Airplane Seat Stealers

I've noticed this on my last few flights. The person will inadvertently feign confusion and say, "Oh, I thought C was the aisle seat!"

Granted this isn't when someone has already (rudely) taken my seat, but I simply say "I'm fine thanks" and pop in my ear buds.

I try to get on board early, and then when I'm seated by the window, I turn my back to the aisle to send a message: "Leave me the fuck alone!"

I will admit, I can be a jerk, and sometimes even relish it a little (especially in situations like this). I would have said "get the fuck out of my seat, I paid for it, and if you wanted to sit in it, you could have paid for it".

I fly a moderate amount for work and have NO patience for this shit. It is completely obvious at this point the seating situation on any flight. You want to play roulette? Fly Southwest.

"I don't a speak a Engrish. Sorry."

"Oh, stewardess! Punish this person!"

Lol I like R6's solution.

This happened on a commuter jet this summer. Two seats on one side, singles on the other. I had a single, and when I got to it, a guy was already making himself comfortable. I said - oh, you’re in my seat! Where should I sit now? Where is yours?

Worked well!

R8, did he say this “Where should I sit now?” What did he end up doing, and where did he sit relative to you?

R9 he was across the aisle and he just mumbled and moved.

I love when people do stupid stuff like this so I can ease into Miranda Priestly mode and drag them for filth with the hint of a smile and my pulse never going above 65 bpm.

I would imagine a parent would love to have a break from their kids for a few hours. The parents I know would be grateful.

And if your kids are too young to sit on their own, then it’s just wildly irresponsible to book a seat rows away from them.

Some man tried this with me over the summer (he had a teenage daughter). I glanced up, murmured “no” and went back to my phone.

The best part is when the helicopter mom kept bugging her daughter, "Are you okay? Is everything okay?"

And the kids finally shut her up, by saying "YES, WE'RE OKAY!!!!"

Rofl.

Fuck her.

I have only flown rarely but 75% of the time, somebody was in my seat.

Then on Amtrak, I was sitting on coach and a woman said I was in her seat. I pointed to business class for her.

I have given up on flying, it has not been enjoyable for a long time. Frankly, the world is the unsafest it's ever been so I don't think I'm missing out.

The last time it happened to me, I just said: "I think that's my seat." Deadpan delivery. Just waited for the person to get up and move into their own seat. You tried it.

Not a problem- I simply take my assigned seat. I always get “more space” and this kind of thing has not occured in those seats. But I would do the same in regular economy- I might move in economy if asked but not to a middle seat. I’m very tall, ergo the more space seating usually.

It’s really pretty simple- take your assigned seat or don’t fly. Flight attendants are not going to side with a seat “stealer”.

R15, huh? So it’s unsafe for me to fly from NYC to Palm Springs? Or London? Or Paris? Or Chicago? Or Honolulu? Or DC. Or Boston? Etc. Tel Aviv perhaps- sounds like you need to get a grip!

I fly SFO-BOS 4 times a year, plus other miscellaneous flights. On long, transcon flights, I pay extra for an extra legroom seat at the window. This has happened to me twice.

The first time was an ignorant asshole who boarded before me and thought he could just take my seat because he got there first. Flight attendant intervened and the guy calmed down. I was polite and calm -- and was rewarded with a free drink.

The second time was an issue with a family of 4. I was not going to give up my window seat for a middle seat, which I'd paid for and told them that, after the Mom pleaded with me, with a genuine look of concern on her face. Turns out the concern was for ME.

The two kids were hyperactive. I was wearing a tie and had planned to do work on my laptop, but the WiFi failed.

Ended up playing "Go Fish" and Checkers with the kids and exchanging silly jokes with them with the parents a few seats away for a few hours with the arm rests up while the parents drank sparkling wine in cans and bought me one. It was among the best flights ever. The kids eventually tired out and exchanged seats with the parents (I stayed in mine) at various times, and I sat and talked with each of them for the rest of the flight.

The Mom turned out not to be entitled, but was frustrated that since they'd booked late, they couldn't all sit together and was worried that her "brats" would cause chaos and thanked me for "managing" her energetic son and daughter at 30,000 feet for a few hours.

When I first boarded, I was afraid that it was going to be a "Karen Experience" but thankfully all worked out. This was last October.

To be honest, I'm not tall, but I pay for the Economy Plus/Extra Space seats in attempt to avoid the trashiest passengers.

That's actually a nice story, R19.

Personally, I would have paid no attention to those kids.

I would have put on my headphones, faced my back towards them, and stared out the window.

