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A passenger offered to switch seats on a flight so a woman could sit next to her husband, but changed her mind when she learned which specific seat she would have to take.
In a recent Reddit post shared to the “Entitled People” subreddit, the passenger shared an incident where a woman sitting next to him in business class asked him to voluntarily downgrade his seat so that she could sit next to her husband, who was seated in economy.
The Redditor stated that the seats were arranged in a center pod with two seats, and when the woman next to him wanted to switch with her husband, he obliged.
He agreed, under the assumption that her husband was already seated in business class. However, the woman nonchalantly disclosed that her husband was actually seated in 18B – a middle seat in economy.
The traveler clarified that he did not want to change seats to the back of the bus, despite the woman’s persuasion. In a post on Reddit, he remembered saying, “You cannot possibly expect me to trade a pod for a MIDDLE seat at the back of the bus. Are you joking?” He believed the situation was a joke or a prank.
The woman reportedly responded by saying that there is not a significant difference and that the bulkhead row offers ample legroom.
Based on the Reddit post, the lady was initially in a regular seat but was given a complimentary upgrade in the belief that someone would switch seats to also upgrade her husband.
The last proposal he made was to swap seats with someone else in business class, while his husband would take the other person’s seat. However, he would not partake in the switch himself.
“But you have two options…either sit separately or sit together in the back. I’m certain the person in 18C would be happy to switch seats and sit up here. You can go back to your original seat and sit together,” he stated.
The two individuals returned to the back of the plane in an angry manner, and I half-expected a new and bewildered stranger to show up, as they were potentially given an instant upgrade… but that didn’t happen. Instead, the same person returned. Apparently, the person in seat 18A preferred their window seat and did not want to switch. Similarly, the person in seat 18C had family members in seats 18DEF and did not want to move either. Someone later informed me that the flight attendants possibly intervened and instructed the person to go back to their assigned seat, as swapping seats was not allowed.
In the end, the woman stayed separated from her husband for the entire length of the flight.
Following the post, numerous individuals resorted to leaving comments in order to convey their surprise at the woman’s endeavor to change seats.
One person who commented questioned, “Are they truly anticipating individuals to relinquish what they paid more for?” They also added, “The airlines should also take responsibility. Before granting an upgrade, they should inquire if the person is traveling with anyone, and if they see the Karen haircut, they should not upgrade.”
Another person commenting expressed agreement with the statement, saying, “My response would have been a firm no without any hesitation. I do not see any reason why I should give up the expensive seat that I paid for and switch to another seat on the plane just so this person and their companion can sit together. Furthermore, it is unacceptable that their companion would receive a free seat that I have already paid for.”
“I would definitely refuse if someone said to me ‘but he’s already heading over to switch,’ and I would laugh and ask why it even matters if he’s trying to claim a seat he won’t get. I never agreed to switch seats in the first place, so he has no reason to come back here for MY seat as if it was already decided that I would switch just because he and the other person thought so without even asking me first.”
Source: independent.co.uk