A woman has been judged after refusing to swap her plane seat with a child – but she remains defiant about her decision. Aircraft seating etiquette often triggers heated discussions, with travellers holding firm views on what constitutes acceptable and courteous conduct on a plane.
When families step aboard an aircraft, some passengers can feel anxious about children’s potential behaviour, as youngsters are less capable of controlling their emotions and behaviour. When parents make sure their offspring are respectful and mindful of fellow travellers, other passengers are more inclined to show understanding should any difficulties occur. One woman encountered a mother’s anger – as well as judgement from her own colleagues – after refusing to give up the seat she had paid a premium for.
After her colleague, who was on the same flight, told their workmates of the situation, she’s been left feeling like the “office villain”. On Reddit, she revealed: “I booked months ahead and paid 58 extra for an aisle in the quiet section near the front. I am small but my back hates being jammed in the middle, so I save for good seats.”
The woman was determined to catch some rest on the journey as, despite the seven-hour flight, she was required to attend a work meeting with a client mere hours after touchdown. Once she was settled and making herself comfortable, “a couple and two kids” who had boarded “late” came up to her and asked whether she would “swap” seats to enable the family to remain together.
The father informed her: “We have a six-year-old and a toddler, you can take 32B.” However, 32B was a middle seat towards the rear of the aircraft, next to the toilets. The woman declined and explained she had specifically “chose and paid for this seat”.
The parents persisted, with the mother telling her: “It’s just one seat, be human”, but the woman refused to relent. A cabin crew member then clarified that passengers aren’t obliged to swap seats and requested the family take their allocated places.
They complied, with the father sitting across the aisle with one child and the mother positioned behind the woman with their other one. But that wasn’t the end.
While attempting to sleep, the woman was “poked” by the child, who had begun “running cars on [her] armrest” as the mother filmed her. She asked the mother to stop filming her without consent, but was refused. The father then remarked: “Wow, some people are so rude to children”.
Feeling “hot and shaky”, the woman summoned a cabin crew member for assistance. They “backed [her] up and asked” the mother to stop recording, which she eventually did.
Throughout the first hour of the journey, the child kicked the rear of the woman’s seat – “gentle but constant” – and when she requested that it stop, the mother retorted that he was “only a child” and once again asked for a seat exchange. After refusing again, the mother “muttered that single women don’t understand family life.”
The woman added: “On Monday at work, a co-worker who was on the same flight tells people I refused to help a family. Suddenly I’m the ice queen of accounting. One guy says if you don’t want to help kids, don’t fly.
“Another says I should be more flexible since I don’t have responsibilities at home. I said my responsibility is the body I live in and the job I had to do 5 hours after landing.”
The woman explained she would have considered switching for an equivalent seat but stated: “I am not giving up sleep and back health for a middle [seat] next to the toilet because someone else did not plan.”
Other Reddit users sided with the woman, agreeing that both the family and her colleagues were being unreasonable.