30 Passengers Share Stories Of Parents Who Used Their Kids To Get Better Seats On Flights

Cast: EM-entitled mom, EG-entitled grandma, SB-spoiled brat, Me-well me

This happened about a year ago, but I just booked tickets for another long flight and it made me think of this.

I was flying from Hawaii to NY and had a layover in Chicago. The flight from Hawaii to Chicago was about 10 hours long, and I had booked my flight well in advance so I could have my choice of seats. I chose the window seat on the exit row and as I was waiting in the airport I was excited knowing my seat was going to be perfect. We start boarding and I’m one of the first groups to board so I make sure I have everything I need from my bag, put my headphones on, and start my Netflix binge. About 10 minutes in the women next to me taps me on the shoulder

EG- Hi sweetie, I’m flying with my family and my granddaughter would like to be in the window seat

I should explain the layout of the plane. There’s three seats on the left and right side and four seats in the middle. EG and her husband were sitting in the seats next to me on my side and the rest of her family (EM and her 3 kids all between 2-8 years old) were sitting in the middle row.

Me: I’m sorry, I chose this seat because I know how long of a flight it’s going to be. I would offer to let her sit here during takeoff and then switch, but she looks really young and I don’t think they allow children to sit in the exit row.

EM overhearing our conversation: So you’re just going to be heartless and deny my daughter her window seat?

SB:Mom you told me I could have it!! Tell her it’s mine!!

She starts having a temper tantrum and screaming while sitting in the aisle, holding up the entire line of people tying to get to their seats

EG: Look what you did! You broke that little girls heart! I hope you know there’s a place in hell for people like you

The flight attendant had heard the girls tantrum at this point and started coming over

FA: what seems to be the issue?

Me: These people asked me to switch..

EM- This girl stole my daughters seat!! She shoved her way in as I was helping my daughter with her bag and now she refuses to give us the seat back!

Me: I have my ticket that shows that this is my seat

EG- She stole the ticket from my grand baby! I saw her do it!

Me, extremely frustrated at this point: It has my name on it, and I have my license to prove it’s my name

FA looks over everything FA: This is her seat. Also, your daughter is way to young to be in an exit row. Please don’t disturb this young lady again

The rest of the flight I endured dirty looks from the family, and at one point EG tried to spill a drink on me as the flight attendant was handing it to me. Hopefully this next flight I can just sit in silence.

/nurseadeleigh , Andrej Lišakov / Unsplash Report

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I was on a 5 hour flight and had specifically booked a window seat moths ago. I love watching a view and taking a nap near the wall.

A woman gets on with her teenage son and asks if I'd switch seats so he can enjoy the view. I politely said sorry I'd prefer to keep my seat.

She immediately says, wow that's just a seat, don't be difficult.

I smiled and said, Exactly. It's my seat.

She let out this huge sigh, sat down next to me, and spent the entire fight elbowing into my armrest and dramatically texting with her brightness at full blast.

I get wanting to sit together, but how is me planning ahead suddenly me being rude?

Relative_Leek_2838 , Adrien Olichon / Pexels Report

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So, I was on this fully booked flight when a mom started complaining loudly to the flight attendants that her toddler shouldn't have to sit next to strangers. She insisted they find other seats for everyone else, despite the plane being completely full. The staff tried to explain there were no empty spots, but she hand not heard her. I swear she looked like the world revolved around her child's comfort and nothing else mattered. The poor flight attendants did their best, and she spent the whole flight giving everyone a side eye.

Mysterious_Tie68 , Rahul Singh / Pexels Report

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The last flight I was on was an uncomfortable cross-country American flight with the worst pitch and seat width ever. No one was happy, everyone was crammed. The configuration of steerage was 3 x 3, so middle seats abounded and were generally full. One middle seat was occupied by mombie and a rather old lap baby (seriously, this kid was at least 18 months). Mombie was sitting next to an older man in the window seat, and the aisle seat was empty. Mombie then moved to the aisle seat and claimed it for her own. Eventually a steward noticed, because the aisle seat was for a very special passenger who was boarding last.

"Uh, excuse me ma'am," said the steward, "But I need to ask you to take your seat."

"I'm sitting here," said entitled mombie. "I have a baby. I can't sit in the middle."

"This is someone else's seat, ma'am," said the polite steward.

"I have a baby," mombie repeated.

"I see that," said the steward. "But someone else is sitting in your seat and we can't switch seats now as we're about to take off. After we're up and the seatbelts signs are off, you can ask him to switch seats."

"No!" screeched the mombie. "I have a baby! I can't sit in the middle seat."

"Sorry, ma'am," said the steward, infinitely patient. "But you need to be in your assigned seat. I don't make the rules. Please help me out here."

"Please help ME out here," said mombie. "I have a baby."

"Sorry, ma'am, but the passenger whose seat you're in can't sit in the middle. He's riding with his large dog."

"A---a---DOG??" screeched mombie. "I HAVE A BABY! I CANNOT SIT NEXT TO A DOG!!!!"

OMG, y'all. Steward finally decided that he was just going to do whatever he needed to get rid of his problem: the mombie. So he arranged for her to switch seats in a complicate musical-chairs move, so the lady with HER BABY!! ended up near her husband up several rows, the old man by the window got upgraded to first class for free (good for you, old dude! No more screechy lady and her fussy baby for you!), and dude with dog got the ENTIRE ROW to himself. Which he needed, because he had literally the largest dog I've ever seen. Looked like a great dane. Doggo laid on the floor and his body stretched across all three seats.

I'm sad mombie basically got what she wanted, but I'm glad guy-with-dog and old man didn't have to put up with her. Awful mombies. And by the way, the people she ended up next to were miserable because, as you'd expect, the baby fussed and was allowed to touch people and be obnoxious the entire flight.

a_hanging_thread , John Escudero / Pexels Report

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This happened a while ago so it's a bit vague.

So I was catching a flight to Japan for skiing from Singapore (it cost quite a bit) and i arranged to sit by the emergency exit so I could get more leg room. I also booked another seat for my friend. We were looking forward to going on our plane as it was his first time flying. As i got on the plane i find my seat with EP (entitled parent) and EB (entitled boyfriend or husband I chose bf cos she never getting married). I kindly ask "do you mind these are your seats you might be sitting in the wrong seat." They then proceeded to beg as they had a "sprained ankle" and started to try and guilt trip me. They then said, "you can sit in our seats if you want?"

Their seats were cramped. I said no and she flicked her hair and continued to talk to EB.. They would not move. I had to get the flight attendant to come over and they lied saying they pay for them. I showed the flight attendant my boarding pass and the EP and EB were still faffing on about how they need it. A long story short the flight attendant said they were gonna call the security and they got out of our seats. As they did they cursed at us and my friend and i laughed the whole way. (we still got dirty looks from them as we got off the plane!) Also throughout all of this EP kept showing her baby to my face thinking that she deserved it as she had a minor. That kid cried the whole time lol. it was not very epic!

swegwayharambe0106 , Getty Images / Unsplash Report

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I was boarding a flight from NYC to Toronto. I had checked into the flight 24H in advance, as soon as it opened because I need a window seat. When I got to my seat, there was a woman seated in my seat, with a child, probably aged 6 or 7. I told her that the seat she was in was mine (I said it very politely since it could have been an honest mistake.) She pointed at a seat a couple rows away and told me that I can sit in her original seat, which was NOT a window seat. I told her I wanted a window seat which is what I originally selected. She just looked at me, then looked at her kid, then at me, without moving. I was about to ask her again for my chair back, but the man behind me overheard our conversation and offered me his window seat. I didn’t want to cause more of a scene, so I accepted it and he sat in the woman’s original seat.

