Entitled passenger asks man to give up aisle seat 4.5 hours into flight, fights back when he refuses: 'With that attitude? No way.'

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
May 31, 2024 3:00 PM EDT

One of the best feelings in the world is when you're on a plane and you have an empty seat next to you, and you get the announcement that boarding is finished. It feels almost like winning the lottery. You get to stretch out a little more than usual, use your elbows to their fullest extension, and not have to worry about a chatty Cathy trying to strike up a conversation. No, you didn't pay for the privilege or deserve it more than anyone else, but the fates have favored you for that flight, and dang it if you don't enjoy it. But imagine a previously unheard-of horror: halfway through the flight, someone tries to take your seat privileges away from you. But you've already grown accustomed to the good life. You won't take this lying down. 

That's exactly what happened to one lucky/unlucky passenger on their way home when one unhappy woman tried to buck the system. Read on for the details. 

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  • 01
    +EXT+ "That person has as much right to move seats"
    via Gerrie van der Walt
  • 02
    AITA for not letting someone switch seats mid-flight
    via u/Dog_Dad_1989
  • 03
    My wife (36f) and I (34m) were flying back from Dublin to Washington DC. We were assigned the middle and window seats in a row. The aisle passenger no-showed so we ended up having the entire row to ourselves (huge win). Before leaving the gate, I moved to the aisle seat and my wife stayed at the window.
    via u/Dog_Dad_1989
  • 04
    Nothing eventful happened for the first 4.5 hours of the flight. FAs were amazing and even gave us extra drinks for the "guy in the middle". Randomly, the passenger from the aisle seat across from me comes over with her friend who was sitting a few rows back and ANNOUNCES that her friend would now be taking the middle seat to get away from an crying baby further back. She did not ask - she told us this was happening. There were about 3 hours of flight time remaining.
    via u/Dog_Dad_1989
  • 05
    I ask the woman whether the Flight Attendants are on board with this. She said yes, but since these deals are usually brokered by the FA, I called over a FA. The FA said the agreement was that they could take an available aisle seat but could not disrupt anyone's seating arrangements. The woman then starts about how I was assigned the middle but then moved to the aisle before takeoff, so I shouldn't even have that aisle seat. I had been sitting there for almost 5 hours and we had already distrib
    via u/Dog_Dad_1989
  • 06
    The woman and her friend disappear to talk to another FA for about 5 minutes. The woman across the aisle then comes back to her seat and proceeds to yell at me saying that "her friend would not be sitting there - not because she was not allowed to, but because I was so incredibly " and that I was a " ". I kept my eyes on the show I was watching.
    via u/Dog_Dad_1989
  • 07
    The only thing I did this entire time was ask to talk to the flight attendant. I did not say anything else to this woman, though I would have liked to. AITA for not volunteering the middle seat mid-flight?
    via u/Dog_Dad_1989
  • 08
    fdsfddsfsfsfs 1 day ago Absolutely, getting the FA involved was the right move. Their reaction was uncalled for.
    via u/fdsfddsfsfsfs
  • 09
    odods11 22 hr. ago I think the reaction was uncalled for but that person has as much right to move seats as OP did. Did OP check with the flight attendant before moving seats too? Unlikely.
    via u/odods11
  • 10
    Also i think a miscommunication here was likely. The friend asked the flight attendant if her friend can move to the empty seat. The flight attendant said yes. The friend then informs OP that she has permission to sit there, but she clearly should have phrased it in a more polite way.
    via u/odods11
  • 11
    However she does not need OP's permission to move to a seat that the flight attendant already gave her permission for. OP didn't pay for an extra seat either.
    via u/odods11
  • 12
    Infamous_Custard3292. 21 hr. ago The flight attendant said she can move to an AVAILABLE aisle seat but she could NOT disturb anyone else's seating arrangement. This guy had the aisle seat before takeoff it was just luck and by being able to move first he in fact claimed that aisle seat. You may want to read the post before commenting. NTA
    via u/Infamous_Custard3292
  • 13
    apaw1129 1 day ago I'm going with the unpopular opinion here. You paid for 2 seats, not 3. You didn't ask the FA bc you wanted to "verify the rules." You asked bc you didn't want to lose your space and were hoping the FA would not permit her to move. You were assigned a middle seat.
    via u/apaw1129
  • 14
    So per the FA, the woman could have sat in the aisle seat, once you moved into your actual assigned middle seat. She's somewhat an AH as well for her attitude and behavior. ESH
    via u/apaw1129
  • 15
    keinebedeutung. 1 day ago I keep wondering what one is supposed to do with empty seats one didn't pay for, but somehow they are unoccupied. Heroically keep oneself confined to the seat one paid for?
    via u/keinebedeutung
  • 16
    ra___account · 22 hr. ago No, but the point remains that both sides wanted a seat that they didn't pay for. OP has a pretty reasonable claim that far into the flight but not an absolute one.
    via u/ra__account
  • 17
    keinebedeutung. 22 hr. ago Yes, but it seems that none of the FAs at any point explicitly instructed him to give up either the middle or aisle seat to the lady in question.
    via u/keinebedeutung
  • 18
    Every_Criticism2012. 1 day ago And in a twist of events the crying baby she needed to get away from was her own...
    via u/Every_Criticism2012
  • 19
    But seriously, I get that a crying baby can be disturbing, even more so, if it's not your own. My own daughter got seriously on my nerves on more than a few occasions - and I love that child more than anything! But that is no excuse to being . If
    via u/Every_Criticism2012
  • 20
    she had asked nicely maybe you could have considered moving back to your original seat, even though you would not be obliged to do so. But with that attitude? No way. So NTA.
    via u/Every_Criticism2012

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