'I refused to swap plane seats with child and their mum hit me with one-word insult'

A woman has sparked a discussion after refusing to give up her seat so a mum could sit next to her six-year-old daughter during the flight. The nervous passenger explained that she had paid extra for a window seat months ahead of time to help her "stay calm" during the trip, given her anxiety about flying.

However, upon reaching her row, she was surprised to find a mother occupying her window seat, with a six year old girl seated next to her in the middle seat. She shared on : "I politely said, 'Hey, sorry, but I think that's my seat.' She didn't even look up, then she said: 'Oh, I was hoping you wouldn't mind switching. My seat is a few rows back, in the middle, but I really want to sit with my daughter.'

"I said, 'I'm sorry, I understand that, but I booked this seat on purpose. I have anxiety, and I really need the window.'"

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"She now got angry at me for some reason. 'Seriously? It's a kid. You can't sit in a middle seat for a couple of hours so a mother can stay with her child?'". Visibly irritated, she clarified that she had paid extra for the window seat due to her travel anxiety.

She continued: "Then she stood up and snapped, 'Unbelievable. Selfish people like you ruin everything. I hope you feel good about making a little girl cry.'

"Her daughter wasn't even crying - just quietly colouring. I said, 'I'm not responsible for your poor planning. If it was that important, you should've arranged seats together before the flight.'".

At this point, a flight attendant intervened to investigate the commotion, and the mother attempted to portray her as the villain for refusing to swap seats.

She recalled: "The woman tried to make me sound like a monster, but I calmly explained I had this seat booked and wasn't giving it up. The attendant checked my ticket and asked the woman to move."

The mother begrudgingly complied, but not before spitting out a one-word insult. She accused the passenger of being "soulless" for not moving.

This jibe clearly struck a nerve – as the travel fan took to Reddit to ask if they were in the wrong for staying in their seat. Thankfully for them, people reassured that they'd done nothing wrong.

One user responded: "I flew last week and we had several families make a request to move seats so they could sit together.

"However, they did this through the stewardess, who then asked via intercom for volunteers. That's the right way to request it, not be a one-off a***hole like this woman was."

Another user chimed in: "I don't confront someone in my seat. I take it to the flight attendant and let them confront that person. I have nothing to say to person who wants my seat. It is mine. I bought it. My ticket says as much.

"I just look at them with a blank stare and let the flight attendant handle it. I can swear at them and call them names but why?

"I remain non aggressive and let the flight attendant be the bad guy. I am an aisle person. I don't like to be trapped in the middle or at a window. I can feel kind of car sick in those seats."