If it was so important for her to sit beside her child, why did she not check in when it opened? When I checked in, there were multiple sets of 2 seats together that she could have selected. If it was me, I’d probably pre-pay for selected seats just to make sure. On top of that, she didn’t even ask me if we could switch, she just assumed I would be okay with it. A part of me wishes I demanded my seat back.

yomrants , Getty Images / Unsplash Report

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The setting: an inter island flight on Hawaiian Airlines. The players: me, my husband, entitled mom, and her (quiet) kid.

We’re boarding for a very short flight. I get to my row and see that EM is sitting in my assigned seat, next to her son, who is about ten years old and not saying a word. I told her “I think you’re in my seat”. She barely even looks at me. “Ma’am, I think you’re in my seat.” She pulls out a ticket- the son’s ticket- to show me that her son is sitting in his assigned seat. I told her that I can see that the kid is in his assigned seat but she is not, because she is in my seat. I asked her again which seat is hers- thinking, actually, that I would just go ahead and sit in her seat so that she can sit with her kid. Because even though she’s going about this entirely the wrong way, it’s a really short flight and not worth the effort.

Over the next minute or two, she refuses to tell me where her ticketed seat is. She keeps pointing over and over to her son’s ticket, showing that he’s sitting in his seat. I’m starting to lose my patience by now because there’s a long line of people backing up trying to board and we’re causing a problem for everyone. I finally said to her “I cannot let you sit there without you at least telling me where your seat is because if you don’t tell me, now you’re forcing me to steal somebody else’s seat. I’m willing to switch with you but you have to tell me where your actual seat is so that I know which seat I should sit in.” No response, just staring straight ahead.

Finally a flight attendant came over and asked to see her ticket- amazingly, now she responds and takes out her ticket and shows the FA. The FA looks at me somewhat inquiringly, as if to ask me if I’m willing to switch. I said, “Honestly, I had every intention of letting her switch so she could sit next to him, but I’m really not feeling like I want to do that after she ignored me and lied to me.” So she gets booted from her seat and I reclaimed it.

Lest I come off as completely unsympathetic here, I did help the kid buckle his seatbelt after I noticed that he didn’t know how and the FA didn’t catch it (I’m not sure what was going on with this flight but a lot of things seemed to be going unnoticed). I felt bad for him because he seemed very unnerved by the whole thing and the confrontation but he’s probably going to get used to that pretty quickly having such an entitled mom.

MaxJets69 , Chris Brignola / Unsplash Report

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I_Exist_=D

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So basically I was recently flying to Kathmandu and their are tons of mountains and things so its a real nice look out the window! I am only 14 years old and was flying alone to visit some family!

Cast
•Me - Me
•EP - Entitled Parent
•CK - Careless kid (looks to be 6)
•FA - Flight Attendant
•NM - Nice Man

And the story begins:

I was getting my stuff set for the 7 hour plane ride that is about to ensue and when I take a seat, another woman(EP) sits down next to me and puts her kid on the aisle seat. I said hello and did the basic "Im a nice kid stuff."

EP: "So where are your parents? Are they here or not?"

Me: "Nope they didnt fly with me! Im just visiting my grandparents for a week!"

EP: "Oh ok."

5 minutes pass

EP: "Hi we should switch seats, and you can in sit the middle!" She starts to get her bag

Me: "No thank you! I actually prefer the window seat!"

EP: "I dont think you should be sitting there because youre to young."

Me: "Im sorry but I will stay here and im not moving."

EP: "My son wants to sit there so just move already." fake smiles

Me: "YOU obviously want my seat not your son..."

EP: "WHAT A BRAT. KIDS THESE DAYS ARE SO RUDE. YOU SHOULDNT EVEN BE FLYING ALONE"

Me: "Mmm alright mam. I will be ignoring you for the rest of the flight now."

EP: "WHAT YOU CANT DO THAT CAUSE I SAID SO."

FA walks over

FA: "Is everything alright mam?"

EP: "Yes, my son isnt moving from the window seat and he is being very rude"

Me: "Umm no. Mam lets get 2 things straight. First, I am not your son and secondly, she is trying to get me to move."

EP: "Oh be quiet Dave stop playing around" she literally gave me a fake name

Me: "My name isnt Dave..." hands flight attendant my boarding pass so she can confirm.

FA: "Would you like to move your seat?"

Me: " Yes please!"

Me: "I guess you can have your seat now mam!" I ACCIDENTALLY spill water on the seat as I get up to leave.

FA: tries not to laugh

EP: "He can stay here and Ill move."

Me: "Nope I already got up and left. Good day. Oh and sorry for spilling water on the seat I know you really wanted it"

I thought it was over but OH MY GOD no.

EP: "MY SON IS GOING TO GET SICK NOW"

FA: "What are you even saying?"

Me: " You lost it."

NM: "Im tryna have a nice flight and not hear you voice the kid is nice but you seem to have a problem. Youre a grown woman and your son hasnt even said a word he has just been playing around with the seat. How about you accept the fact that you cant sit down and enjoy a flight."

Me: "Thank you!"

FA: ushers me to the front

In the end, I got upgraded to BUISNESS CLASS!!!! It was so nice I felt like a king up there. Not to mention the food was hella good. I dont know what happened to the lady she just gave me glares at the airport. But im like whatever.

-KingKrazy- , Nellie Adamyan / Unsplash Report

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So I work for a major American airline. (literally AA actually) and I've had a plethora of EPs call me in my career so far but this story takes the cake.

So I pick up the call: Thanks for calling American airlines how can I help you?

Ep: yes I'd like to get seats for my flight

Me: do you have your record locator/confirmation number?

EP: no but I've been on hold for an hour

Me: 😐 ok ma'am do you have anything I can use to help you look up the flight info:

10 minutes later

Me: ok I see this is a COSTCO TRAVEL AGENCY THIRD PARTY BOOKING with British Airlines but as a whole domestic flight. (What this means is for some reason Costco booked this passenger on flights within the US but technically BA controlled the flights 😐) This means there will be an external reservation fee of $50 person per person.

EP: ok I just need flights so my family can sit together

Me: pulls up the seat map ok ma'am I see we have paid seats available to sit your family together as THEY ARE THE ONLY SEATS LEFT OPEN ON THE PLANE.

EP: what? I'm not going to pay for those seats! You all need to accommodate me as I have a 15 year old that isn't sitting near me!

Me: well ma'am I am just telling you what I have available as Costco booked the seats how they did when you were booking with them.

EP: my 15 year old will have an anxiety attack if you don't sit us together

Me: ma'am while I understand what you are saying 15 is old enough under our rules to be a young adult traveling alone.

EP: well you are going to have a YATA that has a panic attack if you don't give me those seats you jerk

Me: ma'am do not curse at me again or I will end the call and make sure the next agent that gets a call from you understands how you treat us.

EP: ok I'm sorry.please don't hang up on me. So what can you do to sit us together?

Me: again ma'am we only have the Main cabin extra seats available. I cannot un-assign other passengers from their seats.

EP: you know I don't like your tone you have a bad attitude

Me: ma'am I am just working within the rules corporate has given me.

