In the world of air travel, likely no day passes without an entitled person demanding a fellow passenger’s seat for one reason or another. Unfortunately for the redditor u/XXX_MavsFan, they weren’t exempt from facing such a situation.
They told the ‘Entitled People’ community about a mother demanding that they give up their seat because her son “should get to experience” what sitting by the window feels like. Her argument didn’t seem to convince the OP, and the commotion she caused got the aircrew involved.
Some entitled parents believe their child should be equally important to others as they are to the parent themselves
Image credits: Oleksandr P (not the actual photo)
This woman demanded that a passenger give up their window seat because her child “deserved this experience”
Image credits: Pew Nguyen (not the actual photo)
Image credits: XXX_MavsFan
Not every passenger is equally eager to pay for an assigned seat
Passengers have assigned seats on a plane for a reason; whether it is a prepaid choice or karma doing its job—for those in the middle seats, at least—it allows passengers and aircrew to avoid any misunderstandings or chaos (in addition to the aerodynamic-related matters). However, there’s always that one person causing trouble by requesting special treatment or demanding that someone give up their seat.
Quite often it’s parents traveling with children that are seeking preferential treatment or—as in the OP’s case—specific spots on the plane. But their demands are often met with an argument that preferred seats should be bought in advance.
USA Today pointed out that airlines started implementing seat selection fees in 2008; but nowadays such fees seem to be on the rise. In the US alone, airlines reportedly collected roughly $4.2 billion in seat assignment fees last year. According to USA Today, it is possible, though, to sit together without paying extra money. All you need to do is book your seats at the same time—the airlines are unlikely to intentionally separate a family or a group.
A 2022 study conducted by Which? found that most major airlines will automatically assign adjacent seats to you and your travel companions. The survey revealed that as much as 94% of British Airways customers—as well as 93% of EasyJet and 90% of Jet2—didn’t have to pay for a selected seat to be seated together with their loved ones. According to Which?, Wizz Air and Ryanair were most likely to separate those traveling together, as only 66% of Ryanair passengers who booked in groups or pairs (without paying for specific seats) ended up sitting nearby, as did 61% for Wizz Air passengers.
Image credits: Robert Penaloza (not the actual photo)
Some airlines might not separate those traveling together even if they don’t pay for seats nearby
Which? also pointed out that even though parents should ideally sit with their children while air traveling, they are not legally entitled to—something certain moms and dads on planes might need reminding of. It added that according to The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), “Young children and infants who are accompanied by adults should ideally be seated in the same seat row as the adult. Where this is not possible, children should be separated by no more than one seat row from accompanying adults.”
Back in 2016, those who wanted to sit together didn’t seem to want it badly enough to be willing to pay for it; at least 80% of those surveyed by Skyscanner didn’t. A poll of over 500 people back in the day revealed that 32% of travelers considered paying for a reserved seat a “rip off” tactic, nearly 30% thought it should be a passenger’s basic right, and one-in-five said they’d rather opt for an airline that allows travelers to choose a seat for free.
According to Skyscanner’s data, some people were okay with paying for such commodities, though: 8% said they would be willing to pay to reserve a seat, but 12% said they’d consider it only if it was less than £10.
It is unclear why the mother in the OP’s story didn’t reserve a window seat for her child in advance, if she thought her son deserved the experience, but the OP wasn’t willing to give up his place—not after he paid for it himself.
Image credits: Elizabeth French (not the actual photo)
Fellow redditors shared their reactions in the comments
Some discussed similar experiences
When these EP(ricks) act up demanding a seat not assigned, they should be removed from the flight and banned from all other flights.
The only people "deserving" seats are the ones with the reservation. Simple es that. Book the seat you want or sit in your assigned seat.
I hate the Entitled WITCHES, who have bullied their entire lives, try to change the rules, or better yet act dumb. But the "Do you know who I am?", Bullcrap, is a pain!!
