Flight passenger 'finally' rejects seat-swap request, triggers social media debate
The seat-swapping phenomenon has sparked many social media discussions with flyers sharing stories about fellow travelers asking to switch seats.
One user appeared to take a stand by sharing an experience in the "r/delta" forum on Reddit.
Titled, "Finally said no," the user shares "a couple approached me and asked if I could change seats with one of them so they could sit together."
"Guys, I gotta preface my saying I have been a chronic people pleaser all my life and have given up my seat multiple times when flying solo cuz I'm short and I really don't care as long as it's not a truly crap seat," said the post.
The user said that after finishing an almost two-week family vacation, "this flight I felt differently…I was ready to just be done," but asked if the seat was an aisle and was told it was a middle.
"I looked at this woman and her husband and simply said, 'no thanks'. The look on her face! You would've thought I slapped her," the post continued.
The user continued, "She just stammered as I stood up to let her pass and then awkwardly dipped into her middle seat beside me while her husband slunk to his middle seat a row back. I can't say that I didn't feel tremendous guilt at first, but once they were both seated their behavior and comments immediately steeled my nerves."
The flight passenger added the woman said "this trip would just be absolutely awful without him [her husband] right next to her" and appeared to be on the verge of tears.
The user said they slipped on their "noise-cancelling headphones to drown [the couple] out and took myself a guilt-free nap."
Reddit users took to the comments section to discuss the bold request to switch seats, with some sharing their own experiences.
"Good job practicing breaking your people pleasing tendencies," commented a user.
Another user said, "Mutual benefit is key to asking. Most people don't get that. A former boyfriend of mine traded his first-class seat with a comfort+ aisle so he could sit next to me. Oh, young love. Haha"
"People don't seem to understand. If you are brave enough to ask, you have to be brave enough to handle a NO," commented another Redditor.
"Never understood that. We all have assigned seats," said one.
"If they needed to sit together, they could have paid for seat selection. I don't get why people are upset when others refuse to switch seats," another person commented.
"I'm with you! If I paid for the seat, I'm not switching," declared one.
"Everyone needs to stick to their guns and maybe eventually people will stop asking others to give up their seats for them," a Redditor said.
"I am also a recovering people pleaser and I can tell you I would never swap an aisle for a middle. I paid for the seat, that's where I sit," another person wrote.
California-based etiquette expert Rosalinda Randall told Fox News Digital that "no one has the obligation to switch their seat."
"The person making the request has no right to expect [this] or make a scene when they don't get their way," said Randall.
Randall said there may be some circumstances in which it would be a minor inconvenience to switch.
"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," said Randall.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ski season comes to a close at Mammoth Mountain
MONO COUNTY, Calif. - The spring skiing season is coming to a close at Mammoth Mountain in the Sierrea Nevada Mountains. This will be the last weekend for visitors to shred the slopes as the resort wraps up the season on Sunday, June 15, which is also Father's Day. We spoke with Mammoth Mountain's VP of marketing and sales, Joani Lynch. She says it's been a great winter and one of the longest seasons not only at Mammoth, but one of the longest seasons in the State of California. "Our summit is at 11,000 feet, so the snow that comes stays a little bit longer," said Lynch. "We always stay open through Memorial weekend, quite often 4th of July, and in our longest seasons, well into August. So this is above average season for us in terms of length and we've had really fun conditions." Lynch joined KTVU for a live interview from the slopes on Friday, where skiers could be seen enjoying some powder behind her. The resort has 10 runs in operation, but no beginner terrain. All the open slopes this weekend are for more experienced skiers and snowboarders. Three chairlifts are open with terrain from top to bottom. "It's not a great time to be coming up if you're a first timer," Lynch said. There are intermediate trails available and some advanced terrain to explore. The slopes open at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday and the last run is at 1 p.m. Donuts and coffee will be provided while it lasts in the morning, along with some promotional items, including the famous Mammoth beanie. "In the afternoon, we do a big celebration at the top of the mountain," Lynch said. "We take one final run down the hill together. It ends with a party down in town." Now Mammoth looks forward to some summer activities. Including mountain bike trails. She said there are plenty of other fun things to do in the Sierras this time of year, like going for a bike ride, and fishing or hiking at one of the mini-mountain lakes. So if you're up for one last weekend of skiing, all the mountain passes are open and Lynch said it should be an easy pass through from the Bay Area to Mammoth. Meanwhile, closer to Lake Tahoe, Sugar Bowl ski resort is undergoing renovations. At 86-years-old, it's one of the oldest ski resorts in the state. The resort is a go-to for many here in the Bay Area. The $100 million renovations begin this summer. The wooden sundeck at the Village Lodge will be replaced and the kitchen will be expanded to offer better food.
