AITA for not giving up my husband’s seat on a plane? ?

A woman shared an experience on a flight to France where a fellow passenger attempted to take her husband’s seat so he could sit beside his wife and baby. While her husband was in the restroom, the man tried to convince her to switch, but she declined, explaining that her husband had anxiety about flying and needed to stay in his pre-booked seat.

Tensions rose, with another passenger stepping in to defend her decision. Was she wrong for refusing to switch seats? Read the full story below.

‘ AITA for not giving up my husband’s seat on a plane? ?’

This happened to us while flying to France out of Raleigh. My husband and I had booked our aisle and middle seats together. While boarding my husband got up to use the bathroom before the pre-flight announcements. As we double-checked our seat location, there was a woman already sitting in the window seat of our row with a baby.

As soon as I put my purse in my seat to take off my sweater and settle in, her husband, came over to sit in my husband’s seat. He looked at me and said “Oh, I need to sit next to my wife and baby.” I responded, without moving out of his way, that it was my husband’s seat; and he was in the bathroom. He said, “Would he mind sitting in my seat?”, and proceeds to point all the way towards the back of the plane.

I immediately responded “I can speak on behalf of my husband and that would be ‘No’.” They both looked at me with confused looks on their faces like I somehow didn’t have a right to politely decline.

Then they tried to get the flight attendant’s attention, but as they did that the person sitting directly behind the woman with the baby lifted herself up from her seat and said *”If you knew you were flying with a baby, you should have made sure your seats were booked together.”*

They both looked at each other, then at the lady behind us, and blankly looked at me, while they mumbled something about trying to do just that, but couldn’t for whatever reason. By then my husband was back and hers had already walked away.

My husband sat down and I quietly told him was had just occurred (in case her husband might come back and ask him himself, or bring the flight attendant over) and he was glad I didn’t let his seat go.

With it being a long flight and him having anxiety about flying, he definitely didn’t want to be sent to the back of the plane alone, and I definitely didn’t want to be alone sitting next to a couple with a small baby for hours across the Atlantic. But I was even more appreciative of the woman behind us who spoke up, just because.. Safe travels everyone.

See what others had to share with OP:

JMarchPineville −  NTA. I wish people would stop doing that. When I’m asked to swap, I put a shocked look on my face and say, “oh no, that’s very bad luck.”

HNjust4fun −  I travel frequently for work and have this happen all the time, what always amazes me is they NEVER want you to move to a better seat it’s Always one at the rear or a middle seat. One of the rare times I was in first class for a flight cross continental I had a lady ask me to switch seats with her husband who’s seat was 6 rows from the back and in the sinter.

She was adamant that they sit together, I walked to the back and asked the man sitting next to her husband id he would be willing to switch seats with the wife in first class “sure”.

The wife then threw a fit “ why on earth would I give up the firstclass ticket I paid for?” “Thats exactly what you wanted me to do, I just want you to be able to sit next to your husband… Maam “ She honestly didn’t see the irony, several people thought I was smart to turn it around on her.

Used-Tangerine-117 −  Seems like there’s been a lot of “airplane seat” scenarios here lately. Universal answer: you are never TA for sitting in the seat you paid for and were assigned.

Inside_Major_8078 −  NTA wife can sit with him and upgrade one of his seat folks.. Stupid games, Stupid prizes.

gobravz15 −  They should have offered the person beside him in the back of the plane the wife’s window seat and she could have gone to sit with her husband. I bet they didn’t do that.

SufficientCow4380 −  I am sick and tired of all the stories about people feeling entitled to seats someone else paid for. You know what I do if I end up in a seat I don’t like? I sit there and wait until the plane is boarded. If there’s an empty seat I’d like better, I ask the attendant if I can move. But I don’t ask someone else to move. When my child was young, I’d make sure to book 2 seats together. You know, like a responsible adult?

LukeHeart −  This must be a fake post since there’s a update only 5 minutes after it’s posted when there’s only one comment.. *Update: Since posting this, it’s obvious this is a triggering topic for many, so much so that the term ‘seat switching anxiety’ probably best describes it.

ioncloud9 −  First rule of asking to switch: always offer to give up a better seat to sit together. If your SO is in row 9 and you are in row 31, don’t ask the other person in row 9 to switch, offer a person in row 31 a seat in row 9. Same goes for window/aisle and middle seats. Offer a window seat to someone who has a middle seat.

Dipshitistan −  NTA. I promise you, the “couldn’t for whatever reason” was trying to buy a cheap second ticket and then pulling the move they pulled.

ExigentCalm −  NTA. She was welcome to go to the ass end of the plane and ask to trade seats there.

Was it fair for the woman to keep her husband’s seat, or should she have accommodated the man so he could sit with his family? How do you think seating conflicts like this should be handled on flights? Share your thoughts below!