Influencer sparks backlash after being kicked out of first class and forced to sit in economy

Karina Irby was slammed this week by her followers after revealing she had been kicked-off out of her ‘first class seats’ and back into economy after a mix-up by an airline during a flight. 

The influencer, who is the founder of Moana Bikini, was on her way to Hawaii with her partner when she was told ‘first class seats’ were on hold by another customer who hadn’t paid for them yet. 

Karina caused a stir when she complained that she had to listen to ‘crying babies’ within earshot on the flight and sit next to a flyer ‘watching open heart surgery for nine hours’.  

After sharing the story on Instagram, some of her followers were quick to hit out at her for complaining about the incident. 

‘Oh no. I won’t be able to sleep tonight because of this. Must be so hard not being able to fly first class. And getting refunded for it later. The trauma,’ one wrote. 

”We had to sit with crying babies” why are childless people so f**king insufferable,’ yet another added. 

‘This is BS. You either have the seats or you don’t,’ another added. 

‘At the front desk [the representative] said we couldn’t have them yet and would need to wait a few hours to see if we can take them,’ Karina wrote on her stories. 

The influencer, who is the founder of Moana Bikini, was on her way to Hawaii when she was told ‘first class seats’ were on hold by another customer who hadn’t paid for them yet

Hours later, Karina opted to grab the seats for herself and partner Ryan who were excited to experience a little luxury on the flight. 

After getting the seats confirmed by the airline, Karina and Ryan settled into the seats for the long flight to the idyllic island, only to soon be kicked out of the seats and back to economy. 

‘We were so excited to relax in comfort and sleep. We skipped our way to the plane and got our seats. I was feeling so much less anxious and happy,’ she said. 

‘The staff were extra lovely! They laid down our blankets, got us yummy drinks and a lady even a beautiful flower in our ear,’ she wrote. 

Karina said that was when a stressed-out flight attendant told the pair they would have to move to economy as the ‘original owners’ of the seats turned-up. 

”Oh my god, I’m so sorry but the original occupants of these seats have shown-up last minute. You’re going to need to move to different economy seats,” she wrote. 

Hours later, Karina opted to grab the seats for herself and partner Ryan who were excited to experience a little luxury on the flight

Karina said the couple’s fall from grace meant not only economy seating but also ‘crying babies’ within earshot on the flight. 

‘So we ended-up in the middle row, with crying babies and a man watching open heart surgery next to me for nine hours,’ she wrote.

Karina and Ryan looked to be in a reasonable mood after the ordeal with her saying the pair have to have a sense of humour about it. 

Karina said that was when a stressed-out flight attendant told the pair they would have to move to economy as the ‘original owners’ of the seats turned-up

The swimwear designer and her boyfriend appeared to laugh off the incident, with her saying she is yet to receive a refund on the first class tickets

Karina finished: ‘Gotta love paying for first class but not actually getting to use it. No refund yet. I guess that’ll now be homework for later.’ 

Karina has a huge following of 1.2 million people on social media where she speaks about her body image and health issues. 

In January, she posted a throwback photo of herself in her teens looking extremely slim where she talked about pressures on young women. 

Karina revealed that at the time this photo was taken, she used to limit her diet and work out obsessively because she felt pressure to be thin

While she stressed she ‘didn’t have a disorder’, she said her relationship with food and exercise was unhealthy at the time, and her desire to stay thin was motivated by the warped belief it was the only way to be popular.

‘I didn’t have a disorder,’ she began, ‘but I did purposely eat less and do non-stop cardio.’

Karina said she blames ‘the media’ of the time for ‘brainwashing’ her into ‘thinking you were only beautiful if you were thin. You’d only have friends or a boyfriend if you were thin.’

She added: ‘It was so toxic and extremely unhealthy, both mentally and physically.

‘But I’m thankful for my experiences because now I get to share body love with you guys. Be the change you wish to see,’ she finished.  

‘I’m thankful for my experiences because now I get to share body love with you guys,’ she said