Plane Passenger Doesn’t Want Another Guy To Occupy The Seat They’ve Paid To Keep Empty, Drama Ensues
I wonder why all sorts of drama involving various entitled people often unfolds on transport, and specifically on airplanes? Perhaps being in a confined space with many other people somehow affects a person’s subconscious, revealing their darkest edges; who knows? But the fact is that plane drama is a pretty common thing.
For example, here’s a story from the user u/Dramatic_Safe_4257 in the AITAH Reddit community, who specifically bought the third seat in the row they were sitting in with their friend – and still encountered an entitled passenger who wanted to sit there. However, let’s talk about everything in order…
More info: Reddit
The author of the post recently had a 3-hour flight with their friend
Image credits: Longxiang Qian (not the actual photo)
The author’s friend has severe social anxiety and was flying for the very first time, so they bought out the third seat in their row
Image credits: u/Dramatic_Safe_4257
However, right after the takeoff, some random guy approached and attempted to sit there
Image credits: Natã Romualdo (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/Dramatic_Safe_4257
The author refused him politely and explained the reasons for their refusal
Image credits: Pew Nguyen (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/Dramatic_Safe_4257
Anyway, the guy got offended and continued mocking the author with his friends throughout the whole flight
So, the Original Poster (OP) had a 3-hour flight with their friend, who not only was flying for the first time in her life, but also has severe social anxiety (in the comments, the author explained that their friend has an official diagnosis for SCD, which is actually recognized as a disability). To make the flight a little more comfortable, the friends took measures.
In fact, there were two options – to buy tickets in business class or just buy out the third seat in a row in economy class. However, after calculating the price, the cost of three tickets in economy class was still much less. So the friends did just that.
The OP sat in the middle seat, their friend dozed off near the window, and the aisle seat remained empty. However, not for long. As soon as the plane took off, a random guy came up to them and attempted to take this ’empty’ seat. The author politely refused and explained the reasons for the refusal. The passenger was clearly indignant and, turning to his friends sitting nearby, loudly mocked the OP.
Moreover, throughout almost the entire flight, the dude stood in the aisle, talking loudly with his friends and occasionally throwing dirty looks at the author. And even when they got out of the aircraft, the passenger’s face, when he met eyes with the original poster, was so offended, as if the author had caused him severe mental shock with their refusal.
Image credits: Daniel McCullough (not the actual photo)
Well, it’s one thing when you go down the aisle, for example, to wash your hands, and it’s a completely different thing to stand there throughout the entire flight, thereby disturbing both flight attendants and other passengers. “In training college, we have to practice shouting ‘sit down’. We get taught that you have to shout at people for standing up when the seatbelt sign is on for safety reasons,” Conde Nast Traveler quotes an ex-cabin crew member who has worked on the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircrafts.
But even if we ignore the fact that this passenger literally stood the entire flight, his encroachments on someone else’s paid seat still seem unreasonable and entitled. And people in the comments to the original post emphasized this more than once, noting that the author simply needed to get a flight attendant involved.
“You paid for it, no amount of his complaining is going to change that,” one of the people wrote in the comments. “How did the attendants never tell him to sit his a*s down and just let him stay in the aisle,” another commenter wonders. Be that as it may, the main thing is that the friends successfully completed this flight, isn’t it?
As we have already said, the plane often becomes the scene of a variety of strange stories. For example, as described in this post of ours, about a woman who got her plane seat back, yet got scolded for unknowingly taking it from a passenger with a broken leg. Or about this couple’s plan to outwit another passenger before takeoff, which ended with him getting a whole free row in return. And if you have also ever seen or witnessed something similar while flying, please feel free to share your tales in the comments below this post.
Most people in the comments sided with the author and wondered why the flight attendants didn’t intervene there
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I was thinking it *might* be a teachable moment... then saw the drawback of explaining anxiety to the loudmouth. He sounds like the type to make fun of others' issues and make them worse. Sometimes it's worth it to educate others, but sometimes it just gives arms someone with more insults.
I fly twice per week, same route, same flight. So, I pretty much have a specific seat I always book. The airline I fly with is large, but the flight crews on specific routes are tight-knit & know each other pretty well. And since I’ve been flying this route for over a decade, they all know me. Occasionally their concierge dept will reach out to me if I haven’t booked. If not, I book late & my seat is gone and there are none other available in the section, I’ll book two extra comforts side-by-site. When I board, I always tell the the FA for that section that I’ve purchased two seats together since my regular seat/section was booked. 9 times outta 10 they already know my method & what’s up, but if it’s new FA I don’t know, they’ll thank me for letting them know. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. someone will try to sit there, wanting to move up from basic economy. I leave the paper ticket on the seat & tell them it’s taken. The FAs have always gotten my back. OP should have spoken up when boarding.
I was thinking it *might* be a teachable moment... then saw the drawback of explaining anxiety to the loudmouth. He sounds like the type to make fun of others' issues and make them worse. Sometimes it's worth it to educate others, but sometimes it just gives arms someone with more insults.
I fly twice per week, same route, same flight. So, I pretty much have a specific seat I always book. The airline I fly with is large, but the flight crews on specific routes are tight-knit & know each other pretty well. And since I’ve been flying this route for over a decade, they all know me. Occasionally their concierge dept will reach out to me if I haven’t booked. If not, I book late & my seat is gone and there are none other available in the section, I’ll book two extra comforts side-by-site. When I board, I always tell the the FA for that section that I’ve purchased two seats together since my regular seat/section was booked. 9 times outta 10 they already know my method & what’s up, but if it’s new FA I don’t know, they’ll thank me for letting them know. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. someone will try to sit there, wanting to move up from basic economy. I leave the paper ticket on the seat & tell them it’s taken. The FAs have always gotten my back. OP should have spoken up when boarding.
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