I’m 32M, and I took a 5-hour flight last week for business. I had booked my seat, a front-of-economy aisle seat, two months earlier because I have a bum knee from an old knock and require extra legroom and the ability to stand up easily.
When I boarded the flight, a lady mid-30s was already seated in my place with two kids (6 and 8 years old) in the window and middle seats of the same row. She smiled and said, “Would you mind letting me take your seat at the back so I can sit next to my kids?
I asked her where the seat was politely, and she told me it was a middle seat, 10 rows back. I let her know I had booked the aisle specifically for medical reasons and could not be swapped. She looked taken aback and said, They’re just kids, they might get scared without me. I replied, I understand, but I really can’t sit in a middle seat for five hours.
A flight attendant stepped in, and I showed her my boarding pass. She politely told the woman to return to her seat. The woman grumbled, made some passive-aggressive comments, Some people just have no heart, and sat down in the rear.
I was able to hear her kids talking to each other and laughing down the flight. They seemed quite all right. Upon completion of the flight, the lady glared at me as we walked out.
I told my coworker afterwards and he said I could have simply sat down in the seat to help a mother and that it would not have harmed me for one flight. Now I am wondering, was I too rigid? I was not rude, but neither did I budge.
AITA for not volunteering to trade seats and splitting up a mom from her kids?
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I’m 32M, and I took a 5-hour flight last week for business. I had booked my seat, a front-of-economy aisle seat, two months earlier because I have a bum knee from an old knock and require extra legroom and the ability to stand up easily.
When I boarded the flight, a lady mid-30s was already seated in my place with two kids (6 and 8 years old) in the window and middle seats of the same row. She smiled and said, “Would you mind letting me take your seat at the back so I can sit next to my kids?
I asked her where the seat was politely, and she told me it was a middle seat, 10 rows back. I let her know I had booked the aisle specifically for medical reasons and could not be swapped. She looked taken aback and said, They’re just kids, they might get scared without me. I replied, I understand, but I really can’t sit in a middle seat for five hours.
A flight attendant stepped in, and I showed her my boarding pass. She politely told the woman to return to her seat. The woman grumbled, made some passive-aggressive comments, Some people just have no heart, and sat down in the rear.
I was able to hear her kids talking to each other and laughing down the flight. They seemed quite all right. Upon completion of the flight, the lady glared at me as we walked out.
I told my coworker afterwards and he said I could have simply sat down in the seat to help a mother and that it would not have harmed me for one flight. Now I am wondering, was I too rigid? I was not rude, but neither did I budge.
AITA for not volunteering to trade seats and splitting up a mom from her kids?
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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I refused to switch seats with a mother who wanted to sit with her two kids on a flight. She ended up sitting apart from them, and although I had a medical reason for needing the aisle seat, my action directly affected her ability to be near her children. I might be the asshole because I prioritized my comfort over helping a parent be with her young kids, which could be seen as inconsiderate or unkind.
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Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.
NTA. You had excellent reasons for booking the seat you did and I’m sure you paid the premium for it. If she wanted to be seated with her kiddos she could have ponied up the cash up front like you did.
“I’m a parent” doesn’t magically get you a seat upgrade.
It’s always for a worse seat. I’m sure if she offered to give someone with a shittier seat than her that seat they would’ve moved.
Gawd I hate these stories. People feel entitled to what you bought and paid for. I’m sure with the extra leg room you paid extra for the seat, too. And throw in that you explained to her that you have a medical condition necessitating your seat and she still felt entitled.
NTA
NTA
I would like to ask the MODS not to accept AITA-posts anymore about people who got asked to switch seats on a plane.
Having said that, you booked your seat for good reasons, so you are NTA for not giving up your seat.
no ur not, U DON’T OWE THEM ANYTHING. It’s your seat, you paid for it, choose it, why should you feel like ur being AH? It’s abt medical problems too
This situation is voted NTA every single time.
