As summer travel surges, so does the trend of in-flight seat swapping — a game of musical chairs at 35,000 feet that shows no sign of slowing down.
On Reddit’s “r/americanairlines” forum, a user shared their experience in a post titled, “Finally happened to me.”
The poster wrote: “Maybe I should stop reading about seat swappers … because it finally happened to me. Get in my 2A seat and I tell the woman, ‘Hey, before you get settled, I’m at the window.’ And she goes, ‘Well, my husband and I are apart in separate aisle seats.’”
They continued, “I go, ‘OK, well, I’m not moving, so I hope you figure it out.’ She goes, ‘Well, it’s still business class.’ No.”
To clarify, the user added: “To clear this up, I’m on an Airbus 2×2. No middle. And it was my seat that I paid for. Moving to an aisle when I booked a window months ago is not the same … otherwise [I] would’ve obliged.”
The post quickly gained traction, receiving over 1,000 responses, with commenters sharing similar stories and their opinions on mid-flight seat negotiations.
One user agreed strongly with the original poster: “I’m not at all for seat swapping. It’s ridiculous.”
Another chimed in: “Returned recently from Munich and the lady across the aisle kept asking me to switch seats so she could sit next to her husband.”
Many commenters noted that asking is fine — but only once. “I mean, there’s no harm in asking, but if the answer is ‘No,’ politely drop it and move on.”
Another added, “Unless a person has some sort of illness where their traveling partner needs immediate proximity, there’s no point in this.”
Some questioned why adults feel the need to sit together during short flights. “Why can’t grown-ups just suck it up if they are not next to one another for a few hours?” one user asked.
Another shared: “My spouse and I fly often, and sometimes we can’t sit next to each other — big deal. We never ask someone to trade seats.”
Still, one commenter admitted to being a strategic seat swapper: “I am one of these seat swappers any time I travel with family. We reserve a row and the window and aisle seat … hoping no one gets the middle. If we happen to get a middle [seat]er, we ask them if it’s OK if they get the window instead or aisle. Haven’t had a complaint yet … Hoping it stays that way.”
To offer some professional perspective, California-based etiquette expert Rosalinda Randall told Fox News Digital: “No one has the obligation to switch their seat.”
She continued, “The person making the request has no right to expect [this] or make a scene when they don’t get their way.”
However, Randall acknowledged that in some situations, switching seats may not be a major inconvenience: “It’s a short flight, you can find a similar seat in another row, or anyone would be an improvement from the passenger [you’re currently] sitting next to,” she added.
Source: nypost.com