A passenger took to social media to decry what she called “the most insane plane behavior” and considering how many passengers behave terribly on planes that’s a bold claim.
The man and his two kids approached another passenger, asking if he’d switch seats.
Hey man. My kids have middle and window and I’ve got this aisle across. Do you mind just swapping me aisle to aisle?’
The man agreed, willing to switch seats – after all “this aisle across” means another aisle seat. He’s indifferent between the two so why not help a family out?
Except the dad hedges, “middle or aisle… yea, aisle,” The man took the other aisle seat, the dad took the main’s aisle next to the kids. And… another passenger comes on board assigned to the aisle seat he’d moved to. It turns out the dad had the middle seat and lied to the man in order to get him to switch. The dad traded something he did not have in the first place.
@justalexbennett Airplane etiquette is crazy #airplanes #airplanestories ♬ original sound – Alex Bennett
What do you do in this case?
- The father is seated with his kids
- You’ve given up your aisle seat and now are left with a middle seat
Do you try to split up the family, or do you let the dad get away with this and suffer the middle? That would put you next to his kids, which might not go well.
I would personally approach a flight attendant and see if there are any open aisle seats on the flight, otherwise I’d show my boarding pass and say that the dad is in your seat. Yes, he discussed a seat swap with you – lying about where you’d go if you agreed. I’d insist on my assigned seat, and if the kids behaved poorly deal with that as a separate issue. They might be fine.
What do you think? How would you handle this one?
Agreed. I would insist on an aisle seat, involving an FA if necessary.
Wow. The heart-breaking part of this is the kids. What a terrible example this man is setting for them. He may not be saying it outloud but kids hear as much or more from what they observe than what they’re told anyway.
I’d tell the one asking to switch to wait until boarding is finished , and then will get back to you . Let him ask the other passenger .
I wouldn’t have swapped seats in the first place. Then I wouldn’t be in that situation to begin with.
Dad could have purchased seats together, if that’s what he wanted.
@Jeff … What is “heart-breaking” about it ? It is merely an airplane trip – not a romance novel .
Show me your boarding pass with seat assignment.
This is FA’s business, and I would hit the button, and probably get up to make room for the guy to move back. But having heard of this so much, I would have asked to see the boarding pass first. And yet another reason I try not to fly coach if possible.
Put me on team “This guy is in my seat”.
NEVER SURRENDER AN AISLE SEAT
only bad things can happen
I’ve been approached many times about switching. I always always ask to see thier boarding pass of the proposed switch.
They have told me in the past seats are what I’m currently sitting in are equivalent to only know better.
I love windows. I’ve been told D and C seats are window seats. Nope.
I’ve been even asked to sit in Alaska row 6 to help a couple who wants to sit together in row 1.
I’m like you are really thinking I’m falling for that….why don’t you try to switch with the middle row 6 and give them the row 1 aisle seat….:.that’s a good deal.
I refuse to entertain anything anymore as it’s people wanting to get better seats for nothing. The internet “advice” always advocate to just asking to switch to get better seats instead of paying for them. Just like dressing up or saying revenue management gets you a F class upgrade!
Moral of the story is always ask to see the boarding pass of the passenger requesting a seat swap.
Seriously Gary? This is worth writing about?
The please switch seats scam is common and often includes a downgrade. It is often pulled off by people who are family or friends against solo travelers. Those of us often traveling solo have to be wary of any such requests.
Middle seats get a bad rap but let me tell you, with all the particularly large passengers these days as well as those who’s carry-ons rival a backpack worthy of trekking through the Serengeti, aisle seats are the WORST!!
My fee for switching seats starts at $100. If you don’t have cash then don’t bother. I chose my seat for a reason, and sometimes paid extra for it. You, meanwhile, got basic economy and then think you’re entitled to what you didn’t pay for. Nope. Your guilt trip won’t work with me.
Only in America…
@ Gaey — The simple solution is to show your boarding pass to the FA and have the other passenger moved to their assigned seat. Your “deal” with the other passenger is meaningless.
Well, depending upon the age of the children, I might decide to stay in the middle seat … but not without me letting the parent know just what I think of them and their deception.
@Kevin – Agreed 100%. Anyone who asks me to give up the seat I’ve chosen in advance is going to be told NO.
“Polite but firm” always works. Go back to the guy and say “Turns out your seat was a middle. Let’s stick with our original seats.”
If the guy doesn’t budge then very simply tell a flight attendant “Someone is in my seat.”
If the guy claims to the flight attendant that you agreed to switch, say, “No sir, I did not agree to switch from an aisle seat to a middle seat.”
You gotta hope the guy’s kids grow up with better morals.
