By Jack Peat
She has to sit with the children in economy
A man who only upgrades himself on flights with his family has sparked outrage on social media.
The jet-setting dad lets his wife and kids sit in economy when they travel while he either pays for or gets upgraded into the first-class cabin.
He says it would cost too much money for the entire family to sit together in first class – and he wouldn’t want the children to travel without a parent present.
But his wife says that is unfair.
Seeking advice on The New York Times Magazine’s ethics column, the woman wrote: “My husband loves to travel and always either pays for, or gets an upgrade into, the first-class cabin. When we travel together with our children, he buys himself a ticket in first class and puts us in economy or economy plus.
“He even did this recently on an overnight flight to Paris.”
“I feel that this is unfair,” she added.
Apparently, her husband even generously offered to travel alone on a different flight ahead of his family so they don’t feel bad about the disparity.
“But this does not really address or solve the problem of the inherent selfishness in his thinking”, the woman said.
“Am I wrong? We are happy to travel, and love going places together, but it is still very strange.”
The woman’s post has since been shared on Twitter, where it has received more than 10.4 million views and 69,000 likes in a matter of days.
While most users slammed her husband for being “so selfish”, others urged her to get a divorce as soon as possible.
One user said: “So my husband has elite status as he travels a lot with work and we, the two kids and me, don’t.
“I have no problem with him in first or business class and us in economy. He worked hard for it. Sometimes he gets an extra upgrade then we take turns in joining him.”
Another user added: “One for all all for one! Pay for the whole family to fly first class. They are worth it!”
A third user said: “Whenever me and my fiancé travel together, if one of us gets upgraded and the other doesn’t, I first offer it to her, and then I refuse it myself if she doesn’t want it.
“Strange hill to die on for this guy. It’s just a larger seat at the end of the day.”
One more user added: “What a real man would do is purchase first class for the wife, and he’d sit with the kids in economy. That’s if they didn’t all sit in economy together, which I also don’t see an issue with.”
This article originally appeared on Joe.co.uk
