Passenger praised for refusing to give up business seat for loved-up couple

A man has been left baffled after being asked to voluntarily downgrade his seat on a flight.

Posting on Reddit, the passenger recalls the incident, explaining that a woman sitting next to him in Business Class asked him to swap his seat so that she could sit next to her husband – who was in economy.

The Business Class seats in question were in a two-seat centre pod configuration – so when the woman sitting next to the poster asked him to switch with her husband, the passenger thought it would be a nearby seat.

After agreeing to the switch – and assuming it would be another Business Class seat – the woman explained her husband’s position was actually a middle seat in economy.

‘You can’t seriously expect me to swap a pod for a MIDDLE seat at the back of the bus. Are you kidding me?’ he recalled saying to the woman in the Reddit post.

‘It’s not such a big difference. And it’s their bulkhead row so there’s plenty of legroom,’ the woman allegedly replied.

According to the post, the woman was originally seated in economy but was offered a free upgrade – however, was under the impression that someone would be willing to swap to get her husband upgraded as well.

The poster explains that his final offer was to help her find someone to swap, rather than give up his own seat.

He recalls that he told the couple they had ‘two choices’ – either sit apart, or sit together back in economy and see if anyone wants the Business Class seat.

He added: ‘They both angrily made their way back to the back, and I was half-expecting a new, confused stranger to appear, the lucky recipient of an instant upgrade… but no, she came back. According to her, 18A loved the window bulkhead and didn’t want to move. 18C had family in 18DEF and didn’t want to move either. Someone later told me that perhaps the flight attendants got involved and just told her to go to her assigned seat; no seat-swapping allowed.’

Most people on Reddit have defended the passenger, stating they are shocked by the woman’s request.

‘Do they really expect people to give up what they paid extra for?’ one person replied.

While someone else added: ‘I would have said no immediately no questions. Why the heck would I switch out the super expensive seat I paid for ANY other seat on the plane just so she and her companion can sit together instead, and her companion gets a free seat that I paid for?’

In fact, according to etiquette expert Jackie Vernon-Thompson, asking people to swap seats is one of the biggest travel faux pas.

She previously told Metro: ‘You cannot reasonably expect someone in the front of the plane to switch to the rear or in a downgraded area of the plane,

‘In a row, you can’t ask them to sit in your centre seat when they were sat in the aisle or window – they must get an equivalent of what they have purchased.

‘If the seat you’re offering them is a long way from where they’re sat, or a worse seat, just stay where you are. It’s unreasonable to ask.’

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