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Family Try To Guilt-Trip Woman Into Giving Up Her Expensive Seat, Chaos Ensues At Cruising Altitude
Let’s be real: unless you’re traveling in business class or above, modern air travel can be a bit of a nightmare. Invasive security checks, delayed flights, shrinking seats, kids running in the aisles, terrible food – it all adds up to a less-than-ideal experience.
One woman turned to an online community to share how, after she refused to give up her expensive seat to a family on a long-haul flight, she faced major backlash from the parents. Then things got worse after her colleagues branded her “heartless”.
More info: Reddit
RELATED:
Modern air travel leaves a lot to be desired, especially when you’re traveling in cattle class
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
One woman, who’d paid extra for a quiet seat, was approached by a couple who asked her to give up her seat so their family could sit together
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
When the woman refused, the couple started hurling accusations at her, but that was only the beginning of her problems
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Twenty minutes later, one of the couple’s kids was using her armrest like a racing track for his toy car, with his mom filming everything, including the non-consenting woman
Image credits: Bao Menglong / Unsplash (not the actual photos)
The woman got a flight attendant involved, but before too long the kid behind her was kicking her seat constantly, something his mom tried to excuse because he’s “just a child”
Image credits: ranerour
After barely surviving the journey, a coworker who’d been on the same flight started gossip about her being “heartless”, so she asked an online community for their opinion
What was meant to be a peaceful red-eye flight from Lisbon to Philadelphia turned into a showdown at 30,000 feet over one traveler’s right to the seat she’d paid extra for. The original poster (OP) had splurged $58 for a quiet aisle seat near the front, only to be guilt-tripped by a family demanding she give it up so they could sit together.
The father wanted OP to switch her premium seat for a middle spot near the bathrooms. When she politely declined, explaining she’d paid for comfort and sleep before a work event, the family acted as if she’d personally ruined their vacation. The flight attendant backed her up, but the drama was only starting.
Mid-flight, the mom began filming her “adorable” child playing racing cars on OP’s armrest. When OP asked her to stop recording, the woman huffed like OP’d threatened her kid. Then came the endless kicking from the seat behind her, followed by a passive-aggressive remark about “single women not understanding family life.”
After surviving the journey, OP faced round two: office gossip. A coworker from the same flight told others she’d refused to help a family, earning her the nickname “the ice queen of accounting.” But OP stood firm; she paid for that seat, needed rest, and wasn’t about to sacrifice her comfort because someone else hadn’t planned ahead. Annoyed, she turned to netizens to find out what they thought of the whole seat-swapping mess.
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Good thing OP didn’t cave to the cabin pressure those parents tried laying on her. She would’ve spent the entire flight in a terrible position, all because some entitled folks thought “But we’re a family!” was the ultimate trump card. But how do you actually say “No” to someone trying to snake your seat? And are airlines doing anything about chaotic kids mid-flight? We went digging for answers.
The experts over at Travel + Leisure talked to conflict resolution specialist, Emily Skinner, about how to handle seat swap requests. Skinner says step one in dealing with conflict is understanding how you personally respond to it.
“Awareness of what type of conflict style you have kind of sets you up for success,” Skinner explained. Her other tips? Accept that managing the situation isn’t your job (that’s literally what flight attendants are there for), and try to keep your cool, even if someone’s pointing a phone in your face.
As for child-free airlines? Sorry to disappoint, but they don’t exist yet. However, back in 2023, one European airline, Corendon Dutch, cordoned off the first 12 rows of its A350 aircraft to create an adults-only zone. In her piece for The Independent, Kaleigh Werner reveals that people were divided on the policy but, according to AirlineRatings, a few other airlines have since followed their lead.
What do you think? Should OP have given up her seat, or was her reality check exactly what the family needed? Share your thoughts in the comments!
In the comments, readers expressed their frustration at families who are too cheap to pre-book their seats and slammed the woman’s colleague for being an office gossip
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What do you think ?
