Woman Refuses To Switch Seats With A Man So He Can Sit With Family, Flight Attendant Intervenes
Flying can be annoying enough without other passengers doing their utmost to make your life more difficult. A woman turned to the internet for advice when a family attempted to guilt trip her for demanding they get out of her seat. Instead of the father moving to the seat he paid for, he was insistent on sitting in her place.
The barrage of passive aggression and dirty looks she got from the family later was enough to make her second guess herself, so she went online to see what other people thought about the entire situation. Readers shared their own stories with entitled fliers.
Air travel can bring out the worst in people
Image credits: Gerrie van der Walt / unsplash (not the actual photo)
A woman went to the seat she paid for only to find it occupied by a man who didn’t want to move
Image credits: Jason Toevs / pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Nicole Geri / unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Anon
Air travel is a blessing and a curse
Image credits: John McArthur / unsplash (not the actual photo)
Many of us have a love-hate relationship with air travel. On the one hand, it’s an incredible marvel that allows us to literally reach most of the globe. On the other hand, it can be tiring, expensive, and frustrating. For example, let’s think about OP’s situation. Not her finding her (paid for) seat occupied, no, from the start of her trip.
After all, air travel means getting to the airport in the first place, which is often easier said than done. Airports are generally outside of town, requiring an expensive taxi ride or a longer trip on public transport. And that’s just before you check in luggage, if any, get through security and any other lines that might be in place.
This can always be quite annoying, as some folks treat airports as a sort of free-for-all, complete with week-old socks, screaming babies, and line after line, plus that incessant, bizarrely incomprehensible voice telling random, late passengers to please get to their gate. If you are too early, congratulations, you can pay an ungodly amount of money for a burger, if you are late, congratulations, you get to run in a public place.
Flying brings its own list of discomforts
Keep in mind, at this point, you have not even stepped foot in the airplane yet. But at long last, it’s time to board. Which means waiting until the folks in first class get on. Interestingly, both this wait and literally walking past the first class section has been shown to increase a passenger’s frustrations, which can at times manifest in what is now sometimes called “air rage.”
This is all to say that OP would have every reason to be in a conflictual state of mind, particularly after paying extra to avoid a certain seat, only to find her more costly seat already occupied. It’s worth noting that the fact that OP paid extra to avoid the middle seat indicates that she might have a worse relationship with flying than the majority of us. So if she really is this uncomfortable on a flight, depriving her of a small, expensive luxury is pretty entitled.
Let’s face it, flying can be uncomfortable. There is a constant noise, dry air, it’s either too hot or too cold and there is simply never enough legroom. Other passengers (particularly the younger ones) make all sorts of noise, your ears might pop or clog up at some point, and, remember, this is all only after the hustle and bustle of the airport.
OP did the right thing by remaining calm and collected
Image credits: Sofia Sforza / unsplash (not the actual photo)
There already have been cases of this sort of anger spilling over into fights, arguments, and just general disruption that make the experience worse for everyone. So OP should not feel at all guilty for summoning a flight attendant to get this man to move. She herself states that it was a short flight, the child could live without their parent in sight for that long, unless, somehow, they had yet to develop object permanence.
Fortunately, most readers agreed and told OP as much in the comments section, some examples of which can be found below. If anything, given the fact that air travel perhaps gives her more stress than most, she can be applauded for keeping her cool and not contributing to another tale of air rage.
Most folks sided with OP
Others shared similar stories
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He also could have been nicer about it, rather than acting like an entitled A*****e!
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NTA. You paid for the seat; the father didn't. Maybe next time he'll remember to plan ahead, and not presume to harass another passenger into giving up a seat to which he wasn't entitled. The nerve!
Nah, he's a bully and thinks rules don't apply to him. Good thing he didn't push it any further and end up off the flight
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NTA. And his "airline messed up his seat arrangement" reason is a crock of BS. If it's a short flight, the family can survive the father not sitting to his daughter.
Even if it wasn't BS, it was then on the AIRLINE to fix it, not her.
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About time these people who demand a seat THEY didn't book were banned from any flights. I'm sick and tired of the selfish c***s...yes I used that word
People in England and Australia are clutching their pearls at you.
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OP could have told the FA - "I can't sit in a middle or window seat due to my claustrophobia, but I would consider swapping with another aisle seat, or accept an upgrade." No, NTA. If you pay more for a specific seat, you should never be pressured to give it up outside an actual genuine emergency. If daughter wanted to sit with Daddy, Mum and Dad could easily swap seats.