CNN
4 hours ago
- CNN
‘You look hot,' she told the Italian stranger. For both of them, it was love at first sight
In travel news this week: the secret rules of British pubs, what it's like inside one of Asia's biggest fish markets, plus lasting love connections that began on trips to Italy and France. It was summer 2022 and California-based model Ambika Mathur was 'feeling kind of stagnant' after breaking up with her partner and moving back in with her parents. The Netflix show, 'Emily in Paris,' inspired her to set off on her own European adventure, which is how weeks later she found herself cat-sitting in Milan. Then, out of the blue, came an invite to a party on the Amalfi Coast. That's how she opened the door to an intriguing fellow guest. 'He was glowing and glistening,' she says of the Italian man, 'all tan and blue eyes.' Within days they were talking about marriage. Here's what happened next. There was an immediate attraction, too, when American Kerri Cunningham met Hugh Grant-haired Brit Dirk Stevens on a ferry to France in the summer of 1993. The problem was, they were only teenagers on vacation with their families. More than a quarter of a century after their teen romance had concluded and their lives were overtaken by marriage, bereavement and family ups and downs, they reunited in Ireland. 'It felt like some divine intervention that we were there for each other,' says Kerri. Before she left for the airport to return to the States, Dirk asked her, 'Maybe we can make this work?' British pubs have their own set of unwritten rules that it pays for international visitors to know. For example, flat-roofed pubs should be approached with caution, bags of crisps (not potato chips) must be split open on the table, and warning bells ring out twice at the end of the night. Find out more in our 21st-century guide to the great British boozer. One chain of 800 British pubs requires further introduction for outsiders. Wetherspoon pubs are a cult-like institution in the UK, both among admirers, who love the real ale and 'pub grub' sold at incredibly low prices, and detractors, who see them as everything that's wrong with the country at large. Here's the astounding story of the 'Spoons' empire. At the other end of the scale, and on the northern edge of the island, Scotland's 'ghost' whisky distilleries are coming back to life. The reborn Port Ellen distillery on the Isle of Islay offers a luxury visitor experience, which includes, surprisingly, Chinese tea service. California man Cameron Mofid has struggled with obsessive compulsive disorder since childhood, but the one thing that's helped him cope is traveling the world. Earlier this year, he became one of a handful of people in the world to have visited all 195 UN-recognized countries and territories. 'Visiting every country wasn't just about geography,' he tells CNN. 'It was about learning how to live with uncertainty, find calm in discomfort, and connect with people from every walk of life.' Music is the message for Danny Kean, who has been traversing North America for 20 years, improvising on a piano in the back of his pickup. On each of his outings, he invites passersby to tickle the ivory for themselves. 'I love the idea of strangers becoming less afraid of each other,' he says. 'This love for humanity drives me to keep doing good.' Writer Kim Davis lost 10 years of her life to illness, injury and personal tragedies, which spurred her to seize the moment and set off to travel the world for a year. Packing, of course, was a meticulous business. She told our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN, what she's brought with her. CNN Travel's Lilit Marcus tasted her way through the many rows of Seoul's Noryangjin Fish Market, famous for its hundreds of vendors and its wide variety of fresh fish and live seafood. When she tried live octopus, however, she may have bitten more than she could chew. This tiny Southeast Asia runway was once considered 'the most secret place on Earth.' It was a Cold War base for the CIA. It had become a shabby relic. Now one of Europe's grandest hotels is being restored to its former glory. A man posed as a flight attendant to get dozens of free flights. He's awaiting sentencing for two convictions. Nearly $10,000 for 500 grams of old tangerine peels? Welcome to Xinhui, where 'gold' grows on trees.
