Last weekend I noted former President Joe Biden flying United Airlines first class out of Houston. Qatar did not gift him a plane to use, so he flies commercial.
On Saturday he flew American Airlines from Minneapolis – where he was attending the funeral of slain Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman – to Philadelphia, near his home in Wilmington. He bumped a first class passenger out of the cabin to do so.
Flight AA 2717 to Philadelphia. I’d like to know who the government official is who bumped me out of my first class seat. Our tax dollars hard at work y’all
— Every day American (@ElaineLehman2) June 28, 2025
They were not happy – even assuming it was an official in the Trump administration. They appear to be Trump supporters from their feed, but they were thrilled that the passenger wound up being Biden.
Update: American Airlines is woke AF but Joe Biden signed my daughter’s birthday card so I guess it’s okay he bumped my husband out of first class. pic.twitter.com/sTqh1dSHR7
— Every day American (@ElaineLehman2) June 28, 2025
The former President came off the aircraft and down the stairs onto the ramp, rather than exiting via the jetbridge into the terminal.
More bad news for Biden haters…our Joe effortlessly walks down the stairs, carrying his own bag, from his plane in Philly. pic.twitter.com/N5XMmYoZVl
— SayMay (@saymaysmith) June 29, 2025
I’m going to express an unpopular view: the scheduling desires of a former President should not take precedence over confirmed passengers. That’s true, by the way, regardless of party.
The Royals have been known to fly economy within Europe for security. They are facing any potential threat coming at them, and they only need to monitor the rear galley (and lavatory) from behind. Taking up the back of the aircraft is also more private.
I’ve always viewed Biden as:
- an honorable man, even if given to offerring up tall tales (“Corn Pop was a ‘bad dude’ who ‘ran a bunch of bad boys'”)
- who did a poor job on Senate Foreign Relations and Judiciary
- allowed his Presidential administration to be run as a fiefdom, delegating issue areas to affected groups within his party.
I thought he was the better candidate in 2020 and even 2024. However I don’t think he should be treated as more important than other passengers on a commercial flight. Here I think taking a cue from Jimmy Carter makes sense.
A former President’s financial prospects are significant, and can certainly buy their own travel as they wish, frequently including private jet travel. Bill Clinton, for instance, is estimated at a nine figure net worth and did not enter office wealthy.
Biden was worth an estimated $2.5 million upon leaving the Vice Presidency. He spent most of his life in public office. In the four years that followed, prior to becoming President, he earned millions each year (including $8 million for a book deal). His age and starting point in the low eight figures mean he’s unlikely to end up truly wealthy, but his public efforts are largely covered by donations at this point anyway.
Biden, like other former Presidents, does not need our charity. If he did, it shouldn’t come at the expense of one American (passenger) but the nation broadly. Presidents ought to take a cue from former Congressman Thaddeus McCotter who offered the best resignation in history from the U.S. House of Representatives (emphasis mine),
The recent event’s totality of calumnies, indignities and deceits have weighed most heavily upon my family. Thus, acutely aware one cannot rebuild their hearth of home amongst the ruins of their U.S. House office, for the sake of my loved ones I must “strike another match, go start anew” by embracing the promotion back from public servant to sovereign citizen.
(McCotter was the first sitting congressman in 70 years not to qualify for their own party’s primary. Staff submitted fake signatures on the required petition. He was not suspected of wrongdoing.)
One Mile at a Time is thrilled that the interaction “humanize[d]” Biden’s critic, saying that “[w]e have a lot more in common than we have differences.” I agree! Although I’d point out that the passenger’s displeasure came before realizing it was former President Biden that was the passenger.
Johnny Jet is happy to be bumped from first class “for someone who served our country so valiantly.” And indeed, that should be his choice to offer his seat to another passenger he deems worthy.
Better for an ex-President to take the lead of former American Airlines CEO Doug Parker who flew Southwest rather than bump a paying passenger.
