A woman has shared her frustration after a fellow passenger demanded she swap seats with him so he could sit next to his wife on an 11-hour flight – and she’s not happy
A woman has hit out at a fellow plane passenger for his “sheer entitlement” during an 11-hour flight, hoping her experience will serve as a cautionary tale to others.
She shared on Reddit that she had embarked on a trip from New York to Cairo and had the foresight to book a window seat well in advance, expecting a lengthy and tough flight.
The travelled explained: “I chose the seat with sleep in mind many months in advance; while I do frequently travel I’m not going to pretend I often jet away to Egypt so this vacation was very planned out.”
Nevertheless, shortly after getting comfortable, another traveller approached her, asking to switch seats so he could be beside his wife.
She said: “The two of them seemed to be with a group of similar aged travellers; it appeared to me based on chatter that it may have been some kind of group tour (knowing the industry and that the organisers may have been negligent in seat assignments, I was absolutely willing to consider a swap if the seat was comparable).”
However, the man did not propose to swap with the more logical choice—the passenger in the middle seat who likely would have welcomed the exchange. Instead, the situation escalated into an argument when she refused.
The woman detailed the conversation, where he tried to convince her by downplaying the window seat’s value, claiming the view was poor due to its wing position and that darkness would obscure any sightseeing.
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She responded by reiterating her intention to get rest and declined his request again. The woman continued: “I’m trying to be pleasant, I’m a pleaser, and I’m stuck next to this guy.
“He continues to bug me like the mosquito he may have been in a former life, and asked me, ‘If you had a husband, wouldn’t you want to sit with him?'”
Exasperated, she attempted to deflect his attention by mentioning her husband and how they would have pre-booked seats together if they were travelling as a pair.
She added: “At this point I’m totally irritated. I stated that I do ‘have a husband’, and if my husband and I were traveling together, I’d not only ensure our seats were assigned together, but if they weren’t, I’d give up my aisle and go sit with my spouse in the middle.
“She then posed the question of where his wife’s seat was, to which he pointed, and the wife waved from the middle seats.
“Her response was clear: “No, sorry, I’m going to keep my seat. “The man ceased direct conversation but persisted in grumbling throughout the flight, opting to ignore her instead.
Commenters rallied around her, with one stating: “Why can’t people just book a freaking window seat? Why do they always want someone else’s?”
Another user added: “He grumbled throughout the flight… this is why I always bring earplugs.”
A third user chimed in, saying: “It’s so good that he asked you about what you’d do if you had a husband. It gave you the perfect opportunity to call him out in his a***hole behaviour.
“It also shows what a terrible husband he is because he took the isle and booked his wife the middle. I’m sure his wife was thrilled not to have to deal with him.”.