A Reddit user detailed an in-flight encounter with a mother — and asked fellow Redditors which passenger was in the wrong
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A passenger on a flight (stock image)
An airline passenger is wondering whether they are in the wrong for setting a boundary — while also making a mother cry in public in the process.
Reddit user WineCountsAsFruit turned to the platform’s “Am I the A——” forum to detail an in-flight confrontation with another traveler and to ask fellow Redditors which passenger was in the wrong.
“So, I board the plane, settle in to my economy plus seat,” the user began, before sharing that a woman then approached and “asks me to change seats to 32b so her 9 yr old can sit with her.”
“I ask how much cash she has to repay me for the money I spent on the seat,” they continued. “She says I’m cruel for leaving her son with anxiety sitting alone.”
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A mom and son sitting behind other passengers (stock image)
The Redditor suggested that the woman try to sit with her son in coach as opposed to having him join her in the more expensive seats, to which she said she “needed the leg room.”
“I said clearly she cares more about her own comfort than her son’s well being, [and that] if she cared she would give up her seat and move to the back,” the passenger continued.
That’s when the mother apparently got emotional.
“She breaks out in a screaming wail filled with ‘HOW COULD YOUs,’ ” the passenger noted, adding that “10 minutes later a smiling man sits down next to me grinning about his sweet upgrade.”
However, now the Redditor is rethinking the decision to not give up the seat, concluding the post with, “My partner says IATAH [I am the a——-] for questioning her parenting in public and making her cry … am I?”
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A sad person at an airport
The post has over 1,300 comments as of Friday, Nov. 22, and many users are siding with the original poster (OP).
“NTA [not the a——-]. She’s in the wrong for not being able to plan and book ahead of time so her son isn’t left alone, not being able to put aside her comfort ahead of her precious son, and thinking that anyone owes her anything for being a poor planner,” one person commented.
In response to the comment, the OP provided more context, writing, “When I booked my seat, hers was already taken so she booked first. Didn’t look like poor planning, looked like she only wanted to pay for one premium seat and wanted to guilt me into giving up my seat.”
Another commenter said that the woman was definitely in violation of basic seat-swapping etiquette.
“Everyone knows that if you’re looking to swap seats, you always offer the better seat to the person you’re inconveniencing,” they wrote.
