Passenger paid Twitter to slam British Airways
A tweet about British Airways losing luggage on a flight from Chicago went viral after a passenger paid Twitter $1,000 to promote it in the UK and US.
The tweet, which Hasan Syed bought from Twitter’s self-service ad platform, received more than 76,000 impressions in a couple of days on the social media site.
It was picked up by news sites, including CNN in the US.
Syed, who uses the handle @HVSVN, followed up his initial tweet with a series of posts slamming BA for allegedly losing his parent’s luggage on the weekend trip to Paris.
Promoted tweets appear in search results for a promoted trend and can be retweeted by any Twitter users.
BA took four hours to respond to Syed via a direct message on Twitter that read: "Sorry for the delay in responding, our twitter feed is open 09:00-17:00 GMT. Please DM [direct message] your baggage ref and we’ll look into this."
A BA spokesperson said: "We would like to apologise to the customer for the delay in receiving his bag. We contacted the customer and delivered his bag yesterday."
Earlier today, Syed tweeted "I got what I wanted. I win."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026