Woman Refuses To Change Airplane Seats To Help Out 'Disorganized' Families Who Wish To Sit Together

May 02, 2023

We all want to have the best seats in the house – whether it be inside a movie theater or performance venue – but most especially when riding public transportation. And yes, that includes a plane. After all, you would want to feel comfortable throughout your ride regardless of whether it's a long one or not. That's also one of the main reasons why people book specific seats in advance. So, it's quite understandable why a lot of people refuse to give up their seats.  

It's not uncommon to be asked to move to another seat. But in 2022, several people took to various platforms – including TikTok and Reddit – to share a similar experience.

Bobsled athlete Cynthia Appiah who represented Canada in the Olympics, for one, spoke about her own experience a couple of years ago.

Appiah said she saw a woman who occupied her seat in Premium Economy sitting next to her boyfriend. She initially thought she was wrong but triple-checked and found out that the seat indeed belonged to her. The woman's seat was only one row behind but was not an aisle seat.  

"I go up to her and I'm like 'hey, you're in my seat.' And she goes 'yeah, I know I am, but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind switching with my seat just behind me, so I can sit with my boyfriend during this flight?'" she said.

Appiah went on to share that she refused to give up her seat. "I told her nope, I paid for this seat. I would rather stick with my seat," she said. "I was just like, I bought the aisle and I'm not moving."

Perhaps the most prominent figure who faced criticism for asking to switch seats was Irish model Vogue Williams, who took to her podcast to rant about it.

Williams, who traveled to Gibraltar with her family – including her husband, Spencer Matthews and three children – revealed that she only realized she had booked the wrong seat when they were already about to leave the peninsula located in the southern part of Spain.    

Williams said Matthews and their daughter sat in the middle seat in the row next to Williams. So, he asked the man next to them if he would be willing to exchange seats. But the male passenger said no.

"We were just like, 'oh, okay dude, that's okay,' and so anyway when he realised he was being an absolute t***, he looked at me with a newborn baby and the two kids beside me, he was like, 'okay fine, fine, I'll do it,'" Williams said.

Writer Jaci Stephen gave her two cents on the issue through a piece published in the Daily Mail, in which she said she had experienced the same thing with people whom she described as "disorganized."

"I've lost count of the times I've been singled out as a single woman on her own and asked to change my seat. I suspect it's because people think we're going to be the softest touch. Wrong," Stephen said.

Stephen also gave a piece of advice to those who want to grab the perfect seats. "Here's the simple fact: if you want to travel as a family or in a group, book your seats together beforehand," Stephen stated.

"Your incompetency in failing to do so is no one else's responsibility and you should certainly not be making others feel uncomfortable when they want to stick to their probably well-organized plans," she added.

Do you agree with the woman that people should book their plane seats in advance? Let us know your thoughts, and pass this on to your family and friends who would love to read this story!