'AITA for not giving up my husband’s seat on a plane?'
"AITA for not giving up my husband’s seat on a plane?"
This happened to us while flying to France out of Raleigh. My husband and I had booked our aisle and middle seats together. While boarding my husband got up to use the bathroom before the pre-flight announcements. As we double-checked our seat location, there was a woman already sitting in the window seat of our row with a baby.
As soon as I put my purse in my seat to take off my sweater and settle in, her husband, came over to sit in my husband’s seat. He looked at me and said “Oh, I need to sit next to my wife and baby.”
I responded, without moving out of his way, that it was my husband’s seat; and he was in the bathroom. He said, “Would he mind sitting in my seat?”, and proceeds to point all the way towards the back of the plane.
I immediately responded “I can speak on behalf of my husband and that would be ‘No’.” They both looked at me with confused looks on their faces like I somehow didn’t have a right to politely decline.
Then they tried to get the flight attendant’s attention, but as they did that the person sitting directly behind the woman with the baby lifted herself up from her seat and said, ”If you knew you were flying with a baby, you should have made sure your seats were booked together.”
They both looked at each other, then at the lady behind us, and blankly looked at me, while they mumbled something about trying to do just that, but couldn’t for whatever reason. By then my husband was back and hers had already walked away.
My husband sat down and I quietly told him was had just occurred (in case her husband might come back and ask him himself, or bring the flight attendant over) and he was glad I didn’t let his seat go.
With it being a long flight and him having anxiety about flying, he definitely didn’t want to be sent to the back of the plane alone, and I definitely didn’t want to be alone sitting next to a couple with a small baby for hours across the Atlantic. But I was even more appreciative of the woman behind us who spoke up, just because. Safe travels everyone!
Here's what people had to say to OP:
NTA. I wish people would stop doing that. When I’m asked to swap, I put a shocked look on my face and say, “oh no, that’s very bad luck.”
NAH. I don't think there was any asshole behavior in this situation. Though it's pretty bold to just come in with "Oh, I'm gonna sit here, since baby" attitude. That's just dumb more than anything else.
If you want people to accommodate you, you already have an advantage, because the baby is a legitimate reason to ask for something like that. So why give that advantage up by not even asking but basically telling, exploiting your baby's existence for moral high ground?
roxywalker OP
He definitely came across that way. I saw the baby in advance, but him just sitting in my husband’s seat was next-level entitlement.
People are so brazen with this that half the time they just sit in my seat and pretend not to see me until it becomes a confrontation. The answer is still no unless the seat is as close to the front or better for me.
roxywalker OP
This. I just flew down to Florida for Thanksgiving, short flight. When I boarded their was a man sitting in the seat I paid for. I told him he was in my seat. He moved, but mumbled something about “not seeing the letter in the row that was his”.
It’s posted right above your head sir. Turns out, his wife was in the seat right behind mine. Mystery solved. But I still sat in the seat I paid for.
Happened to me on a flight from Dominican to canada - we paid for extra leg room seats. Someone was in our seat and when we went to sit they offered us the wives seat in the row behind which of course was not extra leg room.
They never asked the person beside the wife if they wanted the window seat with extra leg room just wanted us to give up our seat
roxywalker OP
It’s outta control ✈️
Normally I would be willing to switch, if I was solo… a frikkin flight to France 🇫🇷 ¿¿¿ I’d do the switching, if at least half of the ticket was paid, cash money in hand… psshhh.. some people just never get it.. good move sister ✊🏾
roxywalker OP
It was definitely too long of a flight to consider switching, but her husband’s demeanor really made me feel like it was the right move. ✈️
The woman in the row behind you is a hero! Brava to her! I wish more people would speak up when they see a wrong being perpetrated on someone. That couple’s inability to plan ahead is not your problem. This was a trans-Atlantic flight, and they “couldn’t” book seats anywhere near each other? Plan better next time. NTA
roxywalker OP
She was clearly annoyed and my best guess is that it’s happened to her, or, she’s witnessed it happening before and just had to speak her mind!