EP: listen here you jerk

Me: and I'll be disconnecting due you your bad attitude.

1_87th_Sane_Modler , Getty Images / Unsplash Report

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Ek: Entitled kid FA: Flight attendant

So I was on a plane with my mom and sister to go to Chicago to see family for a week, I brought my switch to play and decided to play some games,(if you want to know which games, Mario maker 2 and Yoshis crafted world) (my mom and sister were fast asleep through all of this)

A kid was sitting behind me watching me through the gap between my seat. About an hour into the flight he started to cry, I thought it was because his ears needed to be popped from all the pressure so I continued to play my game.About ten or so minutes later I feel someone tapping my shoulder, I turn around and the EM is staring at me. Me: trying to be nice yes? Em: You have something that my son wants.

I thought she meant my drink, me: no sorry that’s mine, my mom got it for me to drink. *pointing at the Gatorade. Em: no are you stupid?! My son wants your game. Me: no sorry it’s mine I bought it. Em: I don’t care if you bought it my son wants it so give it to him or I’ll have you kicked off this flight! Her yelling attracted the flight attendant. FA: what’s going on here? Em: this kid stole my child’s game! FA: give her back her kids game.

Me: I didn’t steal anything, she walked up to me and told me to give my switch to her son. FA: ma’am is this true? Em: No he stole his game! Me: I can prove it’s mine, I know the systems nickname and the accounts I have on it. I tell her what the nickname and accounts are in her ear so I can prove I’m right. FA: ok ma’am if it’s your sons what is the name of the accounts on the system? Em says the name of what I’m guessing is her sons and her name, FA knows she’s wrong so she tells her to sit down and to stop bothering me.

MegaReath58 , Alvaro Reyes / Unsplash Report

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So I'm flying cross-country (5 hour flight) and I have an aisle bulkhead seat. So, basically, I have the most legroom on the plane other than First Class. I'm also 6'1" so the extra legroom (which I paid for) is nice. Next to me is a child in the middle and an adult man at the window. The confrontation took place during boarding.

EP: Excuse me sir, would you mind switching seats with me so I can sit next to my son?

Me: Possibly. Where is your seat?

EP: Towards the back of the plane.

Me: Eh, I don't know. I paid for the extra legroom. Is it an aisle seat?

EP: No, it's a middle seat.

Me: I'm sorry, but that's not even close to a fair trade. Why don't you see if someone in your row is willing to switch with your son.

EP: ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! WHAT KIND OF A JERK WON'T LET A MOTHER SIT WITH HER SON?!?!?!?!

Me: What kind of person expects to trade a middle seat for an aisle seat with 3x the legroom?

EP: YOU ARE TRULY HEARTLESS! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WON'T SWITCH WITH ME! YOU ARE A TERRIBLE HUMAN BEING!!

At this point I just turned away and took my seat. She proceeded to march down the aisle complaining to anyone who would listen about the "jerk" in the first row. I then turned to the guy sitting at the window (the kid had headphones in the whole time and was paying no attention to what was happening).

Me: Wow, can you believe that?

Guy: I can, actually. She's my wife! Sorry your had to deal with that.

So, it turned out, the kid was sitting with a parent anyway!!!

Side note: I have no problem switching seats so family or friends can sit together. I'm just not trading a bulkhead aisle seat for a middle seat in regular coach on a 5 hour flight!

/jukeboxgraduate92 Report

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I was recently on a 3h flight, so it was a smallish plane; one of those in which Business and Economy have the same type of seats and are separated by a curtain.

I was flying Business (by sheer luck, definitely don’t belong there lol), and since the plane was half empty, there was only one woman sitting in the row in front of me with a baby in her arms who couldn’t be older than 6 months.

As soon as we take off, a man comes from Economy through the closed courtain and starts talking with the woman and fussing over the baby; it becomes apparent that he’s the dad. They both talked really loud, they definitely wanted our attention.

The man returns to his seat and I see that it’s directly behind the curtain, the first row in Economy. And he has plenty of space around; WTH?

Through the next hour, I shit you not, the man keeps coming to see the baby and talk with his wife every TEN MINUTES. He interrupts the meal service because he’s right in the middle and the steward just can’t get through.

After too much of these shenanigans the cabin manager had had enough and told the couple they simply could not do that anymore. And then the charade began! They had it so prepared it was comical. They had booked one seat in each class because they were sure they would let them be together in Business Class because they have a bAaBbYyyyy. After all, there are vacant seats left!

The steward almost laughed in their faces and told them they could both go to Economy and be together for the rest of the flight. The woman LOST IT. “I have paid a lot of money for this ticket to fly Business Class, I’m not going to Economy! Let my husband come be here with his bbbAAAbbyyyyY”.

She sulked for a while, talking loudly about how evil the airline was to her and her baby and how she was going to make a complaint; this was entertaining as hell, I wish I flew Business more often.

In the end she made a huge fuss about it but retreated to Economy and the last hour of the flight was uneventful.

The best part? The baby was a SAINT through all this; I could take a 12h flight with that little dude as long as his parents stayed home.

Pixelskaya Report

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I just gotta say even I can’t believe that this actually happened to me it’s so ridiculous. A couple of years ago I was on a fully booked international flight. The flight was gonna be 8 hours and it was one of those big planes with 3 rows (3 seats on each side and 4 in the middle). I was in economy sitting alone in the aisle seat of one of the side rows. A couple with their already unhappy toddler walks up and the wife and kid sits down in the middle row beside me. The dad looks around distraught, talked to his partner and asks me if I could switch seats with him so he could sit with his family. I was reluctant but asked him what seat he had. To my surprise he said he had a seat in business class so of course I said absolutely! I started to get up and grab my luggage, but once I stood up he was like “wait, my wife actually wanted to go sit up there can you take her seat instead”. I said no, I’m not switching to the middle row and being blocked into a middle seat by a screaming toddler… and you said you wanted to sit with your family?? The dad got all defensive and switched up (holding up traffic during this entire interaction btw) raising his voice going on about how I said I could switch seats with them and how it’s not fair to his wife who had planned on taking his seat up in business class. Not my proudest moment, but I was starting to sass back at him. I’m pretty sure I asked him something along the lines of if he had any extra of whatever substances he was on because it had to have been some top notch stuff for him to be acting so crazy in public. At this point a flight attendant had finally squeezed her way up to us and asked why we weren’t taking our seats. Before I could say anything this man had the AUDACITY to say that I had offered to take his wife’s seat and now I wasn’t cooperating. I called nonsense, thankfully the passenger sitting behind me backed me up and the flight attendant was not in the mood to play. She asked to see his ticket, told me to grab my luggage and escorted me up to his seat. Needless to say I had a very nice flight after that.

Chel_01 Report

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This happened a few months ago and it turned out to be longer than j thought when I typed it our. I was flying one of these cheap airlines where the seats are all crammed together so I paid extra for a seat with more legroom which also gave me free priority boarding. Usually don't care for that but when you've got is a cabin bag getting on early so I don't have to keep it under the seat is worth waiting in the plane. After being one of the first people onboard the plane is now pretty much fully boarded. Enter EM: Entitled mom and S: Son about 12 I would guess.

I see then talking to a crew member for a while but go back to listening to my music when I feel a tap on my shoulder so I remove my headphones.

S: "Hey I'm flying with my mom and was wondering if you could swap seats with her so we could sit together?"

