Mom Traveling with Infant Asks How to 'Bribe' Fellow Plane Passengers to Swap Seats

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Getty

Getty

A mother is looking for tips on how to “bribe” another passenger so they’ll swap seats with her on an upcoming flight.

The mother purchased her flight tickets in January — roughly two months before her trip — but the flight was jam-packed already, she wrote in the post. The only two seats available beside one another were in the exit row, which she wasn’t allowed to select because she’ll be traveling with a “lap infant,” she says.

She notes that this is the only flight departing to her destination that day, so choosing another time isn’t an option.

She instead opted to reserve “one window (bulkhead) and one aisle 5 rows behind,” which are too far to easily share the responsibility of caring for her child with her spouse.

While she did reach out to the airline, she claims that the best advice they gave her was to continuously check the app to see if there are any seat changes that might work in her favor.

“Does anyone have advice on getting adjacent seats? Customer service told me to routinely check the app for an opening and that’s all I can hope for,” she asks in the post, before adding, “Any advice on bribing a fellow passenger to swap?”

Her last hope is that someone in a middle seat beside either hers or her partner’s will agree to switch.

“I guarantee you, if you ask someone nicely, either the middle beside you or the middle beside [your spouse], they’ll switch with you to get a window or the aisle,” one wrote.

Another added, “If I were ever in a middle seat I would leap at the chance to get a window (or better yet aisle since I have to pee every half hour) seat. As long as OP [original poster] is polite, and actually offers the choice of aisle or window, I doubt that anyone would turn them down.”

However, others noted that it might be difficult to find someone to switch if they are traveling with someone else.

“That’s an important caveat. They may very well be seated next to their companion. At least the OP has two potential options to pursue - they just have to hope both middle seat [passengers] aren’t traveling with someone,” wrote one.

Another user added that switching from the bulkhead row may be a harder endeavor since some people prefer it, due to legroom and no reclining seats in front of them. Meanwhile, a different user suggested informing the flight attendant ahead of boarding, in case there’s anything they can do.

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Flight attendant on plane.Getty

While some of the commenters' advice may be helpful, travel expert Nicole Campoy Jackson advises that travelers shouldnever anticipate that other passengers will be willing to give up their booked seat.

“Generally speaking, don’t board a plane expecting passengers to shift for you, especially if your seat is not as comfortable as (or more than) theirs,” Jackson previously told PEOPLE.

She also advised that it’s always best to communicate with a flight attendant if a passenger needs help settling aseat swapping or stealing situationas they have access to more information than passengers do.

“I am always in the camp of getting a flight attendant involved for sticky in-flight situations,” she said. “Tensions run high when we’re traveling plus they would know, for example, if there was another aisle seat or another solution to this problem. They have more context than we, the passengers, do.”

source: people.com