I just watched the TikTok video. The woman calls the scam victim a “nice” guy for ultimately taking the middle seat.
That makes you a doormat, which is not a nice guy. A doormat is a coward, is not a role model, is not pro-social. A doormat erodes our collective EQ.
Don’t be a doormat. Don’t be angry or impolite. Be polite and be firm when you have an unambiguous rightful claim. Sir, you had the middle seat, not the aisle seat. Let’s switch back to our own seats.
Don’t accuse the guy of conning you, he could’ve made an understandable mistake with the stresses of travel. A polite person always thinks of innocent explanations of behavior.
But a polite person isn’t a doormat.
Do
Not
Be
A
Doormat
Do not be a doormat.
This situation shouldn’t have gone viral at all. Everybody should’ve just sat in their ticketed seats and that’s that.
There really is no discussion. I’m not sitting in the middle seat. I’m taking the aisle seat back. If the Dad tries to give a hard time about it I’m calling the flight attendant and showing my ticket. Not going to play games with these people. Honestly I feel there is too much changing seats on planes already. If people don’t want to pay the small premium to preselect their seats then that is NOT my problem. I am very methodical about the seats I select so unless you are upgrading me don’t expect me to switch seats with you.
Jesus flight passengers scamming the boarding order, inflight seat scammers, sneaky self upgraders, plugged doors falling off – how I long for the good old days when all we fliers had to worry about was airlines playing El Kabong with our guitars while dragging doctors down the isle!
But I thought only Southwest had seating drama?
Seat switching (when it isn’t simply internal within a group traveling together) always needs to involve offering an equivalent or better seat to the person being asked to switch. Anything else is rude behavior and the correct answer is “No.” The wording in the story about the linked Kayak-sponsored survey is nauseating. I’m on the “If you wanted a better seat you should have paid for it” team, though I’d probably word it, “I chose this seat and paid extra for it, so I prefer to stay where I am.”
Please, please, may my prediction be wrong. But, I fully expect the day will come that the FAA will force the airlines to make this single traveller move into the middle seat to accommodate the family. We’ll find sections unavailable to reserve from day one to keep open to accomodate families who book late. All and all, the single travellers will suffer bad seats, so families can be accomodated. Congress might require this because it is “good politics” to take from single individuals to accommodate families. Give a higher child credit to above middle class families rather than reducing taxes on single, lower middle class taxpayers? Sure. We childless and unmarried are ripe the get scr3w3d to provide benefits for parents and couples. (Note, I am not objecting to help for the children in lower-income families, just not the rich.)
what an a hole. I’d let his kids know what kind of a human their dad is…….
After a deadly aircraft crash like American Airlines Flight 587, the medical examiner and NTSB will use the flight manifest to help determine who died in what seat. Although you’re dead, when you take the initiative to switch seats without informing the flight attendant to update the seat manifest, your human remains might be initially misidentified because your body fragmentation pattern correlates to an incorrect passenger seat. Victim fragmentation data is also helpful in determining the identity of lap children and service dogs using their DNA and dental records even though the human remains fragments are burnt beyond recognition, charred, shredded, or mangled.
Another annoyance to consider when switching seats before your airplane crashes is your flight attendant might deliver your specially ordered (last) meal to your previous seat location. You might die while hungry.
Read more: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Amy-Mundorff/publication/223990990_Victim_Fragmentation_Patterns_and_Seat_Location_Supplements_Crash_Data_American_Airlines_Flight_587/links/00b7d5242da4a8fba5000000/Victim-Fragmentation-Patterns-and-Seat-Location-Supplements-Crash-Data-American-Airlines-Flight-587.pdf
I always say I’m claustrophobic and have to have an aisle. If it’s further back, I say I have a tight connection. If it’s an aisle in front, I’ll move if I can see the empty seat and the person in the middle of that row.
Overall, I never book a flight if I don’t get the seats I want.
(1) Refuse to switch seats – many good excuses (e.g. “Sorry, company policy”)
(2) If you ignore #1, insist on checking BP before doing anything further.
(3) Tell them you paid for the seat and there is a $500 fee they need to compensate.
(4) If you ignore #2 and #3, get FA and tell her somebody is sitting in your seat. Deny agreeing to switch.
It’s pretty easy not to be a doormat but you have to be ready to do so. It is also more of a PITA when you find someone already sitting in your seat, but that was not the case here. Another reason to have elite or CC status and board as early as possible.
You can’t allow a weasel like this one to succeed, it only encourages them.
Tell the jerk he has lied and so he must go back to his seat and I get back mine.
“No, thanks, I’m happy where I am now. Good luck!”