I look over to where his mom is sitting and it's a standard seat.

Me: "No I'm sorry. "

Kid looks a bit defeated but walks away. I put my headphones in and start to relax when I hear a loud voice.

EM: "Excuse me?!"

Me: "Yes?"

EM: "Me and my son need your seat as he is scared of flying so we need to sit together. "

Me: "I'm sorry to hear that but i paid extra for a seat with extra legroom so i won't be switching to a standard seat. "

EP: "You're sitting next to the only open seat, you have to swap with me."

Me, starting to get annoyed she won't take no for an answer "No I don't, and if you needed to sit together you should've paid extra to choose your seats not bet that you can switch seats later."

EP, clearly starting to get agitated: "I can't afford to pay extra for that, just because you're rich doesn't mean everyone is I'm a parent so I have to save money. Now swap seats. "

Not sure how rich I have to be to afford the 5-15€ if costs to select a seat but alright. I'm really starting to get annoyed she won't leave me alone.

Me: "I'm not going to swap with you now please leave me alone. "

EP, raising her voice even more: "The stewardess said you have to swap so we can sit together now do what she said and move. "

I've had enough so I hit the flight crew button and the same woman they were talking to earlier comes over.

FC: "How can I help you?"

ME: "This lady wants to swap seats with me and she says you told-"

I get interrupted by EM now yelling: "He won't move you told us he had to swap seats with us now make him move!"

FC, giving me a supportive look and mouths I'm sorry. She turns to EM: "I told you this is the only open seat so if you want to sit together you could ask him if he is okay with swapping, not that you could force him to move. If he doesn't want to swap with you you will have to go take your assigned seat."

EM: "I have to sit next to my son you have to get this jerk to move or sit us somewhere else or I'm going to sue you and delay this plane. "

FC: "If you had to sit next to each other you should have paid to select seats, now I've had enough of your tone and you will either stop bothering this man and go back to your seat or I will have the captain deplane you."

EM looks like she's going to explode, she stands there for a moment before turning around and heading back to her seat mumbling something. The captain calls out the cabin crew prepare for takeoff message and I start to let go of the tension that built up.

FC, smiling: "Is this seat taken?"

I can't help but laugh as she sits down.

FC: "I'm so sorry about that, when I told them to ask you I didn't think this is what would happen. "

I told her if was fine and we had a pretty nice chat during takeoff until she went back to do her job. She also gave me a free drink once service started so despite the annoying start it turned into a pretty nice flight.

joonsson Report

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I’ve read the horror stories but never had to deal with a seat switcher until recently. That’s been to my dismay as I thoroughly enjoy seeing entitled people get put in their place.

I was on a four-hour flight within the U.S. in an aisle seat in main cabin extra (3-3 seating). Another 30-something guy (Guy) had the window seat and a kid who looked to be about 10 was in the middle. I was settled in and reading my magazine when I sensed someone standing over me.

Entitled Mom (EM): [In a somewhat arrogant tone] Can you switch seats with me?

Me: [Politely] Hmmm, potentially. Where's your seat? [Just in case it was first class, which I knew there was pretty much no chance of.]

EM: Just a few rows back.

Me: Which seat specifically?

EM: [Hesitates] 27E.

Me: [Mild WTF facial expression] No. That’s a middle seat in the back of the plane.

[One thing to know about me is that I’m an inveterate movie quoter. EM’s tone remained arrogant for the rest of the ordeal.]

EM: But I want to sit next to my son!

Me: That’s not a MP. That’s a YP; your problem. [This has now become fun for me.]

EM: I need to sit next to my son!

Me: Did you ask the people in 27D and 27F if they’d switch seats with your son?

EM: [Incredulous facial expression] No.

Me: Well you’ll almost certainly have more luck offering up a better seat than asking someone in main cabin extra--who paid extra money for their seat--to go to the back of the plane.

EM: My son needs to sit next to me! [The kid has been quietly fiddling with his iPhone the entire time, so he's clearly old enough to sit unaccompanied.]

Me: He looks alright to me.

EM: Are you gonna move or not?!

Me: Not.

EM: Come ON!!

Me: [reon24] is not coming on anything. [Yes, I referred to myself in the third person just this once. See update below.]

[Guy in the window seat starts chuckling under his breath. EM becomes even more incensed.]

EM: You’re a jerk!!

[Flight attendant approaches.]

FA: Is there a problem?

EM: This guy won’t get out of my seat!!

[I shake my head in disgust, pull out my phone and show the FA my boarding pass.]

FA: Ma’am, this is this man’s seat. You’ll have to go to your seat.

EM: But--

FA: Or you can get off the plane.

EM shot daggers at the FA and me and then slunk to the back muttering expletives. Guy in the window seat gave me an approving nod. The kid was polite to the FAs and stayed put the whole flight.

I couldn’t believe the gall of this woman. She probably booked at the last minute and planned this by putting her son in the seat up front.

This was definitely one of my most memorable flights. And I even got to throw in some Boogie Nights and Harold & Kumar references too.

Anonymous Report

POST

So this happened about 2 years ago but I just went on a flight recently and was reminded of it.

My family had an event that we had to go to that was across the country. A lot of my family (my mom, dad, sister, and several aunts/uncles/cousins) had already flown out the week before but I had work and my daughter had preschool, so we stayed behind and were going to fly separately on the weekend. My aunt had a little girl that she couldn’t bring when she went, so she asked that I bring her with me when I and my daughter flew. My aunt’s daughter Grace was almost 2, but she was nonverbal so far, and my daughter Elorie was a little over 3. I was 18 (Elorie was conceived out of a bad incident and yes I was crazy to fly with two toddlers alone).

Since I was flying with two toddlers I wanted to make sure that we had a row to ourselves. I was planning on having Elorie in the window, Grace in the middle, and me in the aisle. So I went for the slightly more expensive option of choosing preselected seats. We got to be in priority boarding so we boarded before a lot of the other passengers; we had checked our suitcases so I just had my backpack with all the things I would need (jackets, food, toys, my electronics) and a diaper bag.

So. I had Grace strapped to my front, my backpack on my back, the diaper bag in one hand and Elorie’s hand in my other. I was saddled up. I got on the plane with no fuss from the girls, but when I got to our designated seats, yep you guessed it: an entitled mom and her son (probably about 6 or 7) were sitting in our row. So our convo went a little like this:

Me: excuse me, these are our seats. We preselected them.

EM: Um, I’m sorry honey, but it’s open seating and I got here first. You can go find another seat.

Me: No, this is my row. I preselected it online and paid extra for it. (I showed her my ticket)

EM: Honey, that’s not how it works on this airline. And unaccompanied minors need to fly next to the flight attendants anyways.

Me, getting exasperated and exhausted still holding a baby and a backpack: I’m an adult, and this is my daughter. Please move, or I will need to get the flight attendant.

EM: Go ahead, she will tell you the same thing.

So of course I go get a flight attendant and explain the situation and show her my ticket. Enter flight attendant (FA).

FA: Ma’am, she did in fact preselect this row so I’m gonna need you to move to another seat.

EM: Excuse me? (She looks genuinely shocked)

FA: Please move to another seat, we have plenty. (Gestures to the back where there are literally still whole rows available)

EM: No, we got here first and my son needs to be over the wing.

(FA looks slightly annoyed at this but keeps her customer service voice) Why don’t I help you find another seat? I’m sure your son will be fine.

