man with neck pillow resting on plane
Mayukh Saha
Mayukh Saha
December 2, 2023 ·  4 min read

Man Forces Mom And Two Children To Move Out Of Plane Seat – So He Can Take A Nap

Airplane courtesies are different from normal interactions. So the way they can be judged should also be different. And yet, how did Reddit judge the story of a man who refused to give his plane seat a couple of years ago? Let’s see. The post is about 2 years old by now, but still brings to light the debate of proper air travel etiquette.

Here’s the post from the popular subreddit AITA (Am I The A**hole?)

“I was flying on a redeye flight from NYC to London. I had intentionally booked a window seat so that I could sleep on the flight, as I can only sleep on a plane with a window seat. When I arrive at my seat, there is a woman and her two young children sitting in the three seats in the row. When I inform her that one of her kids is sitting in my seat, she says that she had booked the other two seats in the row, as well as the aisle seat in the row on the opposite side of the plane, and asked me if I would mind switching with her so that she could sit in the same row with her two children.”

OP Had To Take His Plane Seat- For That Is The Only Way He Would Have Had Some Shut Eye

The r/AITA post further read:

“I told her that I booked the window seat specifically so that I could sleep on the plane, and that I wanted to keep my seat. She started to cause a bit of a scene yelling about how I wouldn’t switch with her, even calling the flight attendant over to protest who informed her that they had to honor the ticket and asked her child to move. She then glared at me pretty heavily as she told her child that she had to sit on the other side of the plane for the flight.”

Needless to state, r/AITA had a verdict within hours. u/HellaHighAtHogwarts stated,

“She wasn’t the A****** for asking but her reaction makes her that. It’s fine to ask to switch but you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit. She should have planned ahead for seating.”

To this, u/Dayofsloths responded,

“She didn’t ask, she took it first and then tried to pawn off a worse seat when challenged on it. I wouldn’t call that asking.”

u/calvinhobbesliker also replied,

“The mother is also TA for booking the seats like that expecting to be able to switch.”

u/Laure2018 introspected,

“I had to pay more for a window seat. I would think if you were traveling with kids you would pay the extra 35 a seat so you could sit with your kids. My husband and I booked a flight and didn’t pay for our seat assignments and were assigned far apart. Someone switched but if I was with a kid I would pay to make sure we sat together.” 

Read: Woman Won’t Give Her Boyfriend The Code To Her Gem-Filled Safe, Asks If She’s In The Wrong Here After He Gets Mad

Image Credits: Stock

What Did r/AITA Have To Say About That?

u/Vindwyn mentioned,

“If she wanted to ensure that she and her kids had three seats next to one another, then she could have paid for seat selections instead of gambling on another passenger being willing to trade.”

To this, u/EmpressJainaSolo responded,

“Most airlines either have policies ensuring parents sit next to young children or will switch seats at the gate before takeoff due to the hassle and legal concerns of young children sitting alone. This woman should have spoken to the gate attendant before getting on the plane.” 

u/Kmia55, speaking about this issue with the plane seat, stated,

“I had an accident on a trip and ended up flying home on an emergent basis with bruising from my neck all the way down to my waist. And, I don’t mean just bruising, fracture of the vertebra which burst into the spinal canal. I asked the staff at the desk if I could have the extra aisle seat that hadn’t been booked so I wouldn’t have to crawl over anyone and showed them my hospital discharge papers. Her reply was that the seat was saved in case they had to accommodate a family as they came first. Since that flight, I pay extra for a seat and I no longer move to accommodate anyone.”

u/Kittinlily had to vent their frustrations regarding the arrangement of the plane seats.

“I am sick of parents thinking that just because they have kids they are entitled to take what belongs to others to cater to their children. If she wanted to sit together with her kids, she should have spent the money to guarantee the seats not just assume she could steal another passenger’s seat.”

u/Daxter2212 was clear about their thoughts,

“Gotta love entitled parents! She could’ve shelled out for 3 seats together, and even though sometimes you end up getting assigned different seats, she should have asked a flight attendant for assistance.”

Let us know what you think!

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