Passengers pressure woman to give up her aisle seat for a family of five, sparking debate

Many people prefer booking their seats on a flight in advance to have a comfortable journey. However, people with families or in groups often want to exchange seats so they can sit together. A similar incident happened with u/kitsune_chan29, who took to Reddit to share their story. The woman said it was her second 8-hour flight home from Africa via Dubai. "I had booked an aisle seat so I could get up without bothering others and a special meal due to health requirements. I boarded the plane, found my seat and settled in," she explained.

Not later, a family got on board with their three kids and asked her if she could exchange her seat with one of the kids so the family could sit together. The family hadn't picked their seats in advance as the father's seat was much farther away from the mother and kids. The woman initially agreed to exchange the seats, thinking it would be another aisle seat. "I realized they wanted me to switch to sit in a middle seat and I said no." Another passenger was ready to offer their seat in the back, but she refused. "I said that I had booked my seat and ordered a dietary meal, and there was no way I was moving to a middle seat. He then starts loudly criticizing me and saying he hopes I understand that I'm splitting a family up," she added.

The raucous attracted the crew's attention as their conversation halted others' boarding. Eventually, they made arrangements and a passenger on the other end of the row switched seats so the kids could sit together. "The other passenger from before then starts loudly saying to his kids and the family, 'Do you understand what happened? She thought her seat was too special, so she wouldn't let you sit together.' I told the guy to mind his own business and he responded that he wasn't talking to me. I was exhausted and sleep-deprived by this point and told him to stop talking about me and just can it," she revealed.

"I didn't think I was in the wrong here. I organized myself beforehand and booked my seat. It was quite unfair to have a random guy criticizing me to half the cabin for not wanting to swap to a middle seat for an 8-hour flight," she expressed. She concluded the post by asking if she was wrong for not exchanging her seat. People shared their views and experiences in the comments. u/MsSibylline wrote, "I can't even tell you how many times families have asked me to switch seats with their children because they didn't book their seats together in advance. I usually get guilted into switching because I don't want to end up in situations like this! But it is the families' responsibility to plan these things." 

u/Kbradsagain commented, "I have traveled with kids before and sometimes seats together just aren't available. When that happened, we would book 2 and 2, either across the aisle or in 2 in 1 row, 2 in the next. We might ask to swap if there is a couple in the same row but would not be offended if they declined." u/AdJealous5511 remarked, "If traveling couples or families wish to sit together, they must book their seats. It's an epidemic of people getting on planes and expecting others, who planned their trips and booked their seats, to change to accommodate them. No way."

Editor's note: This article was originally published on May 23, 2024. It has since been updated.