UnclePanda 1 month ago
Yuppie dad jammed his big face at mine and said, "Switch seats or I'll park a toddler next to you for the next 8 hours." I looked him in the eye, "I'll teach him to swear." Yuppie head swiftly withdrawn.
Tabitha 1 month ago
It’s the dad specifically said the kids need their mother. W*F, man? They need their father too, so you take one and she takes one and the whole f*****g bunch of you sit TF down, STFU, AND KEEP YOUR BRATS STILL AND QUIET TOO, so the rest of us can grab some sleep on this red eye flight, ffs! Otherwise, the rest of us, who vastly outnumber you, will be breaking out the duct tape for the four of you. Comprende?
Chich the witch 1 month ago
Tell him "sorry man but your active part in having children didn't end when you shot your wad"
Load More Replies...
Apatheist Account2 1 month ago
This is never a question. You may as well ask someone to give you their car because it's bigger than yours and you have a larger family. Being cheap doesn't entitle you to scam off others.
KatSaidWhat 1 month ago
HR should maybe get involved for mediation because someone has created a hostile environment.
Upstaged75 1 month ago (edited)
I watched a dad have a fit on a Southwest flight when his family were the last people on the plane and couldn't find seats together. (Southwest is open seating - 1st come 1st served based on when you check in - you check in online the day before) Not a single person offered to give up their seat. 😂 Only middle seats were left, so the 2 kids had to sit between strangers. Their parents were in rows behind them. I ended up next to one of the kids and he was completely fine with it. I helped him buckle his seat belt and talked to him about the book he was reading - then he read quietly for the whole flight. Nice little guy. Hopefully Dad learned his lesson!
Vinnie 1 month ago
"If you don't want to help kids, don't fly"??? So give the OP an extra 2 weeks vacation to go by boat. Or maybe show her how it's done by walking and swimming.
Lee Gilliland 1 month ago
Excuse me but when did your option become my responsibility?
Load More Replies...
Kate Johnson 1 month ago
Why would your fellow employees care? Are they also terrible parents that fail to adequately plan their travel and are so delusionally entitled they think that means everyone else should "flex" so they don't have to? Maybe they should learn to plan and be better parents?
Pwhge Kfkfgnme 1 month ago (edited)
Yep, I'd guess some of them are also entitled breeders who expect the entire planet to be their village because they failed birth control
Load More Replies...
TruthoftheHeart 1 month ago
Tell them you'll move for $100 since the seats demand has increased. I'm a mother of two and even I know you don't expect someone to give up their extra expensive seat for you
Tabitha 1 month ago (edited)
Really the most you can do is ask the flight attendant to see if anyone will volunteer to swap seats with them so they can sit closer together. If someone does, great. If no one does, they just have to suck it up. What they CANNOT do is try to muscle/shame/disturb/attack ONE particular victim they’ve chosen into swapping by force. Notice in these scenarios the a******s trying to get the better seats they did NOT pay extra for always zero in on ONE person, usually someone who looks like they can be browbeaten into submission, and never move on to someone else in another seat that would also serve their purposes.
Load More Replies...
Eroe Infinito 1 month ago
It's pretty obvious who's in the right here. And it's definitely NOT the unprepared family.
FreeTheUnicorn 1 month ago
It's weird that anyone would side with people trying to scam a seat. I work in a large team (50ish people), but everyone knows eachother. And planet etiquette is discussed when people talk abojt travel. Ive never heard anyone speak negatively about someone keeping their seat ive heard plenty about the airlines extorting families to sit together. But if OPs whole department is turning against her this is the excuse but not the reason. They already didn't like her or found her cold/unempathetic. If she was well liked and respected, the team would have sided with her.
Mark Childers 1 month ago
Airlines need to stop all of the seat bullying and harassment and force passengers to sit in the seat they purchased. If there's a real emergency, the passenger can let the flight attendant know and let them handle it. Some random passenger who paid for their seat shouldn't have to deal with harassment.