His interaction with a Southwest flight attendant over race in the wake of George Floyd became a defining element of his post-American Airlines career. (That flight attendant even serves on the board of his foundation which is dedicated to “removing the financial hardships of aspiring pilots and providing supplemental support through mentorship”).
It’s fine to solicit volunteers to downgrade in order to accommodate the former President, but it shouldn’t be policy to do so involuntarily. If the first class cabin is sold out, and he’ll only fly up front, he can take a different flight. There are six peak daily flights on the route, and Delta operates one later in the evening. He can also connect. He’s no longer conducting the peoples’ business.
@ Gary — Your obvious obsession with 8-figure and 9-figure wealth is a bit nauseating. You seem to forget that life is short and that you can’t take money with you when you die. Obsession over massive wealth is pointless.
You lost your own argument about passenger rights when you spent half the article rambling about your own opinions of the individual.
Million-miler status passengers bump people out of business class all the time. This is no different. Plus the security requirements afforded to every living president warrants a business class seat in a smaller controlled part of the cabin.
Most travel is likely booked well in advance, but a last minute trip for a funeral unfortunately means a passenger gets bumped. Again, it happens every day. It’s not the end of the world, and the passenger will get reimbursed and have a good story to tell.
@Gene — Bah! Hope you at least avoided the 100 degree days we had last Monday-Wednesday. Hot. Sorry to hear about that Thompson; yeah, Hyatt has several, and they’re trying a ‘historic’ hotel thing with it and the Beekman, etc. Apparently, not for everyone. Still, better than the Howard (Marriott) off Canal St. And certainly better than anything nearby EWR. Hope Asia was worth it! TYO? SIN? ICN? BKK?
@Gene – my point is simply, they’re in a position to pay for things themselves.
@747always – not sure why you’re casting aspersions (‘fat gary’) but I’ve criticized Trump consistently for a decade and I literally write in this article that I preferred Biden over him?
Paying passengers should be treated the same by an airline. Here it seems AA (wrongly) gave in to pressure from Biden (or more likely his staff). Truly enlightened politicians never ever exercise this kind of pressure.
@Bobby B – “Million-miler status passengers bump people out of business class all the time. ” That is not correct.
I would say for security purposes sec services wants him up front. End of story
Does the former President travel with a security detail? It would seem that they would be seated near the President-not him in 2A and they back in 24C.
Bump compensation should be set at 5x the full fare.
Former US Président. 83 YO. suffering from a metastatic cancer with a catastrophic pronostic 9/10…
And you still argue…
A lot of Americans definitelty dont have any basic humanist values or fundamental respect.
Biden sends man to back of plane, Trump sends men to prisons in other countries and gives them the whole plane…please just stop, he’s the Ex-President, 83, with metastatic cancer, for the love of god give the man a freaking break.
Yes he should !!! He is full fare, while the trash are just free upgrades.
Oh, get real. This is a Secret Service security issue.
Wild for Gary to have written this and no mention of the FPA which literally gives an allowance to all former presidents for travel or the security protocols for former presidents which make flying in coach nearly impossible. Just seems like Gary wants to avoid fact driven writing to make a political point.
@Andy – I literally addressed security protocols in the post. As well as taking another flight.
I am sure that Biden would have bought a lst class ticket if he could but it was already full. Doubtful this is a case of cheaping out planning to pull privilege to get an upgrade. And it is not like we have hundreds of ex presidents taking upgrades away from status flyers. I hope the passenger who had to give up his seat was an upgrade and not a paid passenger. A paid passenger should never be displaced to upgrade anybody, especially not pilots. I don’t know whether Biden was even aware that he was upgraded because it could have been done by AA staff behind the scenes out of respect or policy.
Harder for the memory challenged to get lost–first on/first off. Added bonus: he made it down the stairs without falling.
@ Gary, Why do you think Biden is an honorable man when, as you say, he entered public life with no money and after a lifetime of “public service” emerged rich? When he cheated in law school, at Syracuse, yet? When he plagiarized Neil Kinnock, forcing an exit from his first White House run? This is not the behavior of an honorable man.