I don't like mingling on flights, with kids OR adults. Just leave me the hell alone.

What is this “economy” and “coach” thing all of you are babbling on about? If I can’t get business or first class seats, I simply call up the private jet, and away we go. No problems at all.

I didn't know Meghan was on DL.

My husband and I flew Lufthansa from Munich last autumn, business class on the upper deck of a A380. The second to last group of people to board was a family of five: two adults and three kids, none older than 5. And of course they took their seats in the row ahead of us.

Surprisingly, the kids were well behaved and kept quiet even during the 2hrs we were stuck on the ground due to thunderstorms. Once enroute, the mom went on a walkabout though and met another family in the cabin behind ours. About an hour later, there were 7 kids in the area of two seats in the center of the plane having a play date. Very much over the top, “super mommy! Look at me!” bullshit, but still the kids remained low-key. Right up to the moment the others had to go back to their seats. Ugh.

The moral of the story is, kids are a pain in the ass and families on airplanes are horrible.

This only happened to me only once recently, and I was in Economy + (woop dee doo). When this lady tried to get me to move, I said I'd move for $200.00 in cash. She acted mortified, and had the nerve to say "those seats are only like $35.00" So I said they are when you book them up front, but real time they are $200.00. She walked away in a huff. Stupid bitch.

The first airline to create mandatory children's areas will have my loyalty for life.

This happened to me but in reverse this Thanksgiving. I was at the bulkhead aisle in premium. A man sat beside me in the middle.

I was next on the upgrade list to business but alas that wasn't to be but then the FA asked if I would mind switching seats with the man's wife. I was like ahhhh, until she pointed to the seat in business.

So we switched and the woman said you have my seat with a slight annoyance which I didn't get.

Anyway, I took my new seat and the man beside me didn't shut the fuck up.

Better a seat stealer than a seat sniffer.

R26, what?

I had a woman sitting in my seat on a Delta flight. I was confused and asked her what seat she had and she ignored me multiple times while she stared blankly at a pamphlet. It looks like she was sitting next to her husband and maybe that’s why she wanted to sit there, but ignoring me while I was trying to figure out what was going on pissed me off. The stewardess was no help and told me just go sit “there” and pointed to an empty seat, which must have been hers. I probably would have been fine moving if the bitch just would have asked in the first place instead of outright acting like I wasn’t there while speaking to her.

I travel a lot on biz and this happens a lot. If it’s a comparable seat I always agree. I’m always in aisle or window and will swap with either when asked.

But there have been a few times when people knowingly sat in my seat and refused to move. I never argue. I just call the flight attendant who tells the person to move to their own seat. They always grumble when leaving but who the hell cares.

Once I was flying to London in business class and a woman was sitting in my seat. I thought she had mistakenly taken my seat but she said her boyfriend had a biz class seat and she was in economy and she didn’t think it was fair. So she took an “open” biz class seat. She threw a temper tantrum when kicked back into economy. Funniest thing was that her boyfriend did nothing to intercede.

What a socialist she was, R30.

R29, I would have definitely gotten the seat I was assigned. That was rude of her.

I used to do a lot of traveling and had this kind of thing. happen to me often. Then I figured out the problem: I was always booking aisle seats. I started booking only middle seats and the problem cleared up.

I've had that happened to me twice in recent memory. Both times I reserved an aisle seat because I want to get up and walk at least a couple of times during a flight. The most recent a woman and her two teen children (about 15-16) were on the other side of the aisle and she expected to sit in my seat, saying she wanted to be close to them. Sorry, I reserve a seat aisle and I'm keeping it. If she had kids under 10 I might have conceded, but not for older teens. She was actually beginning to argue, I called over the steward and he told her to get in her own seat and stop causing a problem.

[quote] [R29], I would have definitely gotten the seat I was assigned. That was rude of her.

The flight attendant is supposed to enforce these seat assignments. Otherwise, what's the point. Lame of any flight attendant to leave it to the passengers to duke it out amongst themselves. Delta should be better than that.

R33 - sitting in middle seats, which everyone knows is the worst seat, for the rest of your life is not a winning solution.

I was on the side of the woman in OP’s video until I saw the wall art behind her.

Now I’m on no one’s side.

R35 -- When Spirit or Frontier cans a flight attendant, Delta snaps them up. Worst cabin personnel ever!

United has good FAs, IMO.

OP, this is not an interesting subject in any way.

Oh we’re flying on a 739 MAX today? Ok you can have my window seat.

