Billie Eilish spotted sitting in economy for flight in TikTok video

The celebrity won the hearts of the public after being caught in economy class on a flight. Photo / 123rf

Economy flights aren’t the most exciting places but one traveller spent a recent journey in a state of exhilaration after spotting a major pop star just a few rows ahead of them.

A traveller, who shared a video of the sighting on TikTok under the handle @williambossanova, posted a video of what appeared to be Billie Eilish, on a flight.

However, the passengers were not sitting in a private jet or even first class, instead, Eilish was seated among the crowds in economy class. Although, she did get a window seat.

“Pov: you see Billie eilish for free,” the passenger wrote across the clip.

“Still can’t believe wtf just happened,” they added in the caption.

The footage doesn’t seem conclusive at first, capturing just the back of a person’s head, which is covered in a grey beanie.

@williambossanova

Pov: you're in a plane with Billie (Still cant believe wtf just happened) #billieeilish #billie #finneas #billieelishfan #billieeilishedits #billieeilishconcert #billieeilishszigetfestival #billieeilishpukkelpop #maggiebaird #patrickoconnell

♬ Beyonce x My Husband x Casa Di Remix - CasaDi

However, the passenger then shows photos they took of the singer while she was standing on the tarmac before boarding, wearing the beanie and a blue hoodie; an outfit that perfectly matches a photo Eilish shared of herself on social media from inside a plane.

Posted four days ago, the video has been viewed almost 1 million times and more than 700 comments.

Some viewers said they would “die” or “cry” due to excitement over being so close to the celebrity.

‘You are so lucky,” one person commented, while another said they would “cry forever’ if they saw Eilish in person.

“Imagine buying random tickets and then you sit with Billie,” one person commented.

Many commented about Eilish’s choice to skip private jets and fly in economy, claiming she was a “person of the people”.

“Omg she’s so humble being in economy!!” one person wrote, while another said it was common knowledge that Eilish didn’t fly in private jets, due to the environmental ramifications.

“I actually love that she has the money for a private jet but doesn’t do that because of her campaign for protecting the environment,” one person said.

In 2019, the pop star spoke up about her dislike of air travel and private jets particularly during an appearance on The Howard Stern Show.

“I think airplanes as a whole are so wasteful, and are really really affecting the world in not a great way,” Eilish said.

Over the years, Eilish’s distaste for air travel appears to have intensified.

Speaking to Vogue in January 2023, Eilish said that, due to the international nature of her job, she hated flying altogether and now refuses to fly private. Instead, the singer flies commercial and is “committed to finding unusual workarounds for travel”, Vogue reported.

This is a countercultural stance compared to other musicians, who can view private planes as a perk of the job.

Many celebrities were called out by a report from Yard in 2022, which used flight data to discern which celebrity charter jets accrued the highest carbon cost.

The list included famous stars such as Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Beyonce and Steven Spielberg.

Taylor Swift’s Dassault Falcon 7X racked up the highest amount of CO2 (1200 times the average passenger), across 170 trips. However, a spokesperson quickly released a statement clarifying that not all trips were made by Swift, who often loaned the aircraft out.