Man watches porn and masturbates in first class on United flight out of California — as woman speaks out

See more of our coverage in your search results.

A California woman has slammed United Airlines for not doing enough to punish a man who allegedly masturbated on their first-class flight.

The woman told NBC 7 she was on a red-eye flight from San Diego to Newark and went first class so she could recline her seat further and sleep during the trip.

But after takeoff, she claimed she caught the man sitting next to her watching pornography and making jerking motions under his blanket.

“I didn’t know what to do,” the woman said. “I was frozen. Horrified…I’m essentially trapped in the window seat. I would have to climb over him because he’s got his seat fully reclined in order to get out.”

She notified a flight attendant, who initially didn’t ask her if she was OK or if she wanted to change seats, she claimed. Only after texting with friends did she finally make the request.

“I’m having a trauma response of fawning, which is I’m trying to make it as easy as possible for these two women to help me.

“And in order to do that, I am apologizing to them and trying to make them feel comfortable helping me,” the woman said of the fight attendants.

The flight crew agreed to move her and switched her with another passenger. But the woman said the man left the plane and wasn’t confronted by any police waiting at the gate.

She said she wasn’t told to contact the FBI until several days later, when she spoke with United customer service.

Airlines are not required to report passenger sexual misconduct to police or a federal agency.

United Airlines said in a statement: “We take this issue seriously. We spoke with the customer and apologized for her experience. We have also banned the other person involved pending our investigation.”

According to a customer service call recording shared with the outlet, the airline offered the woman either $1,000 in travel credit or 50,000 miles as an apology. She accepted the miles, she said.

The FBI advises passengers to move away from their seats as soon as they feel uncomfortable and to alert a flight crew member that they do not feel safe and need another seat. Women traveling alone are recommended to choose an aisle seat if possible.

---

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters