The photo was taken by US television reporter Eli Ross who was on the flight - he posted the image on Twitter writing: 'I am still amazed #Prince William flies COACH. That's pretty humble/awesome. Who knew?'
On the American Airlines plane he took a window seat and is understood to have ordered water during the 1hour 30 domestic flight. A similar flight was on sale today for £250. Holding his hand luggage he boarded a plane separately to the rest of the passengers in Memphis, surrounded by security officers. The 31-year-old was then photographed at the Dallas airport wearing jeans, a pale blue shirt, white trainers and a baseball cap as he left the American Airlines Admiral Club.
The princes are accompanied round-the-clock by a team of around four taxpayer-funded officers from Scotland Yard’s Royalty Protection Squad. One senior industry source estimated the cost of guarding the princes during their five-day trip would be in the region of $84,000, including business class flights and hotels for all of the officers.
It is not the first time that the royals have tried to save money when attending a wedding. In 2011 passengers were surprised to see Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge settle into seats with the rest of the public after boarding a Flybe jet in Edinburgh for their hour long journey to Manchester following the wedding of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall in Edinburgh. Meanwhile, a hungover Prince Harry chose EasyJet to make his way home to London.
During the recession the Queen urged her family to show restraint and to avoid overt displays of extravagance. When they are on official duties the princes travel in first or business class along with their entourage.
据英国《每日邮报》5月6日报道，上周末威廉王子与哈里王子赴美参加好友婚礼，婚礼结束后搭乘美国航空公司飞机经济舱从孟菲斯前往达拉斯转机回国，费用由王子自掏腰包。
美国某电视台记者伊莱·罗斯恰好与威廉同机，他拍下照片并发推特称：“万万没有想到威廉王子会乘坐经济舱。天晓得，这是不是很棒很谦逊？”
据介绍，飞机上威廉王子靠窗而坐，全程1.5小时只喝了水。同一航班6日票价为250英镑（约2600人民币）。在孟菲斯，威廉手拉行李箱，在安保人员的护送下与机上乘客分开登机。在达拉斯机场，这位31岁的王子又被拍到身着牛仔裤和淡蓝色衬衣，穿着白色球鞋，戴着棒球帽离开美国航空公司俱乐部。
据了解，出行期间两位王子均由4名安保人员24小时全程陪同，这些安保人员来自英国皇家护卫队，由纳税人出资资助。知情人士估计，他们此次出行5天，包括安保人员飞机票、住宿费等在内的安保费用约8.4万美元（约52万元人民币）。
这并非英国皇室第一次节俭参加婚礼。2011年，威廉王子及凯特王妃在爱丁堡参加完扎拉·菲利普斯婚礼后与普通乘客一同乘坐飞机前往曼彻斯特，令同机乘客惊诧不已。同时，哈里王子搭乘易捷航空返回伦敦。
在经济低迷时，英国女王曾要求王室成员保持节俭克制，禁止过分奢侈。但因公出行时，英国王子则与其随从人员搭乘头等舱或经济舱。
