Image copyright X Factor Image caption 'Sampling' the high life for a short while

If you tuned into the X Factor on Saturday, you might recall footage of excited contestants enjoying the high life in business class.

The 24 hopefuls were on Aer Lingus flights to glamorous locations such as Los Angeles for Judges' Houses.

But all was not what it seemed - a fellow passenger saw the contestants moved to economy once filming stopped.

Skip Twitter post by @pmcgphotos So, I just happened to be on this flight...



When the cameras were switched off, the contestants were all sent back to economy with the rest of us. So much for that Aer Lingus hospitality 😂 https://t.co/IgfXn1IJSQ — Paddy McGrath (@pmcgphotos) October 13, 2018 Report

An Aer Lingus spokesperson said in a statement: "The contestants were shown sampling the business class cabins."

The singers were seen posing for selfies and saying "first class" to the camera as they enjoyed drinks in the business class cabins.

One said: "I could get used to this."

Aer Lingus showed more footage on its Twitter account.

Aer Lingus's statement in full read: "As part of Aer Lingus' partnership with X Factor, we flew contestants to perform at the judges' houses.

"The contestants were shown sampling the business class cabins. All footage was filmed by the X Factor production team and provided to Aer Lingus."

X Factor were also contacted by the BBC for a comment.

A passenger on the same flight, Paddy McGrath, who saw the group move to economy, also said that "they filmed them all sitting in the same seats".

Skip Twitter post 2 by @pmcgphotos They shot the piece when we were in the air, taking turns to alternate the contestants (which is why theyre all sat in the same seats in the video). It didn’t *look* full anyways... — Paddy McGrath (@pmcgphotos) October 13, 2018 Report

The 16 acts that made it through to the live finals include Bella Penfold, Vibe 5, Anthony Russell and Janice Robinson.

This year, each of the judges - Simon Cowell, Robbie Williams, Louis Tomlinson and Ayda Field - chose four acts each rather than three.

The first live show is this Saturday (20 October).

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