I used to fly 250 days a year for nearly 10 years. I am a bigger guy and the aisle makes it more comfortable for everyone. Having said that I have switched seats when children needed to sit by their parents. Yes, even taking a middle seat. I would do it for one parent but not both. As an example, a 5 or 6 year old in my row and parent in row ahead or behind.
I mean he claimed the airline messed up his seating arrangements. Id 110% believe that having gone through it many times. But thats not her problem they woulda found that out on tickets at the terminal and shoulda had airline fix it......to try and ignore the problem and make it someone elses problem is a no
You pay extra to choose the seat you want even if it's in the middle.````
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It doesn't matter who is on the plane, even if the president was sitting in ur seat they would have to move if u payed for it
This happened to me on a flight from San Francisco to Atlanta quite a long flight and I have been babysitting my grandkids for a month. He wanted me to change my seat so he can sit next to his girlfriend and I told him no so he was so rude and mean during the whole flight, but I did not care I would not, but his girlfriend was two hours up and I laughed. I said you probably couldn’t afford to get a seat next to your girlfriend and I was not moving. He was rude even when we got off the airplane I was like I hope this doesn’t escalate so I feel for anyone, but it’s not gonna happen for me ever .
NTA and I am sick to death, not of you OP, but of the entitled AH's who constantly make flying miserable for others. Now they are teaching their entitled spawn to be horrid, miserable flyers. Take NOTE: When you pay for the seat you want or get, sit in the damn seat and shut up, be calm and try your absolute best to not make the entire flight all about you, and a misery for everyone aboard!! It's a flight, not the rest of your life! If this is something that you are not capable of, stay home, take a car, bus, boat or train. People all over the world live full lives never having flown. It's not a requirement for living. Get over yourself and simply stop being such an entitled AH.
NTA and I as well as so many others are sick to death, not of you OP, but of the entitled AH's who have full blown adult hissy fits when it comes to air flights. For everyone reading this who may ever fly again, in any situation, please take NOTE: PAY for the seat you want or get and sit in the damn seat listed on your ticket. When you are in your seat, try your absolute, very hardest to act like a civilized human being, not an escaped zoo animal, and shut up, be calm and allow everyone to get to their destination safely and without any unnecessary stress!! If incapable of doing the above, please stay home, take a car, a bus or a boat. Believe it or not, millions of people live full lives around the world without ever flying. And teaching your spawn to be hateful, entitled trolls simply makes for future generations of horrible flight experiences for many. Just stop already!
How many of these stories do we have to endure? NTA. Which is what most people say. If you bought the ticket, paid extra for it, and it has the seat you picked out on your boarding pass, 'nuf said. Daughter couldn't go 2 hours without daddy? BS. If OP feels guilty about that, it's in HER mind. I would have ignored the kid, ordered a martini, and watched a movie.
This has been litigated to death. If the person wants to switch and they are offering the same level seat (like an aisle seat for an aisle seat) or better, it’s kind to switch but you don’t have to. The reason people try to take your better seat is that it works about 50% of the time.
Plus they don't even offer to reimburse the extra money it costs to choose a seat.
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I can't wait to see this exact same story told over and over again every minute on every platform for the rest of my natural life.
She should have played dumb and bad mouthed the guy to his wife and daughter the whole flight.
The first time my sons and I ever flew, we sat in seperate seats in seperate aisles, because that's what I could afford. They were fine. I was fine. The end.
She must be dumb as a post.... as a corporate travel agent...seats can cost upwards of $179 if you paid for it you are NTA....he is.
Honestly the daughter was probably just sad and embarrassed about her dad's behavior. You had the ticket it was your seat.he cant bully or lie his way into it. Don't feel guilty, but I am sorry your flight was still ruined by all of this.
NTA - assigned seats have a dual purpose in that you get what you pay for and your name & description is (in an emergency/disaster) associated to that seat for identification. Dad was out of line
NTA! Every flight I've booked in recent memory (before I gave up flying due to the sheer idiocy and annoyance of both airlines and the flying public), I was shown a layout of the plane, showing all available seats. I then chose the seat where I felt I would be the most comfortable, and paid for it. My choice sometimes affected the price I paid. Are some people being given this option while others are booking blindly, not selecting their seats when they book? Or are they choosing seats they don't want, assuming they can simply intimidate whoever is sitting in the seat they do want into giving up their seat? To anybody who is choosing the latter, you can go rot. You had the same opportunity the rest of us had to select your seat. If you got stuck with something you don't like, suck it up. I've been separated from my partner on flights before. We both survived, without ever annoying other passengers about it. When and if I fly again, I feel sorry for anyone who tries to intimidate me.