EM: No, I’m staying in this seat because I got here first.

At this point, Elorie was getting antsy standing in one place, and FA noticed.

FA: Sweetie, why don’t you take a seat right there while I sort this out. I’ll bring you an apple juice in a little bit.

Elorie sat down in a seat on the other side of the row (the one empty seat in the aisle of the plane that was filling up)

FA to EM: We are going to have to remove you from the aircraft if you don’t move to another seat.

EM finally gets up at this point and drags her child behind her pushing past us, saying angrily at me and the girls: You teenagers are so entitled!

FA apologizes to me and helps me settle the girls and my things into our row.

FA: Wonderful job dealing by the way, you seem like a very responsible big sister!

Me: Actually the older one is my daughter, younger is my cousin.

FA smiles: Then you are a very good mother. I’ll get you an apple juice for the kids, just make sure you stow it before we take off. Let me know if there Is anything else I can do to help you.

Cassie_121 Report

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Little details: I'm a white Male (30), brown hair, brown eyes, short beard. 6ft.

Story: I had just sat down next to the window on a flight to New Mexico (State) that was about a 2 hr flight. I'm generally very laid back and have a go with the flow attitude.

Recently the limit on spaced seating has ended on coach flights allowing everyone to sit next to each other when wearing masks on short flights. I have 2 empty seats next to me. Seats are assigned but generally attendants can allow the switching of seats if warranted.

EM walks down the isle with EK, stops at my isle and turns to look at me. I look over as she seems to be sizing me up.. I kindly offer EK the window seat as what doesn't mean much to me could easily mean the world to him. I honestly am not sure if either of them heard me as her EK instantly out of nowhere starting crying in crocodile tears and created a tantrum about sitting in the window seat. I once again offered my seat and began to stand up. EM paying no attention to EK began giving me the "I'm a mother" tone and berating me for making her precious EK cry. I'm a terrible man that needs to learn to respect women and children.

Attendant makes her way over to see what EMs shouting and EKs crying is about. EM begins again mentioning I disrespected her son and herself and that I should be removed from the plane (I've kept my mouth shut as I'd very much like to make it to my destination). The Attendant asks me if it's true what she claims. In short words I reply a simple, No ma'am. The attendant then asks me if I'd like to switch seats? I agree and as we start to walk away EK jumps to the window as if he wasn't crying a moment ago. EM once again demands I be removed from the flight. The attendant looks back and replies: Ma'am if you raise your tone to me one more time it will be you who is removed from the plane!. That shut EM down quick.

The attendant asked me to follow as she lead me to a seat in Business class. I thanked her and asked how many times she has found herself in this situation? She said: Honey, I've been doing this for 20 years, I run into this every other flight. It's best to just switch a seat and diffuse the situation than let it playout. (She walks off)

I got to enjoy my first time in business class next to a window. For a bit of petty revenge at the end of the flight generally coach is the last to exit but I asked the same attendant if I could wait until coach had passed before exiting the plane. The attendant knew exactly what I wanted and said to take as long as I needed.

EM and EK started by the isle I sat in and I mentioned with a smile that I hope they had a pleasant flight. EM gives me the biggest frown I've seen and exits the plane. Attendant gives me a pack of nuts as I left the plane and I have much more respect for what attendants deal with daily.

I've read about these stories multiple times and I've honestly doubted some of them.. never again.

Edit: Thank you for the awards kind strangers. I'm glad to provide a story and a form of entertainment to be read. I know I've spent many many hours reading stories on this sub to sway my own boredom.

Edit2: The mask she wore was a purple plastic with white cloth outlinings. It seemed a bit thin and didnt cover her face very well at all.

RamboRobertsons20 Report

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You see, I am a wide person. I'm not fat, actually I have a quite muscular build. My shoulders are absolutely massive tho. There is no way that i can give out any of my space on an airplane, not even the space for my arms, my bones just make it impossible.

I remember that one time i had to sit next to an obese Mother with her equally obese son. They took the seats on the sides, leaving only the middle one. Their hands literally had to rest on my seat so that they will be comfortable. I just placed my bag above and sat there. The kid started to scream at me and the EM almost slushed out of her seat (there is no other way to call it). The EM had to be almost forced to change seats by the flight attendant, and the Brat next to me (which was like 12) screamed and whined for her to come back the entire flight.

5 hours later we arrived at the destination, the EM came to me, yanked me by my hand and demanded to refund her and her son's tickets for "ruining their flight and their vacation". Needless to say i just took my bag and walked away, It's not like they would be able to catch up with me anyway.

TheLeslieWithers Report

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This was couple years ago but I can’t get it out my head so I’d thought I’d share here. Okay to start with story. My family lived across the country back then so I would usually buy a flight to get there. Well this was during the holidays so everything was backed up and there was a lot of storms. So when I got to my first layover my flight was cancelled and they couldn’t get in their system to get me a hotel so I slept on the airport floor that night clutching all my bags.

By the time I got onto the plane I had spent 24 hours in the airport. Luckily for this flight I had booked first class. So I get on the plane and get comfy and I’m just so happy that I’ll be home soon after the last couple days I had. When a really nice flight attendant comes over and point at the empty seat next to me and mine. And tells me a mother forgot to book her toddler ticket and she was wondering if they could take my seat. And the empty seat next to me. I told that I’m sorry but I’ve had a really long day and I payed extra for this I would like to stay. The flight attendant was very nice and said no problem. But she let the woman come sit in the empty seat next to me with her toddler on her lap.

She immediately looks at me with a scowl and says “I can’t believe you wouldn’t trade your seat for a kid” and simply tell her “mam I paid extra for this seat you should’ve booked him a ticket this isn’t my fault” then she keeps going off saying things under breath and to her toddler like I can’t hear her. And then she tells her kid to “make the most noise he can, he can do whatever he wants” and she keeps saying things to me and I can’t believe this entitled woman. I finally lash out and said “will you shut up” I’m not proud of myself my for this but with the last couple days I had I didn’t care anymore. but my common sense came back and I apologized for swearing in front of her kid. Even though I heard her call me a jerk and many other words.

Again the women wouldn’t shut up. And finally my savor came that really nice flight attendant came over and bent down to the woman’s level and said “mam you were lucky to be able to switch seats and all I’ve heard from you since you switched is you threatening this woman and telling your child to be noisy. This plane hasn’t left yet and we have no problem kicking you off this flight and if continue to do this well we’re in the air you will be banned” I couldn’t help but smile she finally shut up and I was so glad that I had downloaded a show on Netflix so I could finish my steamy show right in front of her.

Level_Neighborhood96 Report

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Back story: Was on a plane back from vacation, my mom and I were sat in a row of three and had a spare seat. EM wanted me to swap with her so she could get two seats to herself while and I would sit with HER HUSBAND AND KID.

Cast: EM: Curley hair, fat but not obese, that special type of “I’m on a cheap flight but I’m better than all of you” bitchiness.

Mom: my mom

Me: I cringe so much when people go “ooo don’t know who that is” “haha you know who teehee” its me.

FA: the most useless tit I’ve ever met, flight attendant.

So, we were in the air, the seatbelt sign was off and we are free to roam about. The flight had a couple spare seats from what I could see, including the one next to me. My mom and I had booked the middle and window seat but I moved to sit in the aisle so we would have more space. The woman sat in front, EM, continuously whipped her head round to stare at me for a few seconds. I tried to ignore her but it was weird.