CNN
4 hours ago
- CNN
‘You look hot,' she told the Italian stranger. For both of them, it was love at first sight
In travel news this week: the secret rules of British pubs, what it's like inside one of Asia's biggest fish markets, plus lasting love connections that began on trips to Italy and France. It was summer 2022 and California-based model Ambika Mathur was 'feeling kind of stagnant' after breaking up with her partner and moving back in with her parents. The Netflix show, 'Emily in Paris,' inspired her to set off on her own European adventure, which is how weeks later she found herself cat-sitting in Milan. Then, out of the blue, came an invite to a party on the Amalfi Coast. That's how she opened the door to an intriguing fellow guest. 'He was glowing and glistening,' she says of the Italian man, 'all tan and blue eyes.' Within days they were talking about marriage. Here's what happened next. There was an immediate attraction, too, when American Kerri Cunningham met Hugh Grant-haired Brit Dirk Stevens on a ferry to France in the summer of 1993. The problem was, they were only teenagers on vacation with their families. More than a quarter of a century after their teen romance had concluded and their lives were overtaken by marriage, bereavement and family ups and downs, they reunited in Ireland. 'It felt like some divine intervention that we were there for each other,' says Kerri. Before she left for the airport to return to the States, Dirk asked her, 'Maybe we can make this work?' British pubs have their own set of unwritten rules that it pays for international visitors to know. For example, flat-roofed pubs should be approached with caution, bags of crisps (not potato chips) must be split open on the table, and warning bells ring out twice at the end of the night. Find out more in our 21st-century guide to the great British boozer. One chain of 800 British pubs requires further introduction for outsiders. Wetherspoon pubs are a cult-like institution in the UK, both among admirers, who love the real ale and 'pub grub' sold at incredibly low prices, and detractors, who see them as everything that's wrong with the country at large. Here's the astounding story of the 'Spoons' empire. At the other end of the scale, and on the northern edge of the island, Scotland's 'ghost' whisky distilleries are coming back to life. The reborn Port Ellen distillery on the Isle of Islay offers a luxury visitor experience, which includes, surprisingly, Chinese tea service. California man Cameron Mofid has struggled with obsessive compulsive disorder since childhood, but the one thing that's helped him cope is traveling the world. Earlier this year, he became one of a handful of people in the world to have visited all 195 UN-recognized countries and territories. 'Visiting every country wasn't just about geography,' he tells CNN. 'It was about learning how to live with uncertainty, find calm in discomfort, and connect with people from every walk of life.' Music is the message for Danny Kean, who has been traversing North America for 20 years, improvising on a piano in the back of his pickup. On each of his outings, he invites passersby to tickle the ivory for themselves. 'I love the idea of strangers becoming less afraid of each other,' he says. 'This love for humanity drives me to keep doing good.' Writer Kim Davis lost 10 years of her life to illness, injury and personal tragedies, which spurred her to seize the moment and set off to travel the world for a year. Packing, of course, was a meticulous business. She told our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN, what she's brought with her. CNN Travel's Lilit Marcus tasted her way through the many rows of Seoul's Noryangjin Fish Market, famous for its hundreds of vendors and its wide variety of fresh fish and live seafood. When she tried live octopus, however, she may have bitten more than she could chew. This tiny Southeast Asia runway was once considered 'the most secret place on Earth.' It was a Cold War base for the CIA. It had become a shabby relic. Now one of Europe's grandest hotels is being restored to its former glory. A man posed as a flight attendant to get dozens of free flights. He's awaiting sentencing for two convictions. Nearly $10,000 for 500 grams of old tangerine peels? Welcome to Xinhui, where 'gold' grows on trees.
