A PLANE passenger has sparked a fierce debate after refusing to give up her first-class seat so a boy, six, could enjoy the flight next to his mum.
The anonymous woman, 21, took to Reddit to share the encounter on the popular Am I The A**Hole thread.
The passenger explained that she’d been flying with her boyfriend, 27, from North America to Central Asia when a flight attendant approached her and asked if she was asked to swap seats so a boy, six, could join his mother in first class following a ”booking error”.
She wrote in the post: ”A few weeks ago, my boyfriend surprised me with a first-class ticket for a long-haul flight.
”He’s been doing well in his career and wanted to treat me, and I was really excited because I’d never flown first class before.”
She went on: ”We had two connecting 12-hour flights and the airline we used has a very highly rated first class for those long flights.”
After boarding the flight, the woman found herself ”feeling a bit overwhelmed by the luxury”, as she’d grown up ”lower middle class” and had ”never ever flown higher than the cheapest seats on a plane before”.
Around 20 or so minutes after the plane had taken off, a flight attendant approached her with a woman and a young kid, who she reckoned was about six.
At this point, the woman explained that she had booked a first-class ticket for herself and her son – however, due to a booking error, he landed in economy.
”She asked if I would be willing to switch seats with her son so he could experience first class as well,” the gobsmacked 21-year-old revealed.
The plane passenger said that she felt caught up – although she understood ”that it was disappointing for the kid”, she wasn’t keen to give up her seat, as that was a gift from her partner.
”I politely declined and explained that it was my first time in first class and I wanted to experience it.”
Despite her best efforts, the mother argued and insisted ”her son would appreciate it more” and that it was ”unfair” as she wasn’t the one who’d purchased the ticket.
As revealed by the young woman, the flight attendant also appeared to be on the mum’s side, implying that she ”should consider being more understanding”.
A minute later, her boyfriend then also got involved, saying he had bought the tickets, ”that he was a platinum member of the airline, and that he tends to book all of his company’s business trip flights with the airline, and if she booted me to the economy, he would take his business elsewhere”.
”’Eventually, the woman went back to business class with her son.
As much as it may ruin your holidays, airlines do have the right to change your seat without warning.
As explained by experts at Travel & Leisure, ”the airline is only obligated to get you from point A to point B”.
This means that everyone else that comes with it, such as overhead bin space, reserved seating, baggage allowance, as well as food and beverage service, ”is at the discretion of the airline”.
”Because you’re not buying an actual seat — you’re purchasing transportation.”
What to do when an airlines moves your seat?
When you’re asked to change seats, ”it’s usually to help families sit together, allow caregivers to sit next to patients, or accommodate an air marshal or other airline employee”.
Other reasons also include to help redistribute the weight balance of the aircraft, especially on smaller planes.
If this is the case, it’s best to be polite – and the flight attendant may thank you for your willingness with a free snack and bottles of wine.
”But throughout the flight, I could feel the flight attendant glaring at me every time she passed by.”
Despite feeling like she hadn’t done any wrong, the woman – who then shared the incident with her pals – was then met with criticism from her friends.
In their eyes, she should have given up her first-class seat, ”saying that it would have been the kind thing to do”.
The post was flooded with dozens of comments – and luckily for the 21-year-old, most Redditors were siding with her.
”That’s a hard pass. NTA. Booking error my a**. That mom was trying to get a first class seat at economy prices. Weird that the flight attendant would be on their side. They know better,” one wrote.
Another agreed: ”NTA?? I have no idea why they were so adamant about you moving.
”It was not YOUR fault that they had a BOOKING ERROR.
”Your boyfriend paid for that service for you to enjoy and you have every right to.
”That woman did not pay for your seat, so if she has an issue, she needs to take it up to the airline, instead of trying to guilt trip you into giving up your seat for a kid that is not your issue.”
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