The world’s business class snobs wailed in horror last night as news emerged that a French Instagram model had stolen pointy end valour by taking a sneaky snap in business class, and posting it online as if she had flown there.
“Next Stop – Monaco. Je fly toute la night” (“I fly all night”) Oceane El Himer, who is a 27 year old model from Bordeaux, captioned the post. She had roughly 847,000 followers at the time, The New York Post reports. Now she has 848,000. But is all publicity good publicity? Read the story and decide for yourself.
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Though the photo received lots of likes on Thursday (comments have now been turned off), another photo, shared by someone else on Twitter, appears to show Himer back in cattle class at another point in the flight.
This has gone viral. Though some respected the hustle, others made claims like: “this is why this generation is a mess.”
It’s actually a mental illness pic.twitter.com/XYwvZtJ62l
— Kev-Prince Kombi (@KevKombi) June 1, 2021
According to the New York Post, one social media user called @lLexxLugger wrote: “If you’ve ever been out this way, this sums up the culture [in Dubau, where Himer is allegedly based].”
“A bunch of people pretending to either be rich, a model, or an entrepreneur. 90% of the people in that city pretending.”
Another user allegedly added: “Crazy how ppl go to hell and back to impress people they don’t know people who apply nothing to their life.”
Himer hit back on Snapchat, writing: “no shame in traveling in eco class,” Newsweek reports.
“I took several flights to arrive in the south, including one in eco class. Took a picture and I accepted. I fully assume the fact of traveling in eco class, I’m not the type of girl who likes to show her money… Yes I traveled in eco and in business. And so?”
“Much more serious things are happening in life.”
Himer also, 7 hours ago from the time of writing, posted another Instagram image of herself and a friend in business class, writing: “This time I promise I payed” (translated from French).
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This comes amid a shakeup in the business class world. ‘New money’ (and points hackers) have been raising eyebrows for some time with social media rituals like “business class slammers,” whereby one sculls their glass of champagne on arrival and films themself doing it.
But it’s not (necessarily) what you think. It’s hard to tell if this behaviour is in response to snobby judgement from business class stalwarts, or the source of snobby judgement from business class stalwarts.
Chicken or egg? It depends on who you talk to. The starter of the business class slammer trend, James Asquith, told DMARGE: “Slammers started when I had never flown in business class and felt heavily judged and profiled for how I dressed, acted and behaved.”
RELATED: Business Class ‘Slammertime’ Ritual Sparks Outrage At 40,000ft
“I don’t think there should be a stigma about nice things. How many people have walked into a really nice restaurant or hotel and felt profiled?” Asquith told us.
“This shouldn’t be the case and it’s a bit of fun trying to break down classist boundaries which I don’t think should exist. The behaviour is light-hearted and fun and brings us as everyday people together. I must get sent hundreds of videos each week from people of all backgrounds doing a slammer on a plane or at home, and it’s just a fun thing. Similar to perhaps doing a round of shots on a night out.”
We may see more trials and tribulations like these in the coming years. Thanks to the pandemic heightening hygiene concerns, more and more people are allegedly shelling out to fly at the pointy end of the plane.