EM 1 month ago
NTA and F*CK the coworkers and family who think so little of you and are so entitled and rude themselves. If that fam wanted to sit together, they should've BOOKED SEATS TOGETHER. They didn't, so they get to suck it up and deal. You are worth the same as anyone else, not somehow "less" because they reproduced. Woo hoo. If they're that entitled and shortsighted, they probably aren't good parents either. And any coworker who thinks you should've sacrificed your sleep AND your higher-priced seat just because of those morons can suck a lemon. As women, we're already pressured to people-please, to bend over backwards and never make waves. F*ck that. You valued yourself and protected your peace.
Pixie T 1 month ago
On my last holiday with my gf we had a couple and their kid ask us to move so they could sit together. I declined. Got the argument about "have some decency, be kind". I explained that my gf and I specifically booked and paid for seats together as I have medical issues and in the chance something were to happen ( low but not impossible) she knows how to treat me. They accused me of lying, called flight attendant who also was pushing us to move.
Tony Zecco 1 month ago
So she just needs to stop feeling guilty if dealing with these kinds of a******s.
Beth Wheeler 1 month ago
If you pay for a certain seat it's YOURS. You should only have to say no once and tell them they should have booked their 4 seats together. They were close together and could have traded kids during the flight if needed. At 11 at night both of them should have been asleep and not bothering people and the parents can drop their crappy entitled attitudes.
Dirk Daring 1 month ago
"I've been polite up to now. I am not changing seats. If you bother me again in the slightest way, I am going to tell your kid the truth about December 25th."
Nadine G 1 day ago
I have flown with kids for about 30 years now (youngest is 15 soon) and yes, kids are their parents' responsibility. Yes, a baby may cry but there are ways to sooth them (easy ways actually) and mine attempted crying at a 45 min flight once. We've also been on a 3-weeks business trip in China (13h flight) with a 5yo kid - you just cannot leave your kids at home for this long period of time. And everything went well. Believe me, kids can behave if they want to. They draw, watch movies, sleep - kids are tiny and they don't get stuck in the airplane seats, they have plenty of room to move. And true, travelling with kids demand proactivity from their parents - that is also purely parents' responsibility.
UnclePanda 1 month ago
Yuppie dad jammed his big face at mine and said, "Switch seats or I'll park a toddler next to you for the next 8 hours." I looked him in the eye, "I'll teach him to swear." Yuppie head swiftly withdrawn.
Tabitha 1 month ago
It’s the dad specifically said the kids need their mother. W*F, man? They need their father too, so you take one and she takes one and the whole f*****g bunch of you sit TF down, STFU, AND KEEP YOUR BRATS STILL AND QUIET TOO, so the rest of us can grab some sleep on this red eye flight, ffs! Otherwise, the rest of us, who vastly outnumber you, will be breaking out the duct tape for the four of you. Comprende?
Chich the witch 1 month ago
Tell him "sorry man but your active part in having children didn't end when you shot your wad"
Load More Replies... Apatheist Account2 1 month ago
This is never a question. You may as well ask someone to give you their car because it's bigger than yours and you have a larger family. Being cheap doesn't entitle you to scam off others.
KatSaidWhat 1 month ago
HR should maybe get involved for mediation because someone has created a hostile environment.
Upstaged75 1 month ago (edited)
I watched a dad have a fit on a Southwest flight when his family were the last people on the plane and couldn't find seats together. (Southwest is open seating - 1st come 1st served based on when you check in - you check in online the day before) Not a single person offered to give up their seat. 😂 Only middle seats were left, so the 2 kids had to sit between strangers. Their parents were in rows behind them. I ended up next to one of the kids and he was completely fine with it. I helped him buckle his seat belt and talked to him about the book he was reading - then he read quietly for the whole flight. Nice little guy. Hopefully Dad learned his lesson!
Vinnie 1 month ago
"If you don't want to help kids, don't fly"??? So give the OP an extra 2 weeks vacation to go by boat. Or maybe show her how it's done by walking and swimming.
Lee Gilliland 1 month ago
Excuse me but when did your option become my responsibility?
Load More Replies... Kate Johnson 1 month ago
Why would your fellow employees care? Are they also terrible parents that fail to adequately plan their travel and are so delusionally entitled they think that means everyone else should "flex" so they don't have to? Maybe they should learn to plan and be better parents?