You are NOT an A-Hole at all, he is. All he had to do was ask and offer a drink of your choice maybe but instead he thought he was cute but was actually ugly AF. The only mistake here was his.
Maybe you should have asked the girl which parent she preferred to sit with and send the 2nd fiddle to the middle seat.
Nta, why do people keep coming on sites to ask if AITA when they paid for something and someone else can't deal with it? You paid for something and want to keep it.. how on earth could you think you were the AH? Don't let other peoples inability to plan ahead ruin something you paid for.... You should have said yes for the cost of the ticket.
What's that scraping sound? Oh, it's the bottom of the barrel. Amazing that we seem to be running out of internet.
Right. How many times have we seen this whole scenario on BP? And that's not including all the other sites.
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I would have had a good laugh and then kicked him the f*** out of my seat. Their dirty looks would be entertaining.
So many pointless AITA's on Reddit. Someone shat on my face and kicked me in the balls and told me to suck it, AITA? Women eats my sandwich then throws the crust at a puppy, then punches a baby, AITA? Guys no, youre not the a*****e. For real, can the world stop being overly sensitive and wondering if their mere existence is the a*****e of someone else's story?
Tbh I think it's good for people to self reflect. A lot of those stories come about when they have their loved ones telling them they are wrong. Hence the doubt.
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That's completely disregarding WHY people fly. Work? I guess you don't have a job? Funeral? There's a million reasons why people fly, its not just "I feel like it."
Load More Replies... Imagine being so in need of attention - you click on, read, and comment on an article you have absolutely no interest in simply to feel superior.
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He also could have been nicer about it, rather than acting like an entitled A*****e!
Load More Replies... NTA. You paid for the seat; the father didn't. Maybe next time he'll remember to plan ahead, and not presume to harass another passenger into giving up a seat to which he wasn't entitled. The nerve!
Nah, he's a bully and thinks rules don't apply to him. Good thing he didn't push it any further and end up off the flight
Load More Replies... NTA. And his "airline messed up his seat arrangement" reason is a crock of BS. If it's a short flight, the family can survive the father not sitting to his daughter.
Even if it wasn't BS, it was then on the AIRLINE to fix it, not her.
Load More Replies... About time these people who demand a seat THEY didn't book were banned from any flights. I'm sick and tired of the selfish c***s...yes I used that word
People in England and Australia are clutching their pearls at you.
Load More Replies... OP could have told the FA - "I can't sit in a middle or window seat due to my claustrophobia, but I would consider swapping with another aisle seat, or accept an upgrade." No, NTA. If you pay more for a specific seat, you should never be pressured to give it up outside an actual genuine emergency. If daughter wanted to sit with Daddy, Mum and Dad could easily swap seats.
I used to fly 250 days a year for nearly 10 years. I am a bigger guy and the aisle makes it more comfortable for everyone. Having said that I have switched seats when children needed to sit by their parents. Yes, even taking a middle seat. I would do it for one parent but not both. As an example, a 5 or 6 year old in my row and parent in row ahead or behind.
I mean he claimed the airline messed up his seating arrangements. Id 110% believe that having gone through it many times. But thats not her problem they woulda found that out on tickets at the terminal and shoulda had airline fix it......to try and ignore the problem and make it someone elses problem is a no
You pay extra to choose the seat you want even if it's in the middle.````
Load More Replies... It doesn't matter who is on the plane, even if the president was sitting in ur seat they would have to move if u payed for it
This happened to me on a flight from San Francisco to Atlanta quite a long flight and I have been babysitting my grandkids for a month. He wanted me to change my seat so he can sit next to his girlfriend and I told him no so he was so rude and mean during the whole flight, but I did not care I would not, but his girlfriend was two hours up and I laughed. I said you probably couldn’t afford to get a seat next to your girlfriend and I was not moving. He was rude even when we got off the airplane I was like I hope this doesn’t escalate so I feel for anyone, but it’s not gonna happen for me ever .
NTA and I am sick to death, not of you OP, but of the entitled AH's who constantly make flying miserable for others. Now they are teaching their entitled spawn to be horrid, miserable flyers. Take NOTE: When you pay for the seat you want or get, sit in the damn seat and shut up, be calm and try your absolute best to not make the entire flight all about you, and a misery for everyone aboard!! It's a flight, not the rest of your life! If this is something that you are not capable of, stay home, take a car, bus, boat or train. People all over the world live full lives never having flown. It's not a requirement for living. Get over yourself and simply stop being such an entitled AH.
