Plane Passenger Has Best Comeback to Woman Asking To Swap Seats: ‘Decline’

A plane passenger’s fiery comeback to a woman asking to swap seats with her in-air has made waves across the internet.

The airline passenger, who goes by u/JaggHagg on Reddit, took to the social media platform to share exactly how the heated exchange went.

“I boarded the aircraft and went to my business class bulkhead window seat. [I was] getting ready to settle in for a long flight. A woman came to the aisle seat and placed her bag on the seat. She looked at me and asked me if I would be willing to trade with her husband so that he and she could sit together,” the passenger, who had been traveling alone, opened up online.

“I asked her where her husband was sitting. She indicated that he was back in row 25 by the window. I then declined to move,” they continued.

The Redditor went on to describe how the woman grew “visibly upset” and began exclaiming in the cabin that she “couldn’t believe” the Redditor would not let the pair sit together.

“I suggested that she trade her seat with whomever was sitting next to her husband so that they could sit together. She snorted and told me she had paid for a first class ticket! I smiled slightly and said that, indeed, I had as well,” they added.

Newsweek reached out to u/JaggHagg for more information via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the account.

Expert Verdict

Travel expert Jessica Dante founded and still runs the travel blog, @loveandlondon, where she gives her readers and followers insider tips on how to best enjoy the U.K capital. Newsweek asked Dante whether the Redditor had acted fairly in the first class flight debacle.

“Unfortunately it seems that single travelers are often put in this position of ‘can you swap seats so my partner or my family and I can sit together?’ That’s a completely valid question, however if you’re asking someone to do a swap for a lesser seat in their eyes, they are completely entitled to say no,” Dante said.

“In this situation, the traveler handled it appropriately by asserting their right to their chosen seat, as they too had paid for a business class ticket. The offer for the woman to trade seats with her husband’s neighbor was a fair suggestion, emphasizing a balanced solution”.

“If you ever find yourself in this situation, the key is to maintain a respectful and calm demeanor, recognizing that seat preferences can vary amongst passengers.
Airlines give the option to pay to sit together or to pick seats before check-in, so that option should be utilized if it’s that important to you. If you ask someone to switch and they decline, that’s their right,” she summed up.

What Do the Comments Say?

Since it had been shared to the social media platform on November 30 by u/JaggHagg, the Reddit post has been upvoted by 93 percent of users and commented on more than 300 times. The majority of the Redditors engaging with the post have backed the passenger for declining to switch seats.

“I can’t believe she thought this would work,” one user wrote.

Another user added: “If you want to sit together, you give someone else your upgrade and take the lesser seats. End of story”.

The Reddit post can be seen here.

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