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There’s a comment about wanting to stay in the seat so remains can be identified and be returned to the family. Not to be morbid, but in most plane crashes, your body won’t even be attached to your seat. Your remains will be identified through DNA, if at all.
How did the kid 'deserve' the seat? Has he made great contributions to society? Did he eat all of his broccoli the night before? Did he have a great report card the week before? Geez.
The only things kids of entitled parents deserve are better parents!!!
"If you really want him to have the best experience, go tell someone in First Class to swap with you."
So she wants her son to sit next to the window so he can look outside but then takes the middle seat when he cant, so now he cant see ANYTHING outside. Yeah she sounds like a lovely person.
On a side note, this whole thing about letting kids experience something instead of an adult is backwards. The child has many more years ahead of them to experience that thing than an adult does. So, for example, if an old person catches a fly ball, they should not hand it to a kid. That kid has 80 years for that experience. The old person does not. Might be their last chance.
I fly more than most people, I think, being a biz travel guy for 25 years. I've been asked to switch multiple times. Never, in all that time, was I offered a seat better, or even equal, to my own. They were *always* worse seats. Screw entitled people.
If she felt he deserved it, then he deserved to have her pay for it ... only fair ...
Learn a weird foreign language and tell them that you don't understand English, speak in said foreign language and watch them shut up. I speak several languages ans it works every time. Ps I am British so speak perfect English.
I had booked a window seat so I could sleep. I get to my sear and there is an older lady sitting there. I tell her it's my seat. She says " Oh, I don't mind." Well, I DO. I called the flight attendant over and she sorted it out, the lady was in the middle and sat there in stony silence. Bonus! I don't have to listen to her and can sleep!
The one that will always kill me is i have booked on American two seats together, paid for two seats together then get to the air port gety boarding pass and ohh they're not together. Trying to get a refund only to be offered miles. I don't fly enough for That to be anything.
I booked for extra leg room, flying to Hawaii for the birth of my first grandchild. The air steward,heard me accepting seat switch so that a family could at least be near one another. I'm very tall, and I knew it would be uncomfortable. But I was on cloud 9, seeing my daughter for the first time in 15 months, and seeing my granddaughter was enough to make me grin at everyone. Right after we were given our safety brief, and before we started to taxi, the very sweet Air Steward comes up to my seat, and says "We have a seat with more leg room, Grandma..Come with me.". I was taken to first class, and he brought me a little bottle of Champagne to celebrate my new baby. I have had HORRIBLE Transatlantic flights. 3 day long lay overs, European connection flights missed... terrible, horrible flights.. I flew alone with 4 children, all over the world. Wherever the Army took my husband, we packed up and followed. But at 52, a young man named Adam, gave me the best flight ever!!!
Yeah people that switch give them hope we all need to collectively say NOOOOOO
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The entitled mom was absolutely right - some people are so selfish.
I love a text exchange I saw on a Facebook post. This could have been me, because I don't care about your spoiled/entitled brat either. Buyer: is this still available? Seller: Yes. Buyer: can go $250 Seller: Nope. It's $700 firm. Buyer: but it's for my son's Christmas present Seller: Yeah, I don't care. The price is $700 firm. Buyer: But you have to let me have it for my son. Seller: Lady, I don't give a f*ck about your son or his Christmas.
When EM stated that her kid "deserves it more" OP's mistake was to begin his reply with, "I understand..." You can't reason with selfish egomaniacs. Anything other than a short civil "Nope" is to them an invitation or more rather a challenge. Sometimes the kids of entitled parents are mortified by their anrics but sort of scared to do anything other than follow their lead. Sometimes the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Even if OP was allowed to move he'd still have to spend 5 hours next to her. No in flight meal? Never mind I bought my own chicken wings!
Congrats, you had sex and gave birth. That doesn't make you better than everyone else, nor give you a free pass to bully people.