NTA and I as well as so many others are sick to death, not of you OP, but of the entitled AH's who have full blown adult hissy fits when it comes to air flights. For everyone reading this who may ever fly again, in any situation, please take NOTE: PAY for the seat you want or get and sit in the damn seat listed on your ticket. When you are in your seat, try your absolute, very hardest to act like a civilized human being, not an escaped zoo animal, and shut up, be calm and allow everyone to get to their destination safely and without any unnecessary stress!! If incapable of doing the above, please stay home, take a car, a bus or a boat. Believe it or not, millions of people live full lives around the world without ever flying. And teaching your spawn to be hateful, entitled trolls simply makes for future generations of horrible flight experiences for many. Just stop already!
How many of these stories do we have to endure? NTA. Which is what most people say. If you bought the ticket, paid extra for it, and it has the seat you picked out on your boarding pass, 'nuf said. Daughter couldn't go 2 hours without daddy? BS. If OP feels guilty about that, it's in HER mind. I would have ignored the kid, ordered a martini, and watched a movie.
This has been litigated to death. If the person wants to switch and they are offering the same level seat (like an aisle seat for an aisle seat) or better, it’s kind to switch but you don’t have to. The reason people try to take your better seat is that it works about 50% of the time.
Plus they don't even offer to reimburse the extra money it costs to choose a seat.
Load More Replies... I can't wait to see this exact same story told over and over again every minute on every platform for the rest of my natural life.
She should have played dumb and bad mouthed the guy to his wife and daughter the whole flight.
The first time my sons and I ever flew, we sat in seperate seats in seperate aisles, because that's what I could afford. They were fine. I was fine. The end.
She must be dumb as a post.... as a corporate travel agent...seats can cost upwards of $179 if you paid for it you are NTA....he is.
Honestly the daughter was probably just sad and embarrassed about her dad's behavior. You had the ticket it was your seat.he cant bully or lie his way into it. Don't feel guilty, but I am sorry your flight was still ruined by all of this.
NTA - assigned seats have a dual purpose in that you get what you pay for and your name & description is (in an emergency/disaster) associated to that seat for identification. Dad was out of line
NTA! Every flight I've booked in recent memory (before I gave up flying due to the sheer idiocy and annoyance of both airlines and the flying public), I was shown a layout of the plane, showing all available seats. I then chose the seat where I felt I would be the most comfortable, and paid for it. My choice sometimes affected the price I paid. Are some people being given this option while others are booking blindly, not selecting their seats when they book? Or are they choosing seats they don't want, assuming they can simply intimidate whoever is sitting in the seat they do want into giving up their seat? To anybody who is choosing the latter, you can go rot. You had the same opportunity the rest of us had to select your seat. If you got stuck with something you don't like, suck it up. I've been separated from my partner on flights before. We both survived, without ever annoying other passengers about it. When and if I fly again, I feel sorry for anyone who tries to intimidate me.
You are NOT an A-Hole at all, he is. All he had to do was ask and offer a drink of your choice maybe but instead he thought he was cute but was actually ugly AF. The only mistake here was his.
Maybe you should have asked the girl which parent she preferred to sit with and send the 2nd fiddle to the middle seat.
Nta, why do people keep coming on sites to ask if AITA when they paid for something and someone else can't deal with it? You paid for something and want to keep it.. how on earth could you think you were the AH? Don't let other peoples inability to plan ahead ruin something you paid for.... You should have said yes for the cost of the ticket.
What's that scraping sound? Oh, it's the bottom of the barrel. Amazing that we seem to be running out of internet.
Right. How many times have we seen this whole scenario on BP? And that's not including all the other sites.
Load More Replies... I would have had a good laugh and then kicked him the f*** out of my seat. Their dirty looks would be entertaining.
So many pointless AITA's on Reddit. Someone shat on my face and kicked me in the balls and told me to suck it, AITA? Women eats my sandwich then throws the crust at a puppy, then punches a baby, AITA? Guys no, youre not the a*****e. For real, can the world stop being overly sensitive and wondering if their mere existence is the a*****e of someone else's story?
Tbh I think it's good for people to self reflect. A lot of those stories come about when they have their loved ones telling them they are wrong. Hence the doubt.
Load More Replies... That's completely disregarding WHY people fly. Work? I guess you don't have a job? Funeral? There's a million reasons why people fly, its not just "I feel like it."
Load More Replies... Imagine being so in need of attention - you click on, read, and comment on an article you have absolutely no interest in simply to feel superior.
Load More Replies... 
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