Once again, plane etiquette is the hot topic on Reddit after a woman refused to swap her seats with a mother and son.
Why can’t people simply choose a seat at the time of booking and stick to it?
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never asked a passenger to swap seats with me on a plane, and yet, it seems to be at the center of every scuffle in the sky.
In the latest saga, a woman has been praised for not swapping seats with a mother and son, who had apparently been ‘demanding things from airport staff’ since they got on board the aircraft.
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Taking to the Reddit forum 'Am I The A**hole?' – because where else do you air out such grievances – the woman explained she had been traveling cross country for her sister’s wedding.
Before she could even settle into her middle seat, the mother and son appeared out of nowhere to begin bargaining.
“They had the window seat and the seat and the aisle seat. Directly the woman demanded that she MUST sit next to her son and I MUST sit at the aisle so she could sit next to him,” the Reddit post read.
The poster explains that she herself does not like sitting on the aisle and that she was, in fact, not going to move.
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And, as you probably already guess, this is where things took a turn.
“She then started to yell that it is her right to sit next to her son. I politely told her that I would be willing to change seats with her son (who had the window seat) and she continued yelling that she NEEDED the seat and that she won’t accept that her son has to give up his seat as he is a child and deserves the window seat.”
The audacity of some people.
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Much to the relief of traveler, a flight attendant came over to make sure that everyone was seated in their allocated seat. However, this allegedly didn’t stop the mother from constantly ‘accidentally’ kicking the traveller, whilst the son began 'annoying' the passenger ‘on purpose’.
Just when you thought things couldn't get worse, the traveler continued: “When I went to the toilet I thought it was finally over as she might have accepted it but when I came back she was in my seat and my jacket and my bag which I left there were thrown into the aisle. I called a stewardess and they made her get back to her place.”
Some people clearly don’t know when to admit defeat.
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As if it wasn’t clear enough who was the a**hole in this situation, the comments certainly speak for themselves.
One Redditor wrote: “If she wanted to sit next to her son, she could have paid extra for seats, or reserved sooner, or at the LEAST she could have requested POLITELY. Your seat is YOUR seat and you are not obligated to switch for any reason.”
Another agreed: “Some people purposely book the window and aisle seats hoping that no one will take the middle so they can get the entire row to themselves. Personally, I think this practice is just greedy. I’m willing to bet this is exactly what she did and got p*ssed off that it backfired. You have no obligation to give up your seat and even gave her an option which she refused – good for you for sticking to your guns!”
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A third user said what we are all thinking: "Obviously NTA. You paid for your seat and are entitled to sit in it. The lady could have easily booked seats together if she was more prepared.”
Others – although in total agreement with the rest - questioned why on earth the woman preferred the middle seat. And I have to say, I was thinking the same thing.
“Honestly, we need more info on why you prefer the middle seat.
“You handled this situation with a lot of grace. Gave the woman an option and you let the flight attendants do their job.”
Amen to that.
Saskia Calliste