After twenty minutes of her turning round to stare at me every few seconds, she eventually tapped me ON THE HEAD. She TAPPED ME ON MY HEAD by reaching over the seat.

EM: Excuse me (her tone was very severe)

Me: Yes? Hi? (I was very tired and tried but tried to be polite)

EM: Swap seats with me.

She maintained eye contact the whole time. I took a few minutes to respond because I was just dumbfounded.

Me: I’m with my mom I’d rather not...

EM: you’ve got a spare seat, I want spread out and relax, swap with me.

Me: No, please leave me alone.

EM: That’s NOT how you speak to an adult!

She got a little loud, enough to turn heads and disturb my mom who asked if I was okay.

EM: Swap with me, I need to sit there and you can sit next to my child. You can play with him.

The child looked around five. I am 18.

Me: please leave-

EM: MOVE RIGHT NOW!

This turned EVERYONES head, made me so embarrassed and was loud enough to summon a flight attendant. (Mid thirties male).

FA: is everything alright here?

He spoke directly to EM, completely ignoring me.

EM: that boy won’t move! He’s got two seats to himself and he-

My mom interjected, loudly, at this point.

Mom: I, actually have two seats to myself. Both of which I paid for. (I was sitting in the aisle seat, which we had not booked).

The EM didn’t respond to my mom, I think she was intimidated.

FA: hmm well I’ll see what I can do.

He then turned to me. Me, who had been listening and present the whole time.

FA: this woman is asking if you’d be able to swap with her so she could have more space, would you mind?

WOULD I MIND?!

Me: Uh... No I don’t want to swap.

EM erupted. She started yelling at me, calling me a brat, calling me selfish. My mom was yelling at her back and I honestly was struggling not to laugh at EM because I noticed how her chins shook as she shouted.

The FA during this argument shrinked away, just backed off and left!

EM, realising she was making a fool of herself: Fine! Selfish brat!

She sat back down and swung her seat back as much as she could, which was fine because it was literally a couple inches and I had plenty of space. My mom asked if I was okay and if I wanted her to make the EM move. I said I was fine. EM started making huffing noises. I ignored her, put in my earphones and the rest of the flight was fine.

When we landed, EM made sure to get up like a rocket and block the walkway so I couldn’t get out the aisle. I however, was feeling petty. I stood up, shuffled over and said “you don’t mind do you?” Then barged into the walkway in a way that looked accidental. She stumbled into someone else who promptly launched her back into her seat. It was hilarious, like watching a ping pong ball. She didn’t move after that and we got of the plane and never saw her again.

AnameThatIsnt Report

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I was recently working a flight that was mostly full, but still had a couple of empty seats on board.

As I was boarding, an Entitled Mother with her lap child came through to board, carrying a large car seat.

"Ma'am," I said, in my professional gate agent voice, "I'll need to check this car seat. I can check it through to your final destination, or have it tagged so that you can pick it up (city). Which one would you prefer?"

She gives me the standard blank passenger stare - the one many people get when they just can't believe they won't get their way.

"No. I'm taking it on with me." She says.

"I'm sorry," I explained, "it's too big to fit on the plane. You can't take it on."

This earns a full face twist and a snarl. "It'll fit. Because she (the baby) is going to sit in it."

"Oh, okay, do you have the baby's boarding pass?" (knowing full well she doesn't)

"She's a lap child, it's right there on my ticket."

Yes it is.

"Then you'll have to check the car seat. She can't sit in it, she has to sit on your lap."

At this point she's speaking low and measured and very angrily.

"Then put. me. in. a. row. by. myself. She. is. sitting. in. this. car. seat."

"I can't do that. You didn't pay for the seat. She has to sit in your lap. I'm going to go ahead and check this to your final destination." Meanwhile, I'm printing the tag, and attaching it to the car seat. I hand her the baggage claim piece, and she starts sputtering.

"You CAN'T do THAT! It will go on with me. I fly this way all the time. The flight attendants will let me put it in an empty seat beside me!"

At this point the car seat is tagged, so that's all I have to do. I simply tell her, "If they did that in the past, it was a one time courtesy. You cannot do that today."

Then she wanted to speak to a supervisor, who was collecting bags by the plane side, so I sent her down there. It was a real joy to see her pointing up at me clearly complaining, then showing her boarding pass to the sup, then him shaking his head and taking the car seat away. I specifically checked that thing to her final destination so she couldn't pull it at the next station. What a loon.

DarkUnreality Report

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In April last year, me and my family had decided to go to Pakistan to visit family. We rarely go since it's an 8 hour flight, it's a super hot country and tickets can be rather expensive. However, this particular time, my dad managed to find some plane tickets for business class which were relatively cheap and booked them.

This was my and my siblings' first time travelling in business class so needless to say we were pretty excited.

We get to the airport check in, go through security and chill in the business lounge until our flight. We were all in a good mood and were excited to see where we would be sitting on the plane. We were the first group to get on and we all sat in our seats, just talking amongst ourselves. After we were boarded, economy class then boarded.

This is where the story gets a bit interesting.

I was sat next to this woman and her child and she explained it was her kids' first time going to Pakistan so she booked business class so they would have a comfortable flight which I thought was sweet. Shortly after, a woman from economy (EP) walks through the curtains into business class and walks up to the lady, asking her why she is here. She told the woman what she told me and it clicked that they were family so I pretended to ignore them. EP then walks up to one of the hostesses and asks if she can pay to be upgraded to business class. The hostess explained it wasn't possible and went back to her seat.

I thought that would be the end of it but it wasn't.

About 5 hours through the flight, my brother needed the toilet. Both of my parents were asleep and I didn't fancy waking then up so I took him myself (even though he is old enough to go himself, he is autistic and so he needs help with the most basic things). It took quite a long while since my brother was pretty much faffing around and was acting up. By the time we came back, we found two little boys sitting in our seats. I asked them to move since I knew they weren't in business class (the business class section of the plane was small enough that you could basically see everyone who was sitting there). They refused too since they claimed their mother allowed them to sit here. Not wanting to kick them out myself, I explained the situation to a flight attendant who escorted them back to her parents. I got my brother sat back down with mum and I returned back to my seat, attempting to go to sleep.

It was then that EP storms in, furious that her kids have been kicked out of business class. She stated that the seats were empty and that me and my brother had stolen their seats. When I explained that I had taken my brother to the bathroom and that they were in fact not empty, she just replied with, "Well surely they can sit here for a bit! It's not harming anyone." The flight attendant tried to calm her down and get her to leave but she wouldn't budge, "Why don't you sit with the rest of us?!" She then shouted, clearly angry at the fact that she was not on the same level as us.

At this point, my dad had woken up. He is a pretty grumpy guy when he is woken up rudely and even more so if someone disrespects his family. He basically told EP to shut her mouth and called her crazy in Urdu, to which EP got offended and started cursing him out back in Urdu. My dad, not wanting to stoop to her level just rolled his eyes and put in his headphones.

After her meltdown, another flight attendant, this time a male, explains that they may have to stop the plane and make an emergency stop to kick her off the flight if she does not calm down. This seems to shut her up.and she goes back to her seat, sulking.

Luckily nothing happened after that and we could enjoy the rest of the flight in peace.

