The man refuesd to swap seats with a disabled woman (stock photo) (Image: Getty)
One man’s act of defiance on a plane has been causing a stir online.
by plane is almost always an exhausting experience. No matter how long your actual flight is, you always end up spending hours in the airport and have to battle through crowds and make your way through security, all before you even board the .
Even a short-haul flight can take a lot out of you, while longer flights can be so draining you need a day to recover once you finally land at your destination. So it’s no wonder that people take whatever measures necessary to ensure they’re as comfortable as possible when they fly.
One of these measures is booking the perfect seat. Whether you’re an aisle fan or love to be by the window, bagging your preferred seat can make all the difference in your overall comfort.
Which is why one man refused to swap seats when he was asked to give up his spot in the aisle – even though the woman asking for his seat was a woman.
In a post on , the man explained that when he boarded the flight and got to his seat, there was a woman “in her 60s” sat in the seat next to his. When he sat down, she apologised and told him she needed to get up – and came back with a flight attendant who asked the man to swap seats with her.
He said: “When I first sat down, she apologized and said she needed to get up. I told her it was no problem since there was enough space for her to move without me needing to stand up.
“A couple of minutes later, she returned with a flight attendant and asked if I could swap seats with her because she had ‘mobility issues’. I politely declined because I wanted to keep my aisle seat, and the seat next to her was occupied by a very large woman who was spilling into part of the older lady’s seat.”
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The man said he doubted the woman’s “mobility issues” claims because he believed she would have been pre-assigned an aisle seat if that was the case.
He added: “My thinking was that if the older woman truly had mobility issues, she likely would have been pre-assigned an aisle seat. Also, there really was plenty of room for her to get out of her seat without me having to move, so it seemed to me that she just didn’t want to sit next to the larger passenger.”
In a later edit, he claimed the flight attendant offered the woman another aisle seat in a different row, but she insisted she wanted the “extra leg room” that came with the aisle the man was sitting in.
Commenters on the post were largely on the man’s side, as many said the woman should have booked her own aisle seat if she knew she would need one. It was also pointed out that people with mobility issues are usually placed in window seats rather than aisle ones, as aisle passengers need to be able to get up quickly in the event of an emergency.
One person said: “Airlines allow people to prebook their seats. She knew she had mobility issues and CHOSE not to book a seat that was comfortable for her and thought she would just force someone else out of their assigned seating.”
Another added: “Former Cabin Crew here: People with reduced mobility are usually supposed to be seated on a window seat for safety reasons. In case of an emergency they are the last to get out of the plane to make sure the vast majority of the passengers get evacuated safely.”