@Liam — ‘Weekend at Biden’s’??
I’m sure the airline had a lot to do with this and not Biden. Don’t fool yourself and think this isn’t done every day for congressmen and congresswoman and senators, etc. etc. and if you wanna talk about Wealth, why don’t we start talking about their insider trading? How about an article on that one day Gary?
@Jack the Ladd – his wealth was largely accumulated during the years between serving as Vice President and being elected President, as I write in the post [Hunter Biden shenanigans notwithstanding]. I considered the plagiarism issue from 1988 and decided it didn’t change my overall view of his career as largely well-meaning but mostly wrong. My criticisms of Biden are of his performance and his management, not of his ethics. He did make missteps putting his remaining son above duty and country. But that’s pretty minor in the scheme of things.
Do you actually think that Joe Biden knew someone got bumped for him? More than likely the airline staff took care of that.
Mentioned George Floyd: This was wokeness to the extreme.
IF law enforcement was ALLOWED to stop this looting and burning in MInneapolis George Floyd would be alive today….even with his drug problems. Letting the woke Dem’s due “their thing” precipitated the carnage that ensued on both sides. Now we have an administration that will enforce the law! The woke Media tried to pull the wool over American’s lives.They (media) ALL should have their salaries cut to the bone.
Gary, while I enjoy your blog enough to get it in my inbox daily, most of the articles are reaching, and do not represent the norm for 99% of travelers.
Stuff happens.
Now, the serious part….. you honestly think Biden was a better candidate that President Trump. You must live in inner Austin. Do you have pink hair and believe big, dishonest government is the answer?
You should move to Massachusetts or New Jersey, as you give Texas a bad name.
Maybe Hunter could have compensated the displaced passenger with a baggie of coke.
I assume there was a 5 y.o. boy up front thathe wanted to sniff.
Our upper-echelon elected officials – like Biden – can be called many things, but I would NEVER call them “public servants”. That would seem to indicate they are selflessly sacrificing themselves for the good of the general public which is pure BS. The term “served by the public” is much more appropriate.
I assume there was a 5 y.o. boy sitting up front that he wanted to sniff and fondle.
@Rob — And if Hunter’s out, maybe he could ask Don Jr. for a spare baggie. bOtH sIdEs…
Am I the only person who takes umbrage at the line “I thought he was the better candidate in 2020 and even 2024”? You’re allowed to have bad political opinions, but Biden’s party threw him off the bus because he had dementia. You should be ashamed to share that opinion. You still wish a dried-up meat puppet with dementia could have won the election, may I suggest Canada?
Trump/Biden/anyone, doesn’t matter, a person shouldn’t be bumped from their seat for a “more important” person. Let him fly on a flight that had an open seat if he wants business class instead of bumping a person. If he wants privacy, let him fly private, with all the money, he can afford it.
Gary – isn’t this exactly what would have happened if the person had a confirmed upgrade, and a last minute PAID F ticket got purchased? One of the upgraded passengers gets bumped back down. What info do you have that Biden was NOT on a paid F ticket?
@Douglas Johnson – no, if a passenger has a confirmed upgrade the inventory is no longer available for purchase.
I am retired from a long career in federal law enforcement. I used to fly for years into and out of DCA in DC, weekly. A few times the plane was held up on departure and people likely missed connections. The cause? Some Senator or Congressman getting to the airport late. It used to irritate the heck out of me. I guess in the grand scheme of life and bad things that can happen to people, (looking back), it was not really that big a deal.
@Jeffk — ‘Thank goodness’ those Congresspeople just voted to take away millions of peoples’ healthcare while they get $170K+ salaries and ‘Platinum’ healthcare provided by us taxpayers…
I would rather have any ex-President bumping an “upgrade” passenger (e.g. not paying F fare) into a F seat than a non-Rev, entitled AA pilot any day.
Hey Joe, WFBF. I’m sure your $300,000 speaking gigs can support it.