A plane passenger taught an ‘entitled’ man the importance of planning ahead after refusing to swap seats on a flight so he could enjoy the journey next to his girlfriend
A man has been praised for refusing to swap plane seats so an ‘entitled’ boyfriend could sit next to his partner on a flight. The 29-year-old explained how he was travelling home from a work trip and made sure to pre-book an aisle seat so he could stretch his legs out a little.
However, his peaceful journey was disrupted when another passenger spotted him sitting alone and approached him to ask a ‘favour’. He said on Reddit: “I was flying home from a work trip and had booked an aisle seat because I’m tall and need legroom. As soon as I sit down, a guy comes over and says, ‘Hey bro, can we switch? My girlfriend’s by the window and I’m in the middle back there.’
“I glance at his seat, literally the second-worst spot on the plane. I say, ‘Sorry, I booked this one specifically’. He gets annoyed and says, ‘Dude, I’m just trying to sit next to my girl.'”
He told him he understood why he’d want to swap seats but tried to gently explain he didn’t want to give up his comfort for a stranger.
He added: “He said, ‘You’re sitting alone, man. What do you need the aisle for?’ I replied, ‘Because I paid for it. That’s how seats work’.
“He called me an ‘inconsiderate loner,’ which was cute, considering he tried to guilt-trip me into a downgrade. The flight attendant eventually had to tell him to sit down or be removed.”
Sharing a final message of disgust on social media, he added: “Couples don’t get priority over people who planned ahead. Sorry not sorry.”
While most users praised him for standing his ground, others shared their own stories about ‘entitled’ passengers on planes.
One user said: “This happened on a 12h flight from Korea to Toronto and when the person said no the girlfriend started bawling and eventually someone else nearby traded with her.
“I was so mad they gave into her crocodile tears because now she’s going to do it every damn flight.
“This poor tiny Asian woman was stuck in a middle seat for 12 hours instead of her aisle seat because a pretty young white woman can cry on command.”
Another user added: “In the airplane seat war card game, inconsiderate loners beat inconsiderate losers every time. Especially the ones too cheap to buy an aisle seat.”
A third user said: “This exact thing happened to me! What preceded it was the girl jumping into the window seat in my aisle and laughing cutely at him that she got the good seat first.
“Then she asked if I could trade with him (in the middle seat in another row) so they could sit together.
“I thought, if they really wanted to sit together, she could have given up her window seat to someone for a fair trade.
“I said no. She replied, ‘It doesn’t hurt to ask’. Sure it doesn’t, but don’t expect anyone to take a downgrade to give you an underserved upgrade.”