A man has been lauded for his firm stance on refusing to swap seats so a seven year old boy could sit next to his dad on their flight.
The 29-year-old was travelling on a brief 70-minute flight and had pre-booked a window seat to enjoy the view during the journey.
However, upon boarding the plane, he found a young boy occupying his seat with his father beside him. Sharing his experience on Reddit, he said: ” I had booked myself a window seat and when I got there I saw a maybe seven-year-old boy sitting in there, next to his father (about 50-years-old) in the aisle seat. The opposite row also had his mother and his sister sitting there.”
When asked by the father if he would mind swapping seats, he responded that he would only do so if it was a window seat, which it wasn’t. The father then tried to guilt-trip him by asking, ‘So do you want to sit next to my son? Unfazed, he retorted that he didn’t care who sat next to him, he just wanted his window seat.
Despite the father’s attempts to shame him by calling him unkind, the man stood his ground and told the father to “behave himself”. He elaborated: “I just stood there looking at him serious, I think he was trying to shame me initially but he didn’t respond anything else to that. His wife was watching this the whole time. When somebody in the row behind saw it he offered to swap and sat next to me so they did eventually sit next to each other.”
“For all I care they could have sat 20 rows apart or even booked a new flight, I had zero investment in this or their reasons. They can ask, I can say no and that should be the end of it. I didn’t like the ‘swap’ happened before I approved it either. If they care that much they can book their seats in advance like everyone else.”
“I didn’t have a good reason why I need the window seat except that I like it and don’t like the aisle seat.” Online commenters were quick to weigh in on the situation, with one user stating: “People need to stop thinking they’re entitled to the seat someone else specifically picked out.” While another said: “I am tickled pink that you told him to behave himself! ” And a third commented: “I’m not sure why people think lack of planning can be covered by personal relationships.”