AITA for offering to sell my seat to honeymooners.?

A Reddit user recounts their experience flying in premium economy on a long flight from Melbourne to Dubai. Seated next to a man who had been upgraded, they were asked to switch seats with the man’s new wife, who was sitting in economy.

The Redditor offered to switch if the husband covered the price difference for the premium seat, which he declined, calling them an “asshole” for refusing. The Redditor’s wife later suggested they should have been more considerate. Read the full story below for details.

‘ AITA for offering to sell my seat to honeymooners. ?’

I was flying from Melbourne to Dubai. I paid for a premium economy seat because it is a fourteen hour flight and I want to be comfortable. The person in the next seat had been upgraded and they asked if I could switch seat with their wife as they had just gotten married and were on their honeymoon.

I congratulated him on his nuptials and asked where his wife was sitting. He pointed towards the back of the plane. In economy. I declined to switch seats. He asked if there was any way to convince me. I offered to switch if he paid the difference between the seats.

It is a goodly amount. I had been lucky to get mine at a decent price. It would only have cost him $1,000 AU$. He said that they were on a budget for their honeymoon. I congratulated once again and put in my earbuds. He muttered that I was an a**hole.

I said he was a p**ck for taking the upgrade instead of either sitting with his wife or giving it to her. I told my wife about the incident and she thinks I should have done the nice thing. For the record she hates flying in economy so I know she would not have switched.

Here’s what the community had to contribute:

Natural_Garbage7674 −  NTA. If he really wanted to sit with his wife? I’m sure the person sitting beside her would have loved an upgrade to premium economy. He was essentially asking you to pay for his wife’s upgrade.

As a seasoned flyer from Australia who also works in aviation? I smell a r**. Presumably they booked together. They would have had the opportunity to plead their case when the upgrade was processed, either by contacting the airline prior to the day of flying, or in person at the airport.

My bet is that they either booked separately (so she couldn’t be taken into account) or he has some kind of status with the airline. And I’d also bet that the newlywed yarn was just made up for sympathy. He didn’t have to take the upgrade, and you are not to blame for his selfishness and lack of planning.

Fleurtheleast −  NTA at all. People who do this kind of thing are so crappy. Him trying to guilt trip you by telling you he was on his honeymoon was supposed to mean what exactly? Why were he and his wife entitled to a $1K gift from a stranger at the last minute?

So their plan was to take the upgrade and try to bamboozle whoever was sitting there? They played themselves. He said that they were on a budget for their honeymoon.

What does this have to do with the price of peas? Their poor planning is not your emergency. They should have rejected the upgrade if they wanted to be sure they sat together.

G0t2ThinkAboutIt −  NTA. I’m so tired of people thinking they can ‘guilt’ someone into giving in, even expecting them to lose money in the deal. This guy is the AH and I don’t think his marriage will last.

They just got married and he already abandoned his new wife for the ‘good life’. His wife now knows she made a mistake, hopefully she’ll get out before too long.

tinyd71 −  The AH is the guy who took the upgrade, left his wife in economy, and tried to guilt a stranger into swapping seats with his wife. He had options.

He could have either refused the upgrade, paid the price difference you offered, or swapped seats with his wife. Suggesting that *you* are the AH in this scenario confirms he’s awful. Good luck to his new wife!. NTA

CerberusTheHunter −  Wait a second… Melbourne – Dubai. Is your name Morgan?

SushiGuacDNA −  NTA. I think you did a great service to the wife. You have helped her see who her husband really is, hopefully before they have children together. On their honeymoon he abandons her?

He upgrades and leaves her behind? Is that what he’ll do again when he sees the first wrinkle on her, or if she gains three pounds? Leave her behind when he upgrades? Hopefully your act of kindness will help her see clearly to d**p his ass.

Timely-Profile1865 −  You are 100% NOT the ahole. Their lack of planning is not your fault. The sheer entitlement of some people is laughable.

Your wife was also 100% wrong on this one, you planned, you paid for your seat upgrade you even offered to be very nice and move if you got the cost of the seat upgrade.. Some people are ridiculous.

Momjamoms −  NTA, but he is. You’re absolutely right. That dude is a total AH for taking the seat and leaving his new wife in economy on their honeymoon. Yikes. Bets on how long that marriage will last.

BeMandalorTomad −  NTA. As I’ve flown back and forth between US and Sydney, I totally get why you want the better seats. Being newlyweds doesn’t entitle you to special treatment. You did the polite thing: congrats but polite no.

You could have laughed in his face bc he’s literally asking you to ditch $1000 dollars just bc they’re newlywed. If he was on his honeymoon, celebrating his birthday and announcing their first baby on the way, that’s still not a good reason to use your money to his benefit.

rhubarb-81635 −  NTA, if he wanted to sit with his wife, he could have easily switched his premium economy seat with the person sitting next to his wife in economy.

Was the Redditor’s offer to switch seats for a fee reasonable, or should they have simply moved to help out the honeymooners? How would you handle this situation on a long flight? Share your thoughts below!