NTA. Why wasn’t it an option for her kids to move back with her?
If it was really important for her to sit with kids, she should have spoken to the gate agent.
NTA. You paid for that seat and had a valid reason for needing it. Her poor planning isn’t your problem. Kids were fine, she’ll live.
NTA. People need to stop taking seats off of others who had the good sense to book early for seats they need.
YTA for just posting this here. This is getting so old. Please check past posts for your answer. I do not think I want to give my opinion on this matter anymore (yes IMTA)
NTA
Unless the seat you switch to is better, the same type or an upgrade… never switch
You didn’t separate them.
Nope it’s the seat you payed for. Her poor planning was not your problem.
NTA this is airlines fault, recently booking a flight with my bff and her kids, we literally couldn’t book the seats in any other way but where she sat next to her kids (we were trying to book me next to the kids and swap if needed as these were better seats), it simply wasn’t possible.
Airline messed up in the first instance and then her by assuming that she can preassure someone into swapping. You paid for your seat.
You don’t change seats on the plane, just in case the plane crashes and falls apart, your body’s mess could be swapped with that person’s, especially if there is a medical reason, ignore your friend, NTA
No no no your NTA. If you want to swap with someone, you should be offering something at least the same if not better. If it was so important for her to be with the kids, she should have booked and paid for seats together. Don’t rely on gulitying and inconveniencing other passengers who have been organized!
NTA
Even if you didn’t have a medical reason, and even if you hadn’t specifically booked that seat, it was your seat.
Sure, she can ask, but you said no, and she should have accepted it.
If she wanted seats together, she should have booked seats together.
NTA
If sitting with her children mattered to her, then she would have booked 3 seats together. Some people only want the rest of the world to cater to them while simultaneously not caring about others.
NTA. At all.
Oh yeah, sure… take the middle seat. She had the same time you did to make proper arrangements to sit with her kids.
(fellow bum leg sufferer here).
NTA
her kids were probably stoked to be away from her for the flight 🙂
NTA. It would have harmed you for one flight. It’s not as simple as some people expect.
NTA. Lack of preparation on her part does not constitute an emergency on yours.
What really irks me about these situations is that the person demanding the seat not only feels so entitled but they don’t even think to compensate the person losing their seat.
Zzzzz why do ppl keep asking this question
NTA what kind of parent doesn’t book so that they can keep their kids safe on a flight?
Nar feck that if she wanted a seat, she should have paid for it cheap ass kid popper. Keep doing what your doing YNTA
You don’t have to bow down to society norms it’s not a bus or a tube
These fucking people again. FYI: IF YOU WANT A SEAT NEXT TO YOUR KIDS THEN FUCKING PAY THE MONEY TO CHOOSE YOUR SEAT. So sick of this bull shit. I also pay extra to choose my sit and sit by my family, because I’m not an entitled asshole. I also prefer aisle seat. NTA
Being a mom doesn’t entitle you to other people’s things, she should have planned better. If she wanted to ask fine but accept the answer you get.
You didn’t separate them, she did. It’s the easiest thing in the world to book seats, especially when children are involved, and all be sitting together or at least very close together. NTA. Why would you be responsible for fixing her fuck up?
NTA You had a physical reason for the seat you picked and if the kids where alright then no harm no foul
NEVER GIVE UP THE SEAT YOU PAID FOR!!!
She was playing the game of not booking correctly or timely.
If the plane goes down, they use the seating chart to identify bodies. Why do idiots keep pulling this game.
NTA
I’ve read this before
Not rude at all. If she wanted seats with her kids she should have booked it that way
These stories are getting tiresome; if they happen as often as people say they do (and I fly often, only had it happen once on an international flight back in 2022), then we need to bring back shaming and mocking people who feel entitled to other people’s prepaid seats. Because this shit is ridiculous and annoying.
Ma’am ma’am, your poor planning doesn’t constitute an emergency for me.
NTA OP