Parents slammed after woman refuses to swap seats with child on flight

‘Entitled parents’ slammed after a passenger refuses to switch seats with their child on 8-hour flight

  • A Brit on Reddit shared her experience of being shamed on Dubai flight to UK 
  • READ MORE: Mum who took revenge on fellow plane passenger over seat swap 

A woman has shared her experience of being shamed by a fellow passenger after refusing to give up her seat for a child who had been booked into a separate row by their family.

The Brit posted details of the awkward incident on Reddit, prompting over 1,000 people to share their opinions on ‘entitled parents’ who expect paying passengers to swap seats so families can sit together. 

The unnamed woman – who is a teacher at a comprehensive school – had been travelling on an eight-hour flight from Africa to the UK via Dubai, where more passengers had boarded the plane. 

Posting on the subreddit r/AmITheA*****e on August 22, the passenger – also known as u/kitsune_chan29 – explained that after refusing to move to a middle seat for personal reasons, another passenger berated her for not doing so. 

The post has since amassed 5,500 upvotes and 1,100 comments by miffed Reddit users who generally advised the woman that she is not the a*****e for choosing to remain in her original seat. 

A woman has shared her experience on Reddit of being shamed by a passenger after refusing to give up her seat for a child on an eight-hour flight from Dubai to the UK (Photo: Getty)

The post reveals that the woman’s tense experience began during the connecting flight she had to take from Dubai whilst returning back home to the UK from Africa. 

The passenger said that she had specifically booked an aisle seat so that she had the freedom to get up whenever she wanted, and had booked a special meal to the seat due to health requirements. 

After settling into the seat shortly after boarding the plane, a family of five embarks and asks if the passenger could switch seats so that the children could sit together. 

She wrote: ‘I initially said yes, thinking it was just a move across the aisle, but then realised they wanted me to switch to sit in a middle seat and I said no.

‘Another passenger then gets up and says he has a seat in the back that I can move to and I said no, that I had booked my seat and ordered a dietary meal.

‘He then starts loudly criticising me, saying he hopes I understand that I’m splitting a family up. 

‘This eventually attracts attention from the crew as it’s holding up boarding.’

The woman then explained how another random passenger from the adjacent row eventually switched seats with the child – but this didn’t stop the rowdy man from continuing his tirade.

She continued: ‘The other passenger from before 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.”

The post reveals that the woman’s tense experience began during the connecting flight she had to take from Dubai, in which a family of five boarded and requested for her to swap seats

‘I told the guy to mind his own business and he responded that he wasn’t talking about me. 

‘I didn’t think I was in the wrong here. I organised myself beforehand and booked my seat, and felt it was unfair to have a guy criticising me to half the cabin for not wanting to swap a seat for an 8 hour flight. AITA?’

Almost every response to the passenger’s anxiety over the situation revealed some level of annoyance at ‘entitled’ parents and families who make passengers feel awkward for not giving up pre-paid seats to accommodate their children. 

One person said: ‘NTA. You booked your seat. It’s yours. I don’t understand the entitlement of people who insist other people pay for their ineptitude.’ 

Another wrote: ‘NTA. Drives me insane. It’s an epidemic of people getting on planes and expecting others, who have planned their trips and booked their seats, to accommodate them. Hell no.’

Over 1,000 people shared their opinions on the post about ‘entitled parents’ who expect paying passengers to swap seats so families can sit together

One individual appeared to mock the attitude of some pushy parents, saying: ‘NTA. “How DARE you to not sign up to be uncomfortable for 8 hours straight because of my lack of responsibility. My children are YOUR problem.’ 

A parent even commented on the matter, writing: ‘NTA. I hate plane shaming. I’m a parent and I would never do that.’

Remaining neutral and highlighting what they thought was the most contributing factor to awkward seat requests, a commenter said: ‘I think we’re forgetting who the true a******s are – the airline. 

‘Between all the various charges and seat restrictions who knows if they could actually book seats together. A family with small children is entitled to WANT to sit together. They can ask but cannot expect.

‘The other people giving rude comments and looks should mind their business. That guy making comments is very much the AH.’ 

This come after another plane passenger sparked uproar earlier in August after revealing she refused to give up her FIRST CLASS seat so that 10-year-old boy could sit with his parents – who left him in coach while they lounged in luxury. 

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