- A woman took to Reddit after another passenger took her assigned window seat.
- Since it is difficult for him to “confront” others, he does not defend himself.
- Thousands of readers took to the comments section to give their opinion.
An avid traveller has reignited the debate over airplane etiquette after finding a fellow passenger sitting in his assigned seat.
‘How do you respond to someone who “accidentally” takes the window seat on a plane?’ the woman captioned the post, shared on Reddit’s r/mildlyinfuriating forum.
She went on to describe how she “recently” took a flight, for which she did not pay extra for priority seating, and was ready to “just sit wherever I was assigned.”
However, to his ‘delight’, he had been assigned a window seat.
‘How do you respond to someone ‘accidentally’ taking the window seat on a plane?’ the woman captioned the post, shared on Reddit’s ‘sr/mildlyinfuriating’ forum.
After backing out due to the difficulty of “confronting”, the woman accepted the middle seat without further argument, but did not feel good about how things had played out (file image)
This setup was especially appreciated since it was an eight-hour flight and she “wanted to sleep with the wall support that the window seat offers.”
“However, when I get on the plane, a lady is in my seat,” the user continued.
‘She says, “Oh, I didn’t realize. You can sit here,” and points to the middle seat.
“I have a hard time accepting confrontation, so I just accepted it,” the woman sadly admitted.
“If this were to happen again, how would you react?” he asked on Reddit.
And, as expected, thousands of people took to the comments to give their opinion.
One offered a simple, unadorned script: “No, that won’t do. I’d like my seat.”
A second suggested a similar response, plus a Plan B: “Just say, ‘I prefer my window seat, thanks.’ And if that doesn’t work, tell a flight attendant.
Thousands of people took to the comments to offer advice on how the woman should handle such a situation if it were to happen again.
‘My response is always, “Oh, no thanks.” ‘And I just stare at them until they move,’ described a third.
“Pretend ignorance about what he told you. Look at your boarding pass, say my seat is 35A, look up and check the seating arrangement, say window seat, what does it say on your boarding pass? Act confused. Call the flight attendant. Tell him there’s a mistake,” a fourth recommended.
To this, someone else chimed in: “This is a great way to handle the situation if you don’t like confrontation.”
Another confirmed: “Playing dumb is an amazing life hack.”
A fifth shared how they reacted in a similar situation: ‘This happened to me recently and I calmly said, “I have the window seat,” and he smiled while nodding and making eye contact.
‘They acted like they were confused and I repeated the same words and actions with a big smile and a vigorous nod. They seemed very upset but got back on their feet. I was very polite throughout the flight and they were passive-aggressive but harmless.’
The commentator concluded with some sage advice: “A big part of dealing with conflict is staying calm and resolute by repeating the truth until they understand that’s all you’re going to say until it happens.”
Travel etiquette has long been a hot topic of debate on the Internet.
DailyMail.com has previously reported on key travel etiquette rules, from being wary of sleeping travel companions to avoiding “smelly snacks”.
Another expert has sounded the alarm about an increasingly common breach of good manners that he says is tearing apart “the fabric of society”.