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The Stunt: Faking an Injury for Business Class Travel

Monday, May 25, 2026
5 min read
The Stunt: Faking an Injury for Business Class Travel

How far would you really go? To ditch the cramped economy seat and snag business class ? For these travel influencers, the answer seems pretty simple: fake a medical brace and put on a performance.

That’s what happened with Sarthak Sachdeva. He found himself right in the middle of a massive social media storm after filming this stunt at an Indian airport. It blew up across X and Instagram fast. He basically managed to talk his way into luxury seating by pretending he was injured.

He wore a fake neck brace. A sling on his hand. He walked up to the Air India counter. And openly asked for a first-class seat.

The ground agent looked at him. And she took pity. She upgraded him to business class.

But the video was already causing chaos. Sachdev threw out a caption trying to smooth things over. He claimed it was just a social experiment. He pointed to some global YouTuber for the idea.

He wrote something like: “wait for end! saw @airrack do this video so tried an Indian version! W @airindia for the hospitality- the kindest staff I have seen & damn the food was yummy 🙂 this was just a fun social experiment not meant for any wrong message or demeaning anyone!”

Still, the reaction was instant division. Some people just found it hilarious. Others—airline staff, frequent flyers—they called him out. They said he was taking advantage of basic human empathy. Making life harder for people who were actually suffering.

“The genuine people suffer because of treachery of such types of people,” one comment hit hard.

Then the anger escalated. People started tagging the government. Demanding real legal action against content creators. They argued that anyone showing off illegal or unethical tricks for views should face serious consequences. They said the government needed to step in before it got too late.

Meanwhile, there was the other side. A bunch of people pointed out the positive angle. They argued the video actually worked as an ad for the airline’s customer care team. They claimed the staff had genuine hearts.

“Working in customer experience for Air India, I’ve seen people abuse the whole airline over one rude interaction. One staff member doesn’t define the airline. This incident shows the staff’s kindness, they helped believing the passenger was injured. Big heart for airport staff.”

And it wasn’t just a feeling. Someone shared a real story. A friend of theirs had an accident overseas. A leg fracture. When he came back, the airline upgraded him to business class. No questions asked. They even helped him with washroom access. Pure compassion.

Of course, because it’s the internet, there were the skeptics. A few eagle-eyed viewers started digging. They claimed the whole thing was fake. That the influencer probably just paid for the premium ticket before he even stepped onto the plane.

They pointed out details. He clearly entered Gate 1 of CSMIA. That gate is for First and Business passengers. He could only have gotten there if he already held a business class ticket. And that counter lady clearly refused the upgrade to first class. He had a valid business ticket. Yet he got the same.

Regardless of whether he tricked the staff or just got lucky, the comedy was inescapable. People joked about how easily Indian passengers would copy this trick on their next family holiday. Some left final, ridiculous warnings for the airline: “Ab Airindia wale yeh video dekh ke tickets ke paise mangege😂😂”

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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