Passenger refuses to give up first-class airplane seat for child, asks if she is in the wrong

Passenger refuses to give up first-class seat for child in economy

Giving up seats for others has always been a contentious issue — be it on the MRT train, or even flights.

This was the case for a woman recently, who was asked to give up her first-class airplane seat to a child.

She ended up not doing so, claiming that this upset the passenger who requested her for the change.

Passenger refuses to give up first-class seat for child

Posting to the AITAH Reddit forum on 7 July, the OP, 21, shared that a few weeks ago, her 27-year-old boyfriend surprised her with a first-class ticket for a long-haul flight, wanting to treat her after doing well in his career.

“I was really excited because I’d never flown first-class before,” the OP shared. This would be her first time flying first-class, having grown up in a “lower middle class” family.

The post did not specify the airline or the couple’s destination details.

However, she shared that they had “two connecting 12-hour flights” on an airline that “has a very high rated first-class for those long flights”.

About 20 minutes before take-off, a flight attendant approached her with a woman and a child who appeared to be around six years old.

The woman then explained she had booked a first-class tickets for herself and her son. However, a booking error caused him to have a seat in economy.

“She asked if I would be willing to switch seats with her son so he could experience first-class as well,” the OP said.

Flight attendant was insistent on passenger giving up first-class seat

She then denied the request, noting that she wanted to enjoy the gift from her boyfriend.

The upset mother proceeded to argue the case for her son, stating that he would appreciate the seat more.

She added that the OP being in the seat was unfair because she didn’t pay for the ticket herself.

The flight attendant also appeared to support the woman’s view and seemed to imply that the OP should be more understanding.

After a minute of back-and-forth, the OP’s boyfriend — who is allegedly a platinum member of the airline — got involved by threatening to take his business elsewhere should the stewardess downgrade his partner.

“Eventually, the woman went back… with her son,” the OP said. “But throughout the flight, I could feel the flight attendant glaring at me every time she passed by.”

Netizens urge her to report the airline

While her boyfriend explained that she did nothing wrong, some of her friends thought she should have given up the seat to the child.

This would have been the kind thing to do, they said.

She then asked the forum if she was in the wrong, to which the majority of users replied in the negative, encouraging her to instead report the airline.

One netizen noted that the mother of the child did not want to give up first-class either.

At the same time, the flight attendant presumably did not want to look after the six-year-old in economy.

Others opined that the woman should have confronted the airline regarding the booking error, instead of attempting to “guilt trip” a fellow passenger to switch her seat.

Also read: ‘I’m sick!’: Elderly woman in China causes scene on plane after young lady refused to switch seats

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Featured image adapted from Business Insider for illustration purposes.