Pwhge Kfkfgnme 1 month ago (edited)
Yep, I'd guess some of them are also entitled breeders who expect the entire planet to be their village because they failed birth control
Load More Replies... TruthoftheHeart 1 month ago
Tell them you'll move for $100 since the seats demand has increased. I'm a mother of two and even I know you don't expect someone to give up their extra expensive seat for you
Tabitha 1 month ago (edited)
Really the most you can do is ask the flight attendant to see if anyone will volunteer to swap seats with them so they can sit closer together. If someone does, great. If no one does, they just have to suck it up. What they CANNOT do is try to muscle/shame/disturb/attack ONE particular victim they’ve chosen into swapping by force. Notice in these scenarios the a******s trying to get the better seats they did NOT pay extra for always zero in on ONE person, usually someone who looks like they can be browbeaten into submission, and never move on to someone else in another seat that would also serve their purposes.
Load More Replies... Eroe Infinito 1 month ago
It's pretty obvious who's in the right here. And it's definitely NOT the unprepared family.
FreeTheUnicorn 1 month ago
It's weird that anyone would side with people trying to scam a seat. I work in a large team (50ish people), but everyone knows eachother. And planet etiquette is discussed when people talk abojt travel. Ive never heard anyone speak negatively about someone keeping their seat ive heard plenty about the airlines extorting families to sit together. But if OPs whole department is turning against her this is the excuse but not the reason. They already didn't like her or found her cold/unempathetic. If she was well liked and respected, the team would have sided with her.
Mark Childers 1 month ago
Airlines need to stop all of the seat bullying and harassment and force passengers to sit in the seat they purchased. If there's a real emergency, the passenger can let the flight attendant know and let them handle it. Some random passenger who paid for their seat shouldn't have to deal with harassment.
EM 1 month ago
NTA and F*CK the coworkers and family who think so little of you and are so entitled and rude themselves. If that fam wanted to sit together, they should've BOOKED SEATS TOGETHER. They didn't, so they get to suck it up and deal. You are worth the same as anyone else, not somehow "less" because they reproduced. Woo hoo. If they're that entitled and shortsighted, they probably aren't good parents either. And any coworker who thinks you should've sacrificed your sleep AND your higher-priced seat just because of those morons can suck a lemon. As women, we're already pressured to people-please, to bend over backwards and never make waves. F*ck that. You valued yourself and protected your peace.
Pixie T 1 month ago
On my last holiday with my gf we had a couple and their kid ask us to move so they could sit together. I declined. Got the argument about "have some decency, be kind". I explained that my gf and I specifically booked and paid for seats together as I have medical issues and in the chance something were to happen ( low but not impossible) she knows how to treat me. They accused me of lying, called flight attendant who also was pushing us to move.
Tony Zecco 1 month ago
So she just needs to stop feeling guilty if dealing with these kinds of a******s.
Beth Wheeler 1 month ago
If you pay for a certain seat it's YOURS. You should only have to say no once and tell them they should have booked their 4 seats together. They were close together and could have traded kids during the flight if needed. At 11 at night both of them should have been asleep and not bothering people and the parents can drop their crappy entitled attitudes.
Dirk Daring 1 month ago
"I've been polite up to now. I am not changing seats. If you bother me again in the slightest way, I am going to tell your kid the truth about December 25th."
Nadine G 1 day ago
I have flown with kids for about 30 years now (youngest is 15 soon) and yes, kids are their parents' responsibility. Yes, a baby may cry but there are ways to sooth them (easy ways actually) and mine attempted crying at a 45 min flight once. We've also been on a 3-weeks business trip in China (13h flight) with a 5yo kid - you just cannot leave your kids at home for this long period of time. And everything went well. Believe me, kids can behave if they want to. They draw, watch movies, sleep - kids are tiny and they don't get stuck in the airplane seats, they have plenty of room to move. And true, travelling with kids demand proactivity from their parents - that is also purely parents' responsibility.
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