Also, turns out the woman I was sitting next to was EP's sister and was so apologetic to everyone for her sister's behaviour. I couldn't imagine being sisters with someone like that...

nellyjelly155 Report

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Background: My family was flying to Florida for winter break. We were pretty well off, so my dad got us first-class seats. At the time I was 10 and my sister was 15. My sister and I sat next to each other, and my parents were sitting in front of us.

EM = Entitled mom EB = entitled brat

We were flying to Florida, like I said, when suddenly about 2 hrs in, a 40 yr old or so woman (EM)and her maybe 7 yr old son (EB) walk into first class from economy. The woman sees two children in first class (my sister and I) and walks towards us. She starts complaining about some mix up where our seats were hers and our seats were in economy. I knew for a fact that our parents paid for our first class seats and our tickets had our name and seat number in it, so we were pretty skeptical. We told her these were our seats. Then out of nowhere EM starts yelling at us in the middle of the aisle. At this point she’s gained an audience, including a few air hostesses and our parents. An air hostess told the woman that without proof, she couldn’t claim those seats. Then the woman pulls out a ticket, but refuses to show it, leading us to believe that they were economy tickets. Then EM whispers something to EB and i heard her say “like we practiced”. This causes the EB to start throwing a huge temper tantrum. By this point, even I knew what was goin on. This was obviously a cheap ploy to get first-class seats. The pilots were alerted on the situation, and EM was told to go back to her seat accompanied by a mild scolding. The rest of the flight was quiet with no trace of EM or her son

NonTuus Report

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So this happened back in January 2018 so my memory may be a bit fuzzy. So I am a 23 year old man who usually visits my parents and siblings for Christmas and New year's because that's the only time I can see them. So I am in the airport waiting to board my flight as I see a woman getting angry because her kids were tired and wanted to get on the plane I think nothing of it and hope she's not sat near me (note she was at my gate).

As I was approaching my seat (an Isle seat in business class because I knew it would be smarter than asking people to stand up so I can get to the bathroom) when I get to my seat I see 1 mother and two kids one in my seat I tell the mother that's my seat she is visibly pissed at that statement and snaps back no it's not cunt. Me not wanting to have a fight on a plane grabs the attention of a flight attendant and I show her my boarding pass so the flight attendant asks her to move from my seat politely. And as if being asked to move set of the Karen in a raised voice not shouting says this is my seat I paid for it so sorry.

The flight attendant still being polite asks to see the boarding passes to check the seats. The entitled mother pulls two out for the seats next to mine. The flight attendant slightly less kind says ma'am these are only two boarding passes where is the third one. The mother thinking she's smart says I must have dropped the third one so I can't give it to you.

So this causes me to but into the conversation and say that I have the boarding pass for that seat because it's my seat. The look on her face you would have thought I slapped her kid and offended her because she then shouts give me my boarding pass you jerk. I'm confused why she's so delusional at this point because it's obviously my ticket since I bought it.

The next part was back and forth arguing which I can barely remember but from what I do remember it was the flight attendant saying that I clearly paid for this seat as it had my name on the boarding pass and her arguing for a few more minutes before stopping grinning and she said well if you want me to move so bad how about you pay to upgrade me and my children to first class.

I responded by saying, miss I only have a business class seat because I do a trip like this once a year so I tend to be comfortable during my flight and I don't have the funds for 3 first class tickets. The flight attendant then says to the Karen either you or one of your children will have to move or else we will have to remove you from the flight.

Then without holding back she screeches IF I LEAVE HES GOING TO TOUCH MY BABIES. Me and the flight attendant are physically taken aback after hearing this. After that I stopped trying to be nice and responded GET THE HELL OUT OF MY SEAT AND NEVER MAKE THOSE CLAIMS AGAIN YOU SELF CENTERED JERK. The flight attendant tries to calm me down and calls for security. In the end the Karen and her children were escorted off the flight and I got a row to myself.

I forgot about it until the other day so I decided to post it here after getting into listening to these stories on youtube anyways thanks for reading my story.

kuzuriyuuuu Report

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Old story, but back in 2019 I went to Brazil to visit some relatives. On the way back, this stranger who was seated on the middle plane seats across from me with his child asked me if I could give up my window seat for his kid. I said, “sorry, but no. I paid an extra 200 dollars for this seat.”
I was expecting him to be understanding and mind his own business but instead he just glared at me. In my head I said, “okay never mind!” And went back listening to my music while looking out the window. Not even five minutes later a flight attendant taps me on the shoulder asking me if I could give up my seat for his kid. I pulled out my ticket and the receipt I got when I paid extra for the window seat and told her “no, I paid extra for window seat.” She said, “Okay, sorry to bother you sir.” I saw her walk back to him and say, “no” for me. He glared at me one last time and that was that. I think he really thought he could get the flight attendant to take his side and force me out of my seat.

Barbosa706 Report

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This happened in 2006. I was in the US Air Force and deployed individually to Iraq (not with a unit). At the end of my rotation I also took the rotator back by myself. It was a commercial 747 the military paid to take a bunch of us to the US. Back then, we'd typically wear our uniforms, even on commercial flights. The guy in the seat next to me was similarly redeploying and also in his uniform. This was usually never a problem because Americans were typically very kind to Servicemen in their uniforms in public. (I cant say how it is now because that was a long time ago.)

We had a layover in Rammstein, Germany and civilians began boarding. These were mostly wives, children, and other dependents of those deployed to Europe. It had to be obvious those of us already on the plane were coming back from deployment. We were in desert patterned camo, glassy-eyed from mental and physical fatigue, and generally stunk of burn pit.

Well, this woman with a baby comes right up to my seat and announces that we are in her seats. The other guy needs to move too because she wants to put her kid there. We were both kind of bleary and just stared at her in surprise. I didnt care where I sat, but the stewardess hurries over and says the flight is full and they cant reseat us.

This woman shoves her ticket in the stewardesses face and says it clearly shows my seat number on her ticket. She wants to kick me and my seatmate off the flight. Clearly, she was more entitled to it than us. She flips out right in the middle of the plane and goes off on the stewardess.

I stayed seated more out of shock than stubbornness. I'd been awake for longer than I cared to think about by that point, and I was not reacting quickly to anything. I guess my seatmate was in the same boat, because neither of us said a single word to her or moved a muscle at all. We just watched her make a laughingstock of herself in front of all these gawking passengers. She ended up getting herself kicked off the flight.

In all, it happened rather quickly, but it still stunned me. The trip from Iraq to my home station was already going to be several days long, and she thought nothing of forcing me and that other guy off just for her convenience.

I dont know why she popped in my head today, but I can't imagine being married to that.

bonniepants Report

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A few weeks ago, I was flying back to Denver from Atlanta. I use a cheap airline, and on the flight to Atlanta I was stuck in the middle seat and got a little claustrophobic. No problem, I got exactly what I paid for. To avoid this, I paid extra to choose my seat on the way back, and chose the window.

I get on the plane, walk to my seat, and notice a lady and her child in my aisle. The lady is in the middle and the child (maybe 3 or 4?) is in my seat. I didn't board late - I was one of the early groups, so she just preemptively took the window. You have to pay extra for that.

I walked up and very politely tell her it's my seat. I never, not once, raised my voice or lost my temper.

Me: "That's my seat."

EM: (Very incredulous - can't BELIEVE I have the nerve to make her move.) "Are you SERIOUS?"

Me: "Yes, completely."

EM: "You don't have to be such A JERK!"

Me: (Thinking this escalated quickly) "Ma'am, I haven't been a jerk at all. Not yet."

