A horrified first-class flyer has vowed to boycott British Airways after sharing 'unacceptable' footage of his supposed luxury experience.
Jarvis Marcos was hoping to sip champagne and enjoy mounds of caviar on his trip back to London from Mexico.
But he claimed the cabin was 'falling to pieces' - and says he won't be back.
BA couldn't have picked a worse day to let standards slips - Jarvis runs a luxury travel review website and travel agency and flies frequently reviewing airlines and hotels.
The man was travelling with girlfriend, Kamara Harding, 33, but endured a catalogue of issues including 'dirty, scuffed seats' and water dripping from the roof.
He says the conditions made him uneasy as the Covid-19 pandemic rages.
Despite Jarvis claiming the 11-hour round-trip would have cost £4,000 without his air miles, he was stunned when the airline offered him just £150 per person voucher as compensation.
The 37-year-old even cheekily juxtaposed his BA video with footage of his first class flights on Emirates to show off what service he enjoyed - including bottles of Dom Perignon champagne and 'mounds of caviar'.
The airline offered £150 per person e-vouchers to the pair, stating they'd dealt with the case 'fairly and appropriately' and wouldn't be offering further compensation.
Jarvis is 'horrified' at the thought of people spending their money on a 'shockingly bad' experience and warned travellers to do their research.
British Airways apologised and said their aircraft go for maintenance on a regular basis and they are investigating why Jarvis' experience "clearly didn't meet their usual high standards on this occasion".
Jarvis, from west London, said: "There were large gouges missing out of the seat itself and the surrounding of the seat.
"Chunks of leather had been gouged out to the point where you could see the metal skeleton of the seat underneath.
"The seat also didn't fully recline into a bed despite that being something they advertise as part of the service, because the mechanics of the seat were broken.
"The seats also clearly hadn't been cleaned, which especially during covid is just not acceptable.
"There were crumbs in the storage cubby holes and streaks of a sticky liquid on the tray tables which had dried on and not been cleaned.
"The air conditioning above my girlfriend's seat was leaking and dripping water onto her which is also particularly unacceptable during covid, as that's what filters the air."
The luxury traveller, who flies upwards of 100,000 miles a year, has visited 61 countries in his travels while experiencing and reviewing a range of first-class cabins and resorts.
He claimed the 'broken-down' plane is nothing like the luxury advertised by the flight giant and is urging travellers to fly with other airlines.
Jarvis also claimed the food wasn't up to scratch, being 'stale, swimming in oil and thoroughly overcooked' despite the hefty price tag.
Jarvis said: "BA always seems one of the worst airlines when it comes to first and business class - the bottom of the barrel.
"It's just the Dreamliners that have this problem and BA said they are aware of an issue with the seats.
"The problem is that they tend to do the longer routes because that's what they're designed for so you tend to do the longest flights on the most broken down planes.
"They offered me £150 per person as compensation for all of the issues we had which implies that that experience was only £150 away from the ideal experience that BA would hope you would have.
"It's unacceptable. There's no reason why a paying customer in any cabin should expect a seat that isn't clean or has air conditioning dripping on them.
"What makes it particularly bad is that first class is advertised as being this supremely luxurious experience but that's not true."
The luxury traveller now vows to fly with other first-class carriers wherever possible and to advise clients of his to avoid British Airways, particularly for special trips.
Jarvis said: "I have to look at it from the view of potential clients who could be on a once-in-a-lifetime trip like their honeymoon.
"The thought of somebody saving up all of their money and spending it on BA is horrifying.
"I would strongly recommend against picking BA as your airline for a once-in-a-lifetime experience unless you want that once-in-a-lifetime experience to be the worst experience you've ever had on a plane."
British Airways said the health and safety of their customers was their top priority and that their aircraft go for maintenance on a regular basis, while they have invested £6.5billion in their fleet, inflight cabin product and catering.
A spokesperson for British Airways said: "We've apologised to Mr Marcos and are investigating what went wrong, as his experience clearly didn't meet our usual high standards on this occasion."
