Entitled passenger pretends to be asleep during boarding while sitting in someone else's seat, leading to a public dispute when she is demanded to move: 'Give me a break'

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Sep 2, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

Who are you, people who think it is okay to sit in a seat someone else paid for, without even asking?

Every time we board a plane, we all secretly send out a wish that the person who booked the seat next to us is a no-show, but that is as far as we go when it comes to someone else's assigned seat. We wouldn't dream of sitting there without even talking to the other passenger first, and we definitely wouldn't ignore them if they asked us to move out of the seat that is rightfully theirs.

The woman in the story below didn't mind doing all of the above. She sat in a seat that wasn't hers, pretended to sleep during boarding, ignored the passenger who told her she was sitting in their seat, and refused to move when they asked her to.

Even after she finally decided to listen to what the other passenger was telling her and moved, she still wasn't satisfied. She proceeded to annoy the poor passenger throughout the entire flight, trying to convince them to give her their seat.

Keep scrolling to read how that worked out for her.

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  • 01
    Woman sleeping on a plane with travel neck pillow
    via evrim ertik

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    Woman pretends to be asleep in my seat while the plane is still boarding

    I witnessed a small spat between two people on a flight earlier today regarding their seats which reminded me of this experience I had about ten years ago.
    via excessive_comment
  • 03
    was on a flight to attend an annual convention happening on the other side of the country with two of my senior colleagues.
    via excessive_comment
  • 04
    It was the night before the first day of the event so the entire flight practically consisted of people in the same industry.
    via excessive_comment
  • 05
    My colleagues were busy greeting or acknowledging people as we were walking along the airplane aisle to get to our seats.
    via excessive_comment
  • 06
    I was a rookie at the time. At any rate, a woman in early thirties was sitting in my seat.
    via excessive_comment
  • 07
    She was wearing oversized sunglasses along with a pair of studio headphones over her head. Moreover, she rested her hands neatly on her lap and had her head tilted back on the headrest as if to suggest that she was asleep and not to be disturbed.
    via excessive_comment
  • 08
    Give me a break, half of the plane hadn't finished boarding by this point.
    via excessive_comment
  • 09
    She ignored several of my initial verbal attempts at getting her attention. She ignored half a dozen gentle taps on her shoulder.
    via excessive_comment
  • 10
    When she finally "awakened", I tried explaining to her that she was in my seat. But her response was to point at her headphones, then shrugging with both her hands upturned to gesture that she couldn't hear what I was saying.
    via excessive_comment
  • 11
    "You could try taking them off?". Nothing, still playing dumb with no intention to take off her headphones.
    via excessive_comment
  • 12
    I think the reader can appreciate that I was starting to impede aisle traffic by this point.
    via excessive_comment
  • 13
    Not giving up, I then showed her my boarding pass, pointing at the printed seat number.
    via excessive_comment
  • 14
    She then mouthed "ohhhh" as if she just understood what I've been saying all along.
    via excessive_comment
  • 15
    She then tucked in her knees half an inch into the seat and motioned me to pass by her like that.
    via excessive_comment
  • 16
    When she tucked in her knees again at my another futile attempt at getting her to move to her own seat, I just about had it.
    via excessive_comment
  • 17
    I raised my voice and and said out loud that "I'm not the one getting in, you are!" to which she instantly recoiled and moved to the window seat without a word.
    via excessive_comment
  • 18
    The guy who was waiting behind me in the aisle gave me a thumbs up as he passed by.
    via excessive_comment
  • 19
    I thought that was that but she was apparently still salty and wanted satisfaction.
    via excessive_comment
  • 20
    After the plane had taken off, she tapped on my shoulder and said she'd be open to switching seats with me "If I wanted."
    via excessive_comment
  • 21
    I politely declined albeit with an almost amused look in my face.
    via excessive_comment
  • 22
    Later, I was casually conversing with my colleagues seated across from me in their aisle seats.
    via excessive_comment
  • 23
    Back view of young woman walking the aisle on plane
    via undrey

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 24
    She tapped on my shoulders again and said that her offer extended to "your friends".
    via excessive_comment
  • 25
    I gave a light chuckle and said "Sure." I knew what she was getting at along with her condescension; that she was "someone in the industry".
    via excessive_comment
  • 26
    Too late, I already texted my colleagues after that little incident of ours and both of them had Mariah Carey'd her.
    via excessive_comment
  • 27
    She later circled back on this, whether if I'd asked my colleagues about their seat yet to which I replied in the negative.
    via excessive_comment
  • 28
    She asked "If I could please ask them" to which I'd always reply in the positive, "Sure" in a lighthearted manner.
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  • 29
    This exact exchange occurred between us not once, not twice, but thrice in the course of a 6 hour flight.
    via excessive_comment
  • 30
    To this day, I've never come across her professionally so I'm not sure what exactly she was trying to achieve there.
    via excessive_comment

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flight attendant job work flight plane business trip boarding passenger colleague Travel seat business women entitled people
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