I usually fly with open seating and don't pay the extra for assigned. Sometimes I get lucky and sometimes not, I just shrug and deal with it. There have been times where I was in an aisle seat and all that was left was the middle next to me and an aisle in a different row. If a couple walks on and wants to sit together I happily switch to the other row because it's the same seat I already have and they get to sit together, win/win. But I definitely won't move if someone starts demanding I do. Catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
another made up story about an Entitled Mom and her Bratty Son (never a dad and a daughter!) in a plane. Never a train! Can we please stop this BP? Or at least make up conversations that dont sound like they were made up by a 12 year old? This is so cringy.
I have to agree, but lets thank the lord there weren't 18 pictures of the same gormless tic tocker involved.
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I feel like I'm the only person who genuinely wouldn't want a window seat solely because of my anxiety and my fear of heights.
The funnier thing is that in most cases, if the EP just asked something like "Can you switch seats for a few minutes so my child could see de clouds and the cities from the sky?" 99% of the time they would get their wish, but no, they have to be idiots for some unknown reason to even god
On a side note, one of the commenters... "Neither of them (a mom and son who never demanded or even asked for commenter seat, nor did anything "entitled") spoke to me the entire flight, gee I wonder why." Uh....... maybe because you're a complete stranger and they don't feel the need to engage in conversation with someone just because they're seated in proximity to them...? Wow, how dare they.
Amazing how many of these stories keep popping up. I used to fly a few times a year and never once witnessed anything like this. Either everyone went crazy or some of this is straight up bull made up by bored kids pretending to be world travelers. I honestly don't know which.
Kidding, I know which. Bored panda=bored kids. Know tons of parents who fly with kids all the time and they would never even think to act inappropriately. I'm sure the crazies are out there but no way are there enough to necessitate all these same generic stories
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Luckily your comment was a rip-roaring rollercoaster of drama, suspense and tension. You’ve saved us all. God bless you.
Load More Replies... When these EP(ricks) act up demanding a seat not assigned, they should be removed from the flight and banned from all other flights.
The only people "deserving" seats are the ones with the reservation. Simple es that. Book the seat you want or sit in your assigned seat.
I hate the Entitled WITCHES, who have bullied their entire lives, try to change the rules, or better yet act dumb. But the "Do you know who I am?", Bullcrap, is a pain!!
Load More Replies... There’s a comment about wanting to stay in the seat so remains can be identified and be returned to the family. Not to be morbid, but in most plane crashes, your body won’t even be attached to your seat. Your remains will be identified through DNA, if at all.
How did the kid 'deserve' the seat? Has he made great contributions to society? Did he eat all of his broccoli the night before? Did he have a great report card the week before? Geez.
The only things kids of entitled parents deserve are better parents!!!
"If you really want him to have the best experience, go tell someone in First Class to swap with you."
So she wants her son to sit next to the window so he can look outside but then takes the middle seat when he cant, so now he cant see ANYTHING outside. Yeah she sounds like a lovely person.
On a side note, this whole thing about letting kids experience something instead of an adult is backwards. The child has many more years ahead of them to experience that thing than an adult does. So, for example, if an old person catches a fly ball, they should not hand it to a kid. That kid has 80 years for that experience. The old person does not. Might be their last chance.
I fly more than most people, I think, being a biz travel guy for 25 years. I've been asked to switch multiple times. Never, in all that time, was I offered a seat better, or even equal, to my own. They were *always* worse seats. Screw entitled people.
If she felt he deserved it, then he deserved to have her pay for it ... only fair ...
Learn a weird foreign language and tell them that you don't understand English, speak in said foreign language and watch them shut up. I speak several languages ans it works every time. Ps I am British so speak perfect English.
I had booked a window seat so I could sleep. I get to my sear and there is an older lady sitting there. I tell her it's my seat. She says " Oh, I don't mind." Well, I DO. I called the flight attendant over and she sorted it out, the lady was in the middle and sat there in stony silence. Bonus! I don't have to listen to her and can sleep!
The one that will always kill me is i have booked on American two seats together, paid for two seats together then get to the air port gety boarding pass and ohh they're not together. Trying to get a refund only to be offered miles. I don't fly enough for That to be anything.
