclining his chair almost completely. While in the video Jamie looks very happy with himself the reaction from his followers and social media users were not impressive. One of his followers commented that he is just making it more difficult for people with actual injuries to avail such facilities. Another user commented that her daughter was a flight attendant and Jamie should be ashamed for trying to take advantage of the flight crews goodwill.
I guess it's too bad if someone else with a legitimate disability or injury could have benefited from an upgrade. I guess as long as the inconvenience is a "joke" or "funny"it's alright
— Paul Barker (@pbbiggrizzly) January 21, 2020
Some on the internet speculated that Jamie and his friend had simply bought Economy and Business class seats and simply swapped seats with one another in order to make the video because some segments of the video were clearly shot by someone else who would not normally be allowed in the Business class section of the plane.
13:43 IST, January 21st 2020