When it comes to air travel, passengers are expected to abide by a set of unwritten rules to ensure a stress-free flight for everyone onboard. But not everybody gets this memo - with some choosing to leave their manners at the gate.
That's exactly what one passenger came to learn when jetting off with his girlfriend for some much-needed time away. Taking to Reddit, the 26-year-old explained how he'd paid extra to sit next to his partner during their four hour flight.
He said: "Me and my girlfriend were boarding a plane and going to our seats - centre and window - that we paid extra for. After getting to our three seat aisle, there was a mother and an eight-year-old girl, with one of them sitting in our seats.
"We asked about the seating assignment and the mother stated that the airline crew told her that she and her daughter must sit next to each other and the centre seat belongs to her daughter."
Not believing a word of it, the man called over a flight attendant to verify her claims.
"We called a crew member over to help sort things. The mother emphasised that her daughter is only eight-years-old and it’s a long flight so they needed to sit next to each other," he added.
"She changes the story a bit here while shushing her daughter when the daughter is trying to explain the situation herself.
"The crew member told the mother that she should have asked AO (not sure what this means) about this prior to boarding.
"[She added] that since the flight is at full capacity and the seats are assigned, they should stay at their assigned seat, and need to ask me and my girlfriend if we're okay with switching.
"The mother argued that she asked us but we said no. In reality the mother never asked us, only proclaimed the seat is theirs before the crew member came by.
"While I am perfectly fine with switching seats so a mother and young daughter can sit with each other on a flight, I don't appreciate being lied to, potentially manipulated, and guilt tripped so they can get their way."
The man says he would have happily have switched seats if the mother had asked nicely - and not made a scene for the entire plane to watch.
"Still at this point, the mother never asked us to switch and probably assumed we would say no," he added.
"While the daughter started to move back to her seat, the father in the next aisle tried to guilt trip me stating, 'She's an eight-year-old girl, c'mon man'.
"I told him that if the mother was more professional about the situation instead of lying to us, there wouldn’t be an issue.
"He then yelled 'F*** you', that I am the reason the world is f***ed up and to wait till I have a daughter to understand.
"At the end we found out that the mother's and daughter's seats were one row apart."
Commenting on his post, one user said: "I really dislike this 'I have a child, therefore I'm entitled' mindset some parents have.
"If you have a child you plan better, or make a request not demand or try to manipulate."
Another user added: "If they wanted seats beside each other they should have booked them.
"You should look at getting refunded the extra you paid - and the airline is at fault for allowing an eight-year-old to be booked into a seat not beside a parent."
A third user said: "I hate it when people don't plan and then expect others will just accommodate them.
"The mother could have bought seats next to each other or talked with the gate agent.
"It's also really rude not even to ask for people to switch and just assume they will. Both mom and dad were just wanting to control the situation."
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