2/19/2022- 12:13 p.m.
Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ditched the commoners in coach and cozied up to elites in first class on an American Airlines flight, avoiding the left wing altogether for a spacious seat closer to the cockpit after a weekend of stumping for comrades in the Lone Star state, an eyewitness told The Post.
The congresswoman was identified by a stunned tipster who flew aboard flight AA1405 on a Boeing 737-800 from Austin to John F. Kennedy International Airport last Sunday and managed to snap a photo of AOC from her seat two rows down.
“I don’t sense anyone in first class knew she was there or someone of her celebrity was there,” said the tipster. “She was also pretty incognito,” wearing a large mask which covered half her face.
A one-way first-class flight on American Airlines from Austin to New York City on Sunday runs between $400 and $600. Economy flights are $300 to $400 dollars less.
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During the three-hour journey, AOC nestled into 21-inch wide seats with an extra 7 inches of leg room that coach passengers didn’t enjoy. Economy passengers had to settle for snacks and non-alcohol beverages, while first class enjoyed full dinner service.
“They would have received the choice of sandwich with salad, side, dessert. Alcohol offerings are available complimentary,” an airline rep said.
The class ‘up’rising is a new look — at least publicly — for AOC, who moved with her family from the Bronx to well-to-do Yorktown Heights in Westchester when she was 5.
“This is definitely different,” said a person who knew the socialist early in her political career. Back then at least, AOC used to fly coach. “There has definitely been a shift in her desires to enjoy the finer things in life.”
“She lives above a Whole Foods and drives a Tesla, so she probably feels more at home up front,” sniped one of AOC’s fellow Democratic Congress members, while GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis accused AOC of living “a luxury lifestyle while pushing radical policies that would force her constituents to live in squalor.”
In September, AOC raised eyebrows for attending the Met Gala, where individual tickets went for $35,000 and tables started at $200,000. Among her guests at the notorious 1 percent-friendly soiree were billionaire heir Benjamin Bronfman and Aurora James — a wealthy tax-dodging fashionista.
Ocasio-Cortez spent last weekend in San Antonio rallying progressive troops in support of aspiring new “Squad” members. Greg Casar, a ex-Austin city council member, is running for an open House seat, while Jessica Cisneros is offering a spirited primary to scandal-scarred incumbent Rep. Henry Cuellar.
While most pols use campaign funds for such trips, Team AOC declined to address why she elected to fly first class, how much the ticket cost, or who paid for the trip. Spokeswoman Lauren Hitt would only say that “no government funds were used on this flight.”
