Solo Plane Passenger Says a Mom Called Her 'So Selfish' for Refusing to Give Up Window Seat for Her Kid

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Getty

Getty

In a post toReddit’s AITA forum, a 22-year-old woman recalled a recent flight in which she was being pressured to give up her window seat for a child. It was a “long-haul” flight, the woman wrote, and she tends to get anxious on airplanes so she specifically booked the window seat for herself.

When the woman got to her seat, a mother and her child — about 5 or 6 years old, she estimates — were seated in the aisle and middle seats, respectively. Quickly, the mother asked the woman if she’d be willing to give up the window seat so her child could sit there instead.

A mother with children on an airplane.Freemixer/Getty

Freemixer/Getty

“I politely declined, explaining that I booked the window seat on purpose. She sighed but didn’t push further,” the solo traveler wrote.

However, when the child grew agitated about an hour into the flight and complained about not having the window seat, the mom began making passive-aggressive remarks directed at the window seat passenger: ‘Some people just don’t have kindness in their hearts,’ and ‘It’s so hard traveling with kids when no one helps.’

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“To me she sounds selfish for expecting you to accommodate for her child. She should have booked a window seat,” one comment read. “Some mothers don’t realize that it’s not other people’s responsibility to accommodate for them.”

Another comment said the mother’s actions were just plain bullying, as a method of trying to annoy another passenger into freely giving up a seat she paid for.

PEOPLE previously spoke to travel expert Nicole Campoy Jackson of Fora Travel about exactly this scenario.

After an Instagram post abouta similar conundrum, went viral in 2023, commenters battled it out on the topic.

Sunny Anderson, star of Food Network’sThe Kitcheneven weighed in, explaining her take: “Sorry, mom. I’m sitting in the window seat for my anxiety. I shouldn’t be forced to explain that for your visible issues or picked on about it. If ever I can’t get a window seat, I legit look for another flight,” Anderson wrote.

“As much as it’s possible, passengers should be choosing their seats ahead of time for this exact reason,” Campoy Jones advises. “I don’t think that you can board a plane with the expectation of someone leaving their seat for you.”

With a few exceptions, airlines offer seat selection as part of the booking process, which passengers can utilize to ensure their party is seated next to, or near, one another. However, some airlines charge extra for the privilege of choosing your exact seat, creating a barrier for some flyers.

If a disagreement escalates, she says, it’s really up to the airline and flight attendants to offer customer service for the family if someone declines to switch seats, she says. When there’s a conflict, “It’s no longer that one passenger’s responsibility,"

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

source: people.com