Flying is a costly way to travel, and if you want the benefits of an upgraded seat, you have to pay an even heftier price. For some people, the extra space and perks make it worthwhile. Most will probably tell you that if they’ve paid an upcharge for their seat, they intend to stay put. There are certain circumstances where a passenger could be willing to trade, but not everyone is so amenable.
A passenger seated in economy plus on a recent flight claimed a woman asked for their seat so her child could sit next to her. This didn’t go over well, so the passenger asked Reddit’s AITA forum if they were in the wrong for telling the woman her poor planning wasn’t their problem.
More from CafeMom: Another Mom Told Me To Take Away My Kid’s iPad on a Plane Because Her Child Was Jealous
The original poster paid for an upgraded seat.
The mom did, too, but she didn’t get a seat in the same category for her 9-year-old son. She asked OP for their seat, and OP asked how much “cash” she had to offer to swap. The mom called OP cruel for not allowing her to be with her son and creating “anxiety” for the child.
“I ask if she offered the person sitting next to her son her seat in economy plus, she said she ‘needed the leg room.’ I said clearly she cares more about her own comfort than her son’s well being, if she cared she would give up her seat and move to the back,” OP wrote.
OP didn't let it go.
OP wasn’t willing to switch and the mom was not happy. “She breaks out in a screaming wail filled with ‘HOW COULD YOUS’ Ten min later a smiling man sits down next to me grinning about his sweet upgrade. My partner says IATAH for questioning her parenting in public and making her cry… am I?”
Who’s in the wrong here?
One particular part of the story stuck with Redditors.
They really didn’t love that this mother was more concerned about her own legroom than her child.
Like this person who wrote, “NTA. I really hope this is real because that manipulative woman who sold out her son for ‘more leg room’ deserved to get exposed as the opportunistic leech she is. Don’t feel bad about her tears. They weren’t real anyway.”
Someone else agreed, writing, “If legroom means more to her than her kid, sounds like you’re not the one prioritizing poorly. Bonus points for helping that guy score the upgrade of the day.”
But some think OP might be making up the story.
It didn’t sit right with one commenter. “I have trouble believing these repeated entries that paint mothers in a negative light,” the person wrote. “First of all, airlines are required to book you next to a child. Second of all, the airline attendant isn’t going to sit there listening to someone screaming in the aisle and let it go.Just seems like attempts to encourage misogyny. I’ve only been asked to swap seats once, and it was for an adult couple that wanted to sit together.”
Or this person who wrote, “You didn’t do this. You thought about being nasty but you merely said no thank you this was a paid upgrade and she moved on.”
More from CafeMom: I Was a Flight Attendant & This Is the Best Hack for Keeping Kids Busy During a Flight
Most people say OP paid for the upgraded seat so should keep it.
Even though the story seemed a bit fishy to some people, no one called OP the jerk. Instead, they agreed the mom should have planned better.
Like this person who shared, “‘ Play stupid games, win stupid prizes’ seems appropriate here. The woman has does this successfully before, or she wouldn’t be as brazen as she is. Good on you for calling her out. NTA, and enjoy the leg room!”
