Couple ‘romanticizes' economy flight with DIY luxury hack: ‘Manifesting getting sat next to you guys on my next flight'

New York Post

08-07-2025

Natalia Corso, an Emirates flight attendant, shared how she and her boyfriend turn their economy seats into a full-on 'luxury' experience — and the Internet was simultaneously jealous and irritated.
'Manifesting getting sat next to you guys on my next flight,' wrote one hopeful commenter.
In a video that's now racked up over 28 million views, the part-time content creator filmed herself conjuring up espresso martinis on her Instagram account, @nataliacorso, seemingly out of thin air.
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The 28-year-old pulled a plastic shaker and two martini glasses out of her bag, and quickly got to work. Corso added a few cups of ice, vodka, coffee liqueur, irish cream liqueur, and in-flight coffee, before shaking the life out of the concoction.
'It's not that serious,' one hater said, speaking for a small, but loud group in the comment section. Others were irked at the fact that this impromptu cocktail session happened from the middle seat, while some speculated the preposterous price tag on this flight-cap had to surpass $50 — for the shots alone.
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Another commenter also expressed irritation at the video: 'People can't go anywhere without drinking,' they complained.
'If I'm trying to sleep and and you're shaking a martini I'mma be pissed,' warned one grumpy passenger.
Some commenters found this in-flight ritual annoying, while others slammed the creator for bothering flight attendants with extra requests.
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Though several viewers deemed the desperate DIY 'hack' illegal, Corso clarified in the comments that the alcohol pictured was 'all miniatures offered on the flight.'
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The critics doubled down, and maintained that the content creator should have been more clear about where she obtained the alcohol from the get go — though, surely, one would assume a flight attendant would be hip to the familiar in-flight rules.
'It's a federal offense… You won't be able to romanticize economy from the no-fly list,' one reply said.
Meanwhile, one espresso martini purist got huffy over Corso's mixology skills.
'Bailey's does not go in an espresso Martini,' they begged in the replies. 'Stop this madness everybody!!!'
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Others were quietly impressed that she achieved a decent foam on the surface of the drink.
Instagram / @nataliacorso
While the bulk of the budget bartender's comments were gushing over how Corso offered a drink to the aisle seat passenger too, some Internet sleuths discovered that the girl was not, in fact a stranger.
Some speculated that the third wheel, Valeria Mandelli, a fellow Emirates flight attendant, was her sister, while others thought she was just a friend. Either way, the video's virality opened up the in-flight floodgates, and the two have since made Cosmopolitans and Bloody Marys in economy seats.
This burgeoning trend appears to be a continuation of another recent alcohol-in-airport phenomenon, when passengers were mixing their own espresso martinis while in the terminal, but this iteration seems to have drawn more ire.
While some viewers slammed this as 'self-centered behavior,' the overwhelming majority were inspired, so the next time you're awoken from an in-flight nap by ice-shaking idiots, thank the Internet — and the Instagram algorithm.