Passenger refuses to move plane seats so mum can sit with toddler

Plane seats are often the source of debate — and people have been truly split over a mum’s “audacious” request while flying with her toddler.

A passenger has revealed why they refused to change plane seats to let a mum sit with her young child. Picture: iStock

An angry traveller has shared their frustrations over a woman who had “the audacity” to request a seat swap so she could sit next to her kid.

In a resurfaced Reddit post now going viral, the flummoxed flyer said it was “not my problem they didn’t book together” when asked to switch seats, the New York Post reports.

The unidentified traveller was on a flight from the US to Japan — sitting in a window seat — while the toddler was in the middle seat.

The tot’s mum was in the row directly behind them, also seated in the middle.

“She asked me — and just me — to switch with her so she could have my window seat (next to her daughter) and I’d take her middle seat a row back,” the user wrote. “Hell to the f**k no.”

The peeved passenger continued in the post, “Worse is we were surrounded by others from her tour group that she could’ve asked for a three-way trade instead. Or the tour operator.

“The audacity to ask just me and expect an inferior trade on my side.”

The passenger explained her decision not to move on Reddit.

People in the comments were divided over whether the user made the best decision.

One person, who described themself as a “parent of a toddler,” expressed shock that the original poster would prefer to sit next to “someone else’s unaccompanied toddler” instead of moving.

“Sure, someone else could move, but either [way] someone has to move or someone has to sit next to a flying toddler,” the commenter continued, reprimanding the original Redditor for being “infuriated” about a mum “trying to watch their own kid”, calling it “dumb”. “I honestly don’t know which is more annoying for other passengers,” they said.

“Why were you so eager to sit next to a stranger’s toddler daughter?” inquired another user.

“My rule of thumb is: 1). Will only change an aisle for an aisle (my preference). 2). Will never change an aisle or a window for a middle 3). Will never change if I had to spend extra money to get my seat,” wrote someone else. “I just started refusing altogether,” agreed one person. “Unless it’s for an upgrade.”

“I’m sick of entitlement from people, and it seems elevated on planes and even more so of late,” they continued. “I don’t know you. I don’t generally care about you beyond reasonable human compassion. And I am certainly not responsible for your poor planning. Don’t talk to me again and go away.”

Plane seats are often the source of debate between passengers. Picture: iStock

The online debate is just one of many stoking travel controversies.

TikTokers and Redditors alike have lamented their aeroplane woes, sparking heated conversations over the ethics and etiquette of seat swapping.

Last year, one user went viral for asking if he was “an a**hole” for refusing to give up a seat he paid extra for when approached by a mother who wanted to sit with her family.

One woman explained in a viral video that she was asked by a mother to switch from her window seat to the aisle.

After refusing, the TikToker drifted off for a nap, but was woken by a child “crawling” all over her — and the mum did nothing to stop it.

Meanwhile, content creator Audrey Peters also weighed in on the debate after refusing to budge from her airline seat when approached by a family.

She wrote that she wouldn’t swap her assigned seat for one in the middle.

She mouthed the viral TikTok audio in the clip — which says, “Girl, f**k them kids, and f**k you too” — as hundreds of users applauded in agreement in the comments.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission