AITAH for making seat swapper cry?

A man was seated in his economy plus seat on a flight when a woman asked him to swap seats so her 9-year-old son could sit with her. She offered no compensation for the seat difference, and when he questioned her, she accused him of being cruel for leaving her son alone.

He asked her if she offered her own seat to the person next to her son, suggesting she was more concerned about her own comfort than her child’s well-being. The woman began crying, and shortly afterward, a man took the vacant seat next to him, clearly enjoying the upgrade.

His partner believes he was out of line for publicly criticizing the woman’s parenting. read the original story below…

‘ AITAH for making seat swapper cry?’

So, I board the plane, settle in to my economy plus seat. Woman approaches asks me to change seats to 32b so her 9 yr old can sit with her. I ask how much cash she has to repay me for the money I spent on the seat, she says I’m cruel for leaving her son with anxiety sitting alone.

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.

She breaks out in a screaming wail filled with “HOW COULD YOU”S 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?

See what others had to share with OP:

WhatTheActualFck1 −  NTA She’s in the wrong for 1- not being able to plan and book ahead of time so her son isn’t left alone 2 – not being able to put aside her comfort ahead of her “precious son” and 3 – thinking that anyone owes her anything for being a poor planner.

WickedAngelLove −  NTA It’s so annoying for ppl to do this- they don’t want to pay for seats but want people who do pay to give up their seat. I would never unless it’s equal or better value. t

hat last time a man asked me to switch so he could sit with his girlfriend, i got to move 6 rows up and he brought my bag and put in the bin for me. Even sent me a drink.

blackcat218 −  NTA. If you had done what my brother usually does if someone asks him to swap seats then yes you would have been. He is 6’4 so he always books the exit row so he gets more leg room otherwise his legs get smooshed into someone’s back.

Even on the exit rows he sometimes is smooshed. His usual response to anyone that asks him to swap is “f**k off”. He flys quite often and he has told me on almost every flight he has taken in recent times someone has asked him to switch for some stupid reason.

He was on a flight back from Fiji yesterday and he said some girl asked him to switch. She didn’t even get to the reason she wanted before he told her to f**k off.

Sebscreen −  NTA. I really hope this is real because that m**ipulative 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.

bevymartbc −  NTA. Whenever ANYONE is asking to swap seats, it’s ALWAYS for a better one and they always throw a fit like this to try and get what they want when told no. People like this should be removed from the plane

ButItSaysOnline −  NTA. She knew exactly what she was doing and you foiled her plan.

Mysterious_Try_4453 −  As soon as parents book a child under a certain age, the booking site should make them book two seats together. It should not be an option to book random seats or only one premium and one random.

If the parent is booking in economy, no extra charge should be added for booking two seats together, but if they try the premium and random, they should be forced to either pay for two premiums together or be downgraded to economy so they can be seated together.

tosser9212 −  “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!

anglflw −  Seat swappers make flying horrible for everybody else. The sheer level of entitlement they display is shocking to me.. NTA

Acheron223 −  NTA Don’t bring your kid into it if you don’t want your parenting brought into it.

While it’s understandable that you wanted to protect the value of your upgraded seat, your comments about her parenting and making her cry could have been more tactful. Sometimes, it’s best to politely decline a request without getting personal, especially in a public setting. What do you think? share your thoughts below!