EM: "I'm NOT sitting next to you if you're a jerk."

Me: (Umm, ok?) "Then, if there are empty seats, I suggest you move if you don't want to sit next to me. That's my seat."

She then stands up and yells for the flight attendant because she "Isn't sitting next to a stupid jerk."

The poor flight attendant comes over and gives me an embarrassed look, and tells her she needs to sit down in the correct seat and wait to see if there are no shows.

EM then proceeds to tell everyone around what a jerk I am, etc, earning my more embarrassed looks from other passengers.

At the end of the day, I got my seat, wasn't claustrophobic, and she looked like a weirdo, but what is the deal with parents like that? I have three boys and I would never, ever expect people to give up seats for us. Certainly not ones they paid extra for.

MathematicianFalse20 Report

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I was on a plane about to fly through Europe, budget airline, and due to it being a budget airline, I boarded quite early to avoid having my carryon taken away as it has happened before. Took my seat, window seat (assigned by the airline), got comfortable, put in my earphones. After a few minutes, someone tapped on my shoulder, a typical "I-will-call-the-manager"-looking woman was standing there with a 5-ish girl (our entitled mother and child).

EM: "That's our seat!"

me: "Uh, sorry but I am fairly sure it is not, this is 24A, which is mine.", and I showed her my printed ticket.

EM: "No I paid extra for the window seat so get out of it!"

me: "Maybe you are looking in the wrong row ma'am?"

EM: "No my seat is 24C but I thought 24C would be the window seat, that's why I paid extra for it! So give it to me! My child deserves the window seat! And I paid for it!"

me: "I'm sorry but this isn't the seat you paid for" (if she wasn't speaking to me in that tone of voice I would have probably switched with them, but well, she was)

I guess she saw my determination to not move, so after some muffled cursing, they took their seat, I hoped I wouldn't have more interactions with them for the rest of the flight, but I wasn't that lucky...

Like 10 minutes after takeoff I took out a bag of candies and opened it, then left it on my lap while I was playing on my phone, the next thing I noticed was a small grubby hand reaching in bag, belonging to EC.

me: "Sorry but that's not yours!"

EC: "But I want candy!"

me: "Sweetie, you can't take candy from others without asking"

EM: "But that's the least she deserves after you RUINING her flight by taking OUR seat, and anyways why are you eating next to a child if you aren't giving them any?!"

me: "Sorry but she didn't ask me"

EC: "But I want it!"

EM: "See, she wants it so she shall get some"

me: "Uuuuh....no" (mean? maybe, at least the kid learns a lesson which is better than a candy)

Luckily after that they shut up...

throughalfanoir Report

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This story happened a few years ago, when I was about thirteen.

So a bit of background, my relatives live in a city that's about an hour and twenty minute flight from where I live. My parents and I used to go there every three months or so. However sometimes my parents had work and I had to fly alone. On the airline we took, if you flew alone and was under the age of fourteen you had to be a UM (unaccompanied minor) which would mean a flight attendant would help you get to your gate and you would board first. But the best part of being a UM is how you will usually get upgraded to first class (if it's available) so you can be close to the flight attendant.

It is important to know that on flights that are shorter than three hours, the seats are in 2 by 2 formation. So I get in the seat my parents paid for in economy, a window seat. Next to me was the EM with a toddler on her lap, on the other aisle seat in our row sat her husband with another toddler. After everyone boarded the plane the FA(flight attendant) comes up to me and says:

FA: You're the UM right?

Me: Yeah.

FA: You've been upgraded to first class.

Me: Cool.

The FA didn't see EM's husband and thought she was a single mother.

FA: Mam, there are two seats available would you like the other one?

It was common for FA's to ask the people next to someone with a priority if they wanted to get a first class seat too, if one was available.

EM: Sure! Can my husband come too?

FA turns around and sees husband.

FA: Oh sorry Mam, there's not enough room for the both of you.

EM: But WHY? You said there was two seats available.

FA: Yes but one of them has to be taken by the UM.

EM turns around and looks at me.

EM: He's big enough, he doesn't need those seats!

FA: And you need them?

EM: YES I DO! Do you not know hard it is to raise not one but two children??

FA: Mam, I do know how hard it is, I have kids of my own.

EM: So then you'll know why I need those seats more than him!

FA: Mam, we will departing very soon and I need to bring this boy to the front of the plane. Now I need you to cooperate and let me bring this kid to his seat.

EM: LISTEN HERE YOU JERK! MY LIFE IS HARD ENOUGH AS IT IS NOW AND I DON'T NEED YOUR INSULTS ON TOP OF THAT! WE DESERVE THOSE SEATS! GIVE THEM TO US NOW!!!

FA: Alright look kid, just come with me and we'll deal with her later.

As I'm getting up the EM pushes me back down on my seat.

EM: HEY!!! You do not just ignore me like that! You are going to give me those seats, RIGHT NOW YOU JERK!!

At this point everyone on the plane is looking at her. Even though I wasn't saying anything(I was kinda scared), my mind was set on being anywhere but in a seat next to this woman, so that's when I practically jumped out of my seat to the FA. As I get in the aisle, the EM starts pulling on my shirt to bring me back, that's when I grabbed her arm and threw off of me.

EM: HOW DARE YOU TOUCH ME YOU LITTLE JERK! NOW YOU HAVE TO GIVE YOUR SEATS!!

Instead of listening to her I just went up to my seat in first class. I could still hear her screaming.

Eventually they deplaned her and her husband, which delayed the flight by ten minutes.

On the way out the EM gave me the stink eye and said:

You're so selfish!!

I just grinned at her.

After I told the story to my family we laughed a lot about it.

winyyboi Report

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BACKSTORY

So me and my family were going to Mexico and my dad being diabetic means that my mom wanted to make sure everything couldn't go wrong. That's why we went all inclusive and all the whistles and bells. We also paid about €50 extra per seat so we could sit together and we paid extra to get my dad the extra leg room offered in business class( he's the tallest in the family, I'd guess about 6'1).

THE MAIN STORY

When we got to the terminal we already noticed another family arguing about making sure they are the first on the plane, after the people with disabilities ofcourse. They, however, didn't make it in time to get seated together. I asked my mom why we weren't getting in line and she then told me that because we paid extra for the seats, we didnt have to worry. Everything good right? No. The story went something like this:

CAST

EP: Entitled Parent

Mom: I don't know for sure tbh

Ep: Hi, I was wondering if your son could maybe switch seats with me, so I can sit nearer to my family?

Now I only overheard the conversation, I didnt really talk to her.

Mom: No, sorry.

Ep: Please, you're a mother too. You should understand the fact that I need to sit with my family.

My mom just ignored that and continued to just put our bags above us and just sit and relax (she hates the take off and landing of the plane, it messes with her ears. This is why she was a bit grumpy)

Mom: Okay miss, if you wanna play it like that fine. Yes I'm a mother too. Yes I want to sit with my family. You know how I fixed it? I paid extra for these seats just so we could sit together! If you really are as good as a mother you say you are, you would've done the same...

Ep just looked at my mom and then proceeded to just go to her seat and pout during the flight. She did tell a flight attendant about my mom and she asked my mom what was going on and after my mom told her the FA was already like not this again.

Everything after that went fine and we had a great time in Mexico. I guess they weren't going to the same place as us because we never saw them again.

ImRoderick1303 Report

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