Influencer defends himself after claiming he was 'stranded' due to Iran war because he didn't book economy seat
A travel influencer has been slammed by fans after claiming that he was 'stranded' and unable to fly due to the unfolding destruction in the Middle East, which has seen drones and ballistic missiles rain down on Iran, Israel, and the Gulf states.
Daniel Goz, better known by his 'Nonstop Dan' Youtube channel, made the claim that he was stranded, in Singapore, as 'there are no flights left', in a section of the video that has since been deleted. Probably because there were flights left, just not in business class.
Rather than slumming by travelling in economy, Goz made the executive decision to stay in his luxury Singapore hotel until some business class seats became available. A move that sent the comments section into a frenzy.
"You're not stranded, you're in Singapore, you are in Southeast Asia, not the Middle East, fly the other way, transit through America or Canada, you can go home tomorrow," a perplexed subscriber said.
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'Nonstop Dan... has been stopped', one viewer joked, while another pointed out: "You're not stranded, you're in Singapore, you are in Southeast Asia, not the Middle East, fly the other way, transit through America or Canada, you can go home tomorrow."
The content creator had been showing viewers his journey to Europe from Singapore when his plans were scuppered by war in the Middle East, with Goz claiming that his schedule was brought to an abrupt stop when bombs started flying, February 28.
Reflecting the absurdity of complaining about business class seats while people across the Middle East are under the daily threat of drone or missile strikes, another viewer said: "My thoughts are with the premium passengers and those in danger of flying economy."
But the YouTuber, after deleting the part of the video where he showed the lack of business seats, while the screen clearly shows seats in economy, fired back at people criticizing his upload.
Defending his decision to stay put, Nonstop Dan said in the comments: "Lots of you saying 'just fly economy!' and I totally get that. The pricing example I show on screen in the video is economy (should've been clearer about that), and as you can see there's barely anything available for the next two weeks."
Part of his decision was that simple economy seats were being sold at hugely inflated prices, as people fleeing the explosive consequences of the US-Israeli war on Iran jammed onto any flight out the region.
Nonstop Dan added: "The few remaining economy seats are going for $1500+ per person one-way and even those will be booked up soon. I mentioned premium cabins because that's what this channel usually covers."
The 28-year-old also justified the angle of his video that angered so many viewers, stating that he was highlighting the struggles facing flyers around the world as a result of the conflict.
Goz said: "The bigger point of this video, that global aviation capacity has been massively disrupted and millions of travelers, families, students, people on work trips, will feel ripple effects, still stands. I hope it's useful to those of you figuring this out."
William Morgan