A guy is getting some applause for standing his ground and not swapping seats with a pregnant lady on a plane. She wanted the aisle seat he paid for, and he wasn’t having it.
Let’s face it, travel can be super exciting, exploring new places and all. But, getting there? That plane journey can sometimes be a bummer. I mean, from not-so-great food choices to ending up in front of a kid who turns your seat into a kicking target for the next few hours – flights have their ways of testing your patience.
Here’s a story that might make you squirm a bit: A guy found himself in an awkward spot after saying no to swapping his paid-for aisle seat with a pregnant lady who wanted to be closer to the restroom.
This mystery man spilled the details on Reddit’s ‘Am I The A**hole’ forum, hoping to get some backup on whether he did the right thing by holding onto the seat he forked out extra cash for.
So, here’s the scoop: “I was flying by myself on a 5+ hour flight to visit family over the holidays. I specifically booked and paid extra for an aisle seat in the second-to-last row because I have medical issues that sometimes require quick access to the bathroom.”
The OP explained, “Right before boarding, a woman asked me to give up my seat so she could sit closer to the bathroom. She was pregnant but did not seem distressed. While I felt for her situation, as someone with a medical condition, I did not feel it was fair to demand I move from the seat I planned for and paid for, especially since she apparently had not booked an aisle seat herself in advance.”
The plot thickens! So, this guy spills that when the pregnant lady insisted on him switching seats, the flight attendants weren’t exactly eager to jump in and help out. Plus, with the flight all packed, there were no other aisle seats up for grabs nearby.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Instead of giving in, our guy suggests to the pregnant woman that she might want to chat with her doctor. Why? Well, if sitting far from the bathroom is a big no-no for her during flights, maybe the doc could help sort things out for future trips. A bit of a clever move, don’t you think?
The man said that his own family thought he should’ve just gone ahead and “inconvenienced” himself by giving up his seat for the pregnant lady. But hold on, he wasn’t feeling it. He thought the woman and the flight crew were kind of pointing fingers at him instead of sorting things out the right way.
“Still, my family says I should have inconvenienced myself and given up my seat. I disagree though – I think she and the flight crew were unfairly targeting me instead of handling it through proper channels. AITA?” He asked.
“NTA [not the a**hole]. She should have booked another seat she wanted herself or not gone on the flight. Seems she just assumed she wouldn’t have to pay for it, since some sucker was going to move. The flight attendants are at fault for not mediating. At some point they should have told her to go back to her seat. (and all of this is regardless of your medical issues. You paid for the seat. She didn’t.).” one commenter said.
“This is when you throw back, ‘I actually have incontinence so I have to be near the restroom’ or another bladder related medical condition. Realistically I would just tell her that I paid extra for the seat no thank you.” Said another.
Let us know your views in the comments.
Source: Reddit
Respect the women. I think the man should have capitulated, but since he planned & paid for the aisle seat, he could have asked the lady to buy him a drink or extra meal or something in return. The lesson here is you can’t depend on people being courteous or sympathetic.