Plane Passenger Teaches Fellow Traveler a Lesson After They Try to Guilt Them Into Swapping Seats

Mar. 15, 2025

Two women sitting in aisle seats talking on a plane.Photo:Getty

Getty

A plane passenger took it upon themselves to teach a fellow traveler a lesson about seat swapping during their recent flight.

To set the scene, the user explained how they were sitting in the aisle seat of one row, while another woman was sitting in the aisle seat directly next to them. When the woman noticed a family having trouble with their seats, she then approached the passenger with a question.

Passengers sitting in the aisle seat.Getty

The passenger recalled how they first “smiled” after being asked the question. They then detail how the conversation allegedly went next.

“Sure! So you’ll take the husband’s middle seat and then I’ll take your seat,” the passenger claims they responded.

After the woman argues back that the family just wants to sit together, the passenger reiterated the same response: “Sure! Happy to switch with you. So you’ll take his seat and I’ll take yours.”

“Shaking her head violently and frowning, she says, ‘Oh no, I don’t want to give up my seat,’" they write of the woman’s reaction.

Pleased that they successfully taught the traveler a lesson about seat swapping, the passenger explained what they did next.

“I relax in my seat with my smug smile and thinking my job here is done. By saying yes to her, I forced her to be the one to say no,” they conclude.

Flight attendant on plane.Getty

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When it comes to seat swapping, travelers shouldnever anticipate that other passengers might be willing to switch, according to travel expert, writer and advisor, Nicole Campoy Jackson.

“Generally speaking, don’t board a plane expecting passengers to shift for you, especially if your seat is not as comfortable as (or more than) theirs,” Jackson previously told PEOPLE.

She also advised that it’s always best to communicate with a flight attendant if a passenger needs help settling aseat swapping or stealing situationas they have access to more information than passengers do.

“I am always in the camp of getting a flight attendant involved for sticky in-flight situations,” she said. “Tensions run high when we’re traveling plus they would know, for example, if there was another aisle seat or another solution to this problem. They have more context than we, the passengers, do.”

source: people.com