Man sparks debate after refusing to give up seat for mom and baby

A man has sparked a furious debate after revealing that he turned down a mother’s request to give up his extra legroom seat and move to the second row on a 10-hour flight so her husband can be with her and their baby. could sit.

The debate over the etiquette of changing seats on an airplane has long been discussed – with DailyMail.com Jaci Stephen even giving her opinion on the matter earlier this year – but one man brought the topic back to the forefront of the conversation when he raised it. early reddit to decide if he was an “asshole” for refusing to move so a family could sit together.

In his now viral post, the unnamed airline passenger explained that he and his wife were boarding a 10-hour flight from Europe to Asia when a mother asked if he would mind switching seats with her husband, who sat in the second row. , a request he quickly declined.

“My wife and I were on a 10-hour flight from Europe to Asia last week,” the man wrote. ‘We booked our tickets well in advance and also managed to get the specific seats we wanted – two front row seats.

“We paid for these seats because it was going to be a long journey and we wanted extra legroom.

The man wondered if he was wrong in a thread titled ‘Am I the A**hole? and explained that he had picked his seats and paid extra?

“When we boarded, there was a woman with a baby in the middle seat. This woman, before I even had a chance to put my bag in the overhead luggage compartment, asked me, “Can I be really cheeky and ask you to switch seats with my husband?”

Then she pointed to her husband who was sitting in the second row (only the first row has extra legroom and has to be paid extra to reserve the seat). She then told me that her husband should be next to her to help with the baby.

“My wife remained silent as I politely but firmly told her that unfortunately I would not be moving, as his seat is in the second row, as I had paid specifically for the extra legroom seat.”

The mother was so angry that she even called a cabin crew member in hopes of resolving the seat debacle, but the man still refused to switch seats.

Fortunately, the crew member was able to solve the problem by placing two other seats in the front row for the couple to go to.

And while everyone was happy with their seats, the Reddit user noted that the mom was still mad at him.

The viral post continued: “A flight attendant came and asked me to swap with the husband, and I had to tell him the same thing, which made it quite awkward.”

“Then the woman threw daggers at me for a while. Luckily the flight attendant came back and told me there were two seats available in one of the other front rows and offered to move us.

“We eventually moved there, but after that we heard this lady making animated comments about us to her husband from behind for quite some time.

“When I mentioned this incident to my in-laws, they said I should have just moved because she had a baby with her and that turned into another conversation about baby expectations.

“My wife agrees that her poor planning is not our problem and that we should have stayed if there were no other front row seats.”

Luckily for the man, Reddit users quickly came to his defense, even noting that he was doing the right thing because he was “under no obligation to [the mom]’

Reddit users became furious with the mother after the man explained his situation, just two months after DailyMail.com columnist Jaci Stephen explained her explanation about switching seats.

Jaci confessed that she “absolutely refuses” to switch seats, no matter how angry the passenger asking for a transfer may get.

In her confession, she explained that she travels a lot and carefully chooses her seat well in advance, noting that she even chose which direction she wanted to face when traveling.

Jaci added that in the past she has had many passengers yell at her and glare at her, but she doesn’t mind as she notes that it’s her “right to refuse.”

As with Jaci’s confession, the Reddit user explained that he was steadfast in his decision because he planned ahead and paid extra for the seats.

Luckily for the man, Reddit users quickly came to his defense, even noting that he was doing the right thing because he was “under no obligation to [the mom]’.

One user said: ‘You paid for extra legroom and paid for that seat. You were not obliged to transfer. If she wanted to sit with her husband, she should have sat next to each other.’

“You had no obligation to her. Why couldn’t she trade with someone in her husband’s line? As for the “but she had a baby”, that’s irrelevant. She could trade with her husband. She may be arguing with the airlines, but not with you,” another user wrote.

One user added: ‘I can’t believe there are people who have the audacity to ask someone to switch seats, let alone insist on it. Why is their comfort more important than anyone else’s? Especially if someone else has planned and paid for their comfort’

Another user commented, “Upvoted and agreed, but just one minor caveat: You can plan meticulously and perfectly, only to have the airline make a huge mess of your plan.” Such as cancel your flight, rebook you, downgrade you, don’t refund the difference until you declare the discrepancy, and put you in the middle seat closest to the toilet as it is the only empty seat on the rebooked flight. If that sounds strangely specific, it’s because it happened to me.”