Woman Kicks Little Girl Out Of Her Plane Seat But Feels ‘Bad’ For Making Her Cry

Feb 23, 2023 by apost team

Going on a long flight means being prepared for different challenges – including a potential feud between you and the person seated next to you. Everyone’s traveling expectations are different, as some people hope to have a peaceful time and potentially spend some time reading a book or listening to music. Others may be more extroverted and hope to make a friend with their newfound travel companion. Unfortunately, the latter was certainly not the case for a 22-year-old woman and the plane passengers sitting next to her.

The woman took to Reddit in February 2023 to talk about a difficult flight experience she had regarding a father and his daughter sitting next to her. The original poster (OP) embarked on an international flight that lasted about eight to nine hours, and she traveled alone. She had a tough time doing so and found it incredibly difficult to leave her family behind. She was even crying repeatedly throughout the day prior to her flight.

Fortunately, OP had something to look forward to – she had a window seat, so she would at least be able to enjoy the scenery as she flew for several hours. But when she arrived at her aisle, she noticed a child was sitting in her seat while the child’s father was seated next to her. OP explained that it was her seat, but the father wouldn’t budge.

OP was confused but decided to take the empty aisle seat and contacted her family to let her know about her struggles. After receiving some support from her loved ones, OP was ready to stand up for herself, even if it meant upsetting a child in the process.

Starting off her Reddit post, OP explained that she was traveling alone for an international flight that lasted about eight to nine hours. “I had a window seat booked for my flight and I was looking forward to it,” she said. However, when she got there, she noticed a child was sitting in her assigned seat while the child’s father was sitting in the middle seat.

“I looked at the dad and pointed at the window seat saying that I think it’s my seat expecting him to move,” OP explained. “He looked at me and said she’s a child and pointed at the aisle seat suggesting I take it.”

OP was “perplexed” by this but did as she was told. She reached out to her family to explain what was going on. “My dad called me and told me to get my seat because he paid for it and it wasn’t a free seat,” she explained. So, OP told the girl’s father this, and in return, he asked his daughter to move. Unfortunately, the little girl was not happy with her new seating arrangement.

“She started crying and I felt terrible but my dad told me to hold my ground. The girl moved and is sitting in the middle, I’m in my seat and I’m also sitting back so she can see out the window,” OP said.

However, the dad made a few “snide remarks” about OP’s insistence on wanting to sit in her own seat, which made OP wonder if she was the wrong one in this situation.

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OP further explained:

“I insisted on sitting in the window seat my dad paid for and the girl who was previously sitting there started crying and didn’t want to move. She has moved now but I feel bad.”

Fortunately for OP, many Reddit users agreed that she was not in the wrong in this situation and that she was right to stand up for herself. While it’s nice to accommodate families – especially those with young children – it’s also important not to overstep other people’s boundaries.

One person commented, “No, what is this epidemic of people assuming they can take another person's assigned seat? The seats can have different prices, and can be selected ahead of time. The father can keep his snide remarks to himself.”

Others pointed out how flawed the dad was for assuming that he and his daughter could sit wherever they pleased.

One person said, “There is a lot of similar cases (children want window seat, family want to seat together) but I never read a story when someone asked ‘Hey, we couldn't get seats we'd liked. I know this seat is more expensive so would you agree to switch with my child and I'll reimbuse (sic) you?’ I wonder why…”

Another commented, “You bought a seat to be able to use it, and the father in this situation knew that the seat he put his child in wasn’t theirs to use. If the father wanted their child to have a window seat, they should have selected one. People choose their seats of preference for all sorts of different reasons, and they shouldn’t have to deal with someone just assuming that they can sit there.”

Needless to say, folks didn’t see anything wrong with the way OP handled herself.

What would you do if you were in this situation? Have you ever had a bad flight experience? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your family and friends.