Man Posts Complaint About Dad Who Refused To Switch Seats With Him On Plane After He Sat Between His Wife & Baby
He was just trying to be nice.
There are several unspoken rules when it comes to airplane etiquette and decency. One concept that has certainly evolved over time and become a controversial subject for frequent flyers is plane seating. Switching, staying in your seat, accommodating others, or simply minding your own business, everyone has a different perspective on how issues regarding plane seating, whenever they should arise, should be handled.
A man named Sam Neve (@SJNeve) sparked a debate on Twitter when the issue presented itself in his row, leaving him feeling odd about how the conflict ended.
The man ended up sitting in between a couple and their baby for the entire flight.
“Just boarded a flight and I’m sat with a couple and their baby,” Neve tweeted, “but the husband refused to give up his aisle seat so I’m now just… in the middle of them?”
Naturally, the generous thing to do in Neve’s situation was to offer up his seat so that the couple and their baby could sit together, but what he didn’t expect was for the man to say no.
“He stuck his headphones in, ate an entire pack of Haribo and didn’t talk to her for the entire two-hour flight,” he said in the replies of his tweet.
Someone in the replies suggested that maybe they had hoped the middle seat wouldn’t be taken so they could seat themselves comfortably and “stretch out.”
“Very busy, full flight unfortunately,” he wrote back. “Only a couple of hours, so no harm done - just a little odd!”
It seemed like Neve didn’t take anything bad away from the incident but simply thought it a little weird that the father didn’t want to facilitate the switch.
Others, however, immediately pushed back against Neve’s tweets and argued their opinions.
“He has a right to keep it and not move to the middle,” someone replied. “Always you people who think your entitlement comes first. YOU bought the middle seat.”
“So what, why should he move if he doesn’t want to? There may [be] a no of reasons why he wants to sit there & the same for his partner,” another user replied. “Maybe his wife is scared of flying & he wants easy access to the toilet? Your fault for not booking your preferred seat first. Unbelievably entitled!”
Many people believe that no one should have to move from the seat they purchased for any reason.
In fact, many say even asking the question is a sign of “entitlement.”
The great airplane seat debate has become widely popular as of late, as more and more people are flying post-pandemic and flights are full. While many such incidents start because families ask solo travelers to move for them, this situation was unique in that this particular family clearly did not want to sit directly next to each other.
Regardless of the fact that the family's seats were likely chosen that way on purpose, Neve still found it odd that they wouldn’t want to be seated together. Others pointed out that by not even interacting with his wife or child, he was neglecting his role as a parent by refusing to help with the baby — leaving all the work to his wife.
Ultimately, what these situations suggest is that paying the extra money to book the seat you want is always the best option!
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Keep up with his rants about current events on his Twitter.