If there’s one environment where etiquette seems to go out the proverbial window – it’s a plane cabin.
Plane seating in particular can spark some pretty fierce debates and in the latest instalment of seat wars on flights, the conflict centres around a tall man and an elderly woman.
The man took to Reddit to rant about a recent flight he took on which he was confronted about swapping seats by an older woman.
He wrote: ‘I booked my flight six months ago and actually picked a worse timed flight so I could specifically have an aisle seat for a 10 hour flight.
‘I’m over 6ft and also use the bathroom frequently. I’m walking to my seat and an elderly lady is sitting there.’
His wife asked the woman if she was meant to be in the window seat and the lady said yes but that she wanted to swap to the aisle seat so she could easily get in and out.
The husband said: ”This is when I chimed in and simply stated, “I’m pretty tall, so I’m going to need the room, sorry.” She seemed miffed, but moved to her seat without objections.
‘The girl behind gave me a dirty look and said I should have given up my seat for the old lady.
‘The older lady seemed to move fine across the seats, albeit it being somewhat difficult for anyone.’
But the man was left questioning whether he had done the right thing after the dirty look from the woman behind. The internet, however, had no doubts about who was right and who was wrong.
One Redditor wrote: ‘You paid for your specific seat for a reason. If she wanted an aisle seat, she should have bought an aisle seat.’
Another agreed, writing: ‘They have reservations for a reason. You paid for the specific seat. You have a reason for wanting an aisle seat. You have no obligation to give it up.’
Others also had a bone to pick with the woman who had given him a dirty look. One wrote: ‘If the girl behind you is so concerned about the old lady she could have given up her own seat.’
Someone agreed, replying: ‘That’s absolutely right. Everyone loves to sit on their high horse until the situation affects them personally then suddenly “it’s different”.’
One woman said: ‘I am an old lady with a cane and would never ever ask anyone to give up their seat,’ to which the original poster responded: ‘This makes me feel a little better about the situation.’
In a similar situation another man who was flying a 10 hour flight from Europe to Asia with his wife was asked to move so a woman with a baby could have her husband next to her.
This man had paid for extra leg space because he was also tall and refused.
And it was just a couple of months ago that a CEO went viral on TikTok for refusing to give up her seat so a woman could sit with her two children.
The CEO Tammy Nelson even went as far as to say: ‘There seems to be a growing trend of this entitlement in society and I think people are just sick of it.’
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