I booked for extra leg room, flying to Hawaii for the birth of my first grandchild. The air steward,heard me accepting seat switch so that a family could at least be near one another. I'm very tall, and I knew it would be uncomfortable. But I was on cloud 9, seeing my daughter for the first time in 15 months, and seeing my granddaughter was enough to make me grin at everyone. Right after we were given our safety brief, and before we started to taxi, the very sweet Air Steward comes up to my seat, and says "We have a seat with more leg room, Grandma..Come with me.". I was taken to first class, and he brought me a little bottle of Champagne to celebrate my new baby. I have had HORRIBLE Transatlantic flights. 3 day long lay overs, European connection flights missed... terrible, horrible flights.. I flew alone with 4 children, all over the world. Wherever the Army took my husband, we packed up and followed. But at 52, a young man named Adam, gave me the best flight ever!!!
Yeah people that switch give them hope we all need to collectively say NOOOOOO
Load More Replies... The entitled mom was absolutely right - some people are so selfish.
I love a text exchange I saw on a Facebook post. This could have been me, because I don't care about your spoiled/entitled brat either. Buyer: is this still available? Seller: Yes. Buyer: can go $250 Seller: Nope. It's $700 firm. Buyer: but it's for my son's Christmas present Seller: Yeah, I don't care. The price is $700 firm. Buyer: But you have to let me have it for my son. Seller: Lady, I don't give a f*ck about your son or his Christmas.
When EM stated that her kid "deserves it more" OP's mistake was to begin his reply with, "I understand..." You can't reason with selfish egomaniacs. Anything other than a short civil "Nope" is to them an invitation or more rather a challenge. Sometimes the kids of entitled parents are mortified by their anrics but sort of scared to do anything other than follow their lead. Sometimes the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Even if OP was allowed to move he'd still have to spend 5 hours next to her. No in flight meal? Never mind I bought my own chicken wings!
Congrats, you had sex and gave birth. That doesn't make you better than everyone else, nor give you a free pass to bully people.
I usually fly with open seating and don't pay the extra for assigned. Sometimes I get lucky and sometimes not, I just shrug and deal with it. There have been times where I was in an aisle seat and all that was left was the middle next to me and an aisle in a different row. If a couple walks on and wants to sit together I happily switch to the other row because it's the same seat I already have and they get to sit together, win/win. But I definitely won't move if someone starts demanding I do. Catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
another made up story about an Entitled Mom and her Bratty Son (never a dad and a daughter!) in a plane. Never a train! Can we please stop this BP? Or at least make up conversations that dont sound like they were made up by a 12 year old? This is so cringy.
I have to agree, but lets thank the lord there weren't 18 pictures of the same gormless tic tocker involved.
Load More Replies... I feel like I'm the only person who genuinely wouldn't want a window seat solely because of my anxiety and my fear of heights.
The funnier thing is that in most cases, if the EP just asked something like "Can you switch seats for a few minutes so my child could see de clouds and the cities from the sky?" 99% of the time they would get their wish, but no, they have to be idiots for some unknown reason to even god
On a side note, one of the commenters... "Neither of them (a mom and son who never demanded or even asked for commenter seat, nor did anything "entitled") spoke to me the entire flight, gee I wonder why." Uh....... maybe because you're a complete stranger and they don't feel the need to engage in conversation with someone just because they're seated in proximity to them...? Wow, how dare they.
Amazing how many of these stories keep popping up. I used to fly a few times a year and never once witnessed anything like this. Either everyone went crazy or some of this is straight up bull made up by bored kids pretending to be world travelers. I honestly don't know which.
Kidding, I know which. Bored panda=bored kids. Know tons of parents who fly with kids all the time and they would never even think to act inappropriately. I'm sure the crazies are out there but no way are there enough to necessitate all these same generic stories
Load More Replies... Luckily your comment was a rip-roaring rollercoaster of drama, suspense and tension. You’ve saved us all. God bless you.
Load More Replies...
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