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12th April 2024
12:53pm BST
One social media user has been praised for not giving up their seat on an airplane to a pregnant woman.
When embarking on a 5+ hour flight to visit their family, they opted to pay extra for an aisle seat in the second-to-last row of the plane.
However, during the flight, a pregnant woman requested that they move so she could be closer to the bathroom, which the Reddit user point-blank refused to do.
This was partly because they paid for their airplane seat, but also due to their own medical issues, which helped them feel more relaxed knowing they had quick access to the bathroom.
"Right before boarding, a woman asked me to give up my seat so she could sit closer to the bathroom. She was pregnant but did not seem distressed," they wrote on a thread entitled "Am I the A**hole? on Reddit.
"While I felt for her situation, as someone with a medical condition, I did not feel it was fair to demand I move from the seat I planned for and paid for, especially since she apparently had not booked an aisle seat herself in advance."
When the pregnant woman insisted they move to accommodate her, flight attendants "refused to help mediate", according to the social media user.
Without any other aisle or close seats available on the flight to make the swap, the Reddit poster stood firm on their decision to remain in the seat they paid for.
"I tried to recommend she speak to her doctor about needing accommodation if sitting far from the bathroom is not medically advisable for her situation during future flights," they wrote, adding that their family wasn't impressed with their decision upon their arrival.
"My family says I should have inconvenienced myself and given up my seat. I disagree though - I think she and the flight crew were unfairly targeting me instead of handling it through proper channels."
The thread has since received thousands of responses, with the majority in favour of the user's decision to stand firm and stay in the airplane seat they paid for.
"She should have booked another seat she wanted herself or not gone on the flight. Seems she just assumed she wouldn't have to pay for it, since some sucker was going to move. The flight attendants are at fault for not mediating. At some point they should have told her to go back to her seat," one user replied.
"I say this as someone who has been pregnant and has flown solo with a toddler… every passenger has equal opportunity to pre-book seats based on their needs and preferences. It’s no one business why you booked that seat. Was the passenger or airline going to reimburse you for the cost of prebooking the seat?" one parent wrote.
"You specifically and for good reason made arrangements for your seat. Just being pregnant does not entitle her to demand it from you," another user added.
"You shouldn’t have to disclose your medical condition to anyone but are fully entitled to the seat you paid for ... The pregnant woman’s failure to plan accordingly does not constitute an emergency on your part," a fourth wrote.
"If she wanted an aisle seat she could have paid for it. While pregnancy can be inconvenient, it does not entitle you to things," one user replied.
