A frustrated passenger who was travelling from Brazil to the US said an ‘entitled’ dad ‘glared’ at him twice after he refused to swap seats so that his child could sit by the window
A plane passenger has called out an “entitled” dad, who gave him a “glare” after he refused to give up his window seat.
The traveller said he had paid an extra $200 (£147) for his seat on a plane from Brazil to the US – and when his fellow passenger asked him if he would be happy to move so that his child could seat by the window, he said no. But according to the traveller, who was returning home after visiting some relatives, the dad didn’t stop there and “just glared” at him.
Shortly after, he said a flight attendant came over, with the same request – which, once again, he refused, saying he had paid extra and didn’t want to move seats. She then walked to the dad and told her his child could not seat by the window, after which the man “glared” at the passenger once again, which left him frustrated.
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Sharing details of his experience, the traveller said: “An entitled father asked me to give up my window seat for his child. Old story, but back in 2019 I went to Brazil to visit some relatives. On the way back, this stranger who was seated on the middle plane seats across from me with his child asked me if I could give up my window seat for his kid. I said, ‘sorry, but no. I paid an extra 200 dollars for this seat.’
“I was expecting him to be understanding and mind his own business but instead he just glared at me. In my head I said, ‘okay f**k you too!’ And went back listening to my music while looking out the window.”
But he added: “Not even five minutes later a flight attendant taps me on the shoulder asking me if I could give up my seat for his kid. I pulled out my ticket and the receipt I got when I paid extra for the window seat and told her ‘no, I paid extra for window seat.’
“She said, ‘Okay, sorry to bother you sir.’ I saw her walk back to him and say ‘no’ for me. He glared at me one last time and that was that. I think he really thought he could get the flight attendant to take his side and force me out of my seat.”
Many Reddit users took to the comment section to share their reactions – and several people agreed with the passenger, saying they wouldn’t have given up their seat either. One said: “I used to fly for work every few weeks. It was pretty common for this to happen.
“I did the exact same thing. If I paid extra for a seat, I said no. If I was just changing seats so family could sit next to each other, and they were polite, I usually switched. Didn’t matter to me. Just the politeness. I was going to read most of the time anyway. If they were rude I just said no and stuck my head in a book.”
One wrote, “If a situation like this happens again, let them know that there is a $500.00 surcharge in order for you to move.” Another added, “Never forget that if OP could book that seat in advance then the entitled parent could do the same, they just chose not to.
“Instead they booked a cheap seat and counted on guilt tripping someone in a better seat into swapping. F–k that.” Someone else shared a personal experience, saying, “Similar thing happened to me. I was almost late to a flight, literally ran to the gate as they were about to close it. Once on the plane I was looking for my window seat I paid extra for so I could sit behind a friend.
“Some teenage girl is in my seat next to her mom. They’re staring me down as I approach. The mom says ‘would it be alright if my daughter switches seats with you’ and I say ‘where’s her seat?’ she points to it, it’s a middle seat way in back of the plane. Yeah, I’m not doing that. I just told her ‘I paid extra for that seat to sit near a friend.’
“A bunch of passengers are looking at us now. They had a look on their face like they’ve never been told no before. I keep staring at them to please let me sit at my seat and they’re basically refusing to move until another passenger felt so awkward she voluntarily gave her seat for the entitled mother / daughter to move to. Now I can’t tell if I look bad to everyone else but I just sat in my seat with headphones on occasionally talking to my friend and didn’t look at them for the rest of the flight, but I just keep remembering how frustrating that situation was.”