A woman found herself in a challenging situation, caught between her own comfort and societal expectations. She was confronted with a decision – whether to prioritize generosity or stand up for her personal space.
On her way to spend Christmas with her family across the country, she was well aware of the importance of being comfortable during her flight. Due to her size, she consistently books an additional seat and is willing to pay extra to ensure her comfort.
“I 34F am obese. I’m actively working toward losing weight and I’ve made progress but I’m still obese as I’m typing this,” the woman wrote in her post on Reddit’s AITA sub forum.
“I’m going over to see my brother and his husband for Christmas across the country and because I’m fat, I booked an extra seat so everyone can be more comfortable. I know it sucks having to pay for an extra seat but it is what it is. I know Southwest Airlines has this “customer of size” policy but I’ve had some bad experiences with Southwest even before I was obese so I wasn’t doing that and it’s mostly my fault I even got fat.”
The journey started smoothly with an easy check-in, swift passage through security, and boarding. However, as she settled into her seat, the situation took an uncomfortable turn. Seated next to her was a woman with an 18-month-old child.
Spotting an empty seat, the woman requested that she squeeze herself into one seat so her toddler could take the other. Firmly standing her ground, the occupant, who had paid for both seats, declined the request.
As the situation unfolded, a flight attendant intervened to understand the matter. Despite the flight attendant’s inquiry, the woman maintained her position, reiterating that she had rightfully paid for both seats.
Fortunately, the flight attendant handled the situation well, and directed the mother to hold her child in her lap. However, despite the resolution, the mother persisted in making the woman uncomfortable with disapproving glances and passive-aggressive comments throughout the journey.
“She makes a big fuss over it, which got the flight attendant’s attention. She told the flight attendant I was stealing the seat from her son, then I showed my boarding passes, proving that I , in fact paid for the extra seat. The flight attendant asked me if I could try to squeeze in, but I said no, that I wanted the extra seat I paid for,” the woman explained.
“The boy, who the mom said is 18 months old was supposed to sit in her lap so he could do just that. The flight attendant eventually told the mom to put her son in her lap. I got dirty looks and passive-aggressive remarks from her for the entire flight and I do feel a little bad because the boy looked hard to control so AITA?”
The majority of people in the comment section sided with the woman and said the fussy mum needed to get a separate seat for her son if she did not want him to sit on her lap.
“She’s TA for not buying a seat for her son and assuming someone else would give up a seat they paid for. Odds are she was hoping there’d be extra seats on the flight so she didn’t have to pay and used the lap thing as a loophole. Classic case of you snooze you lose. Also sorry! NTA for clarity!” one wrote.
“NTA, that’s just crap. I’ve taken 9-hour flights with an infant in my arms, and shorter flights with a toddler in my lap, who was capable of sitting in his own seat and very much did not want me to hold him. Did it suck? Yes. But it was my problem alone, and as long as my child was under 24 months and I didn’t have to pay for his seat, I chose to hold him. I swear, not all of us parents are this entitled!” a second said.
“I think she was always planning to have the baby on her lap, saw the situation with OP and tried to essentially steal her seat (attempting to obtain consent by coercion) and got big mad when OP wasn’t the pushover she hoped for. Good for you OP bc I told would have been a pushover and have been secretly seething the whole flight,” a third commented.
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Source: Reddit