"It seems you took the wrong seat by accident. This is the seat that I reserved."

And then a long dead glare as I block the aisle, ticket and explain that "Sorry, it will just be a moment for this person who took my find to get out and find his proper place."

It works.

Ticket, R42?

*ticket in hand,

Thanks, R43

[quote] This only happened to me only once recently, and I was in Economy + (woop dee doo). When this lady tried to get me to move, I said I'd move for $200.00 in cash. She acted mortified, and had the nerve to say "those seats are only like $35.00" So I said they are when you book them up front, but real time they are $200.00. She walked away in a huff.

And then as she left, you poked her in her haunches with your rolled-up flight magazine and sassed off to her, "Move it along toots."

I would refuse to sit or move until the trespasser got out of my seat. If the FA told me to "just sit somewhere else" I would quietly ignore. I do not put up with people's shit. Once on a train in Italy my friend and I have reserved a first class seat that was in a private little cabin of 6 seats. Three facing three. Every seat in the cabin was occupied except one that belonged to my friend. An old Italian woman was sitting in mine and refused to move pretending to not understand me and the train porter was no help. One of the other guests in the cabin said who was also Italian but spoke English said, "don't let her get away with taking your seat. They do this all the time here and it's stealing."

So I pointed to the suitcase above her and asked if it was hers. She nodded. I grabbed it and put it outside the cabin in the aisle. She got up to get it and I sat in my rightful seat and shut the door locking her out. She pulled up her suitcase just outside the cabin window. Sat on her suitcase and stared through the glass awkwardly at us. I leaned over and pulled the shade thus blocking her from seeing us. Fuck that old crone. I'd have snapped her stupid neck if I thought I could have gotten away with it.

Good for you, R46.

Imagine going to a Broadway show and finding someone in your assigned seat who expects you to switch for whatever reason. Unthinkable, and yet people do it on planes all the time.

r40 Glad you drew more attention to the thread

r20, the two kids were going to throw a tantrum if they didn't get to sit together, which meant that they had to sit in my row, with the parents in another row.

They both were enthralled with sitting with a strange man and being away from their parents. I normally do not interact with anyone on any form of public transportation, and don't like most kids, but we were stuck for 6.5 hours without WiFi on an Alaska plane that lacked entertainment screens on the seatbacks.

Fortunately, the parents had a magnetic checkers board and I had a deck of cards in my carry-on bag, plus paper for tick-tack-toe. I made the best of the situation. There was no way those kids were going to let me read my NYT in peace. They taught me so many bad Knock-Knock jokes.

The father, who was cute and calmer than his wife, shared a giant container of fresh strawberries and sliced cheeses. He appreciated that I manipulated them into using my hand sanitizer and made a game out of it before we ate. I will never fly again without my own fresh fruit, cheese, and crackers.

I don’t like strangers exerting control over the airplane by rearranging seats. I do not want to be dragged into their mental illness. Fuck them.

We really should keep this breeder stuff off here.

Bulkhead economy seat on 12 hour flight to Frankfort. United FA ordered me to move back to a middle seat so a woman with an infant could have my seat and use a bassinet. I politely told her no so she loudly began shaming me. The seat cost a premium to reserve, which I mentioned but she said he was "the law" and told me I had to move or be removed from the flight.

The purser showed up and asked what was going on and sorted it out quickly. She gave me a business class seat and moved the woman with child to my seat, whereupon the woman with child said it wasn't fair that I was being upgraded and that she wanted to be in business class. I'm not sure exactly how, but I was also upgraded to business class for the next leg to Sofia on Lufthansa.

Once I was on an American Eagle flight with one seat on one side of the aisle and two on the other. I had reserved the first row seat on the single side because it had extra leg room. A young straight couple boarded and one had the seat behind me. The young woman asked if I’d switch with her boyfriend on the two seater side so that they could sit one behind the other. I was dumbfounded and said no. She declared how rude “some people” are. Then they switched with the other person on the two seater side and he got a single seat behind me which was the only solution that made sense in the first place.

I usually pay extra to have a seat I would be comfortable in therefore I expect those with their own needs to do the same. It is no one's responsibility to make your travel more comfortable. If you have young kids you should make sure you have prepared properly to sit with them.

[quote]If you have young kids you should make sure you have prepared properly to sit with them.

Therein lies the problem: during the reservation process the parent will be faced with a seat selection screen and huff "Fifty dollars just to make sure Bratley sits next to me? Ridiculous. I'll sort it out on the plane."

They cannot remove you from the flight if you remain calm. Don't fall for that threat.