A man who paid extra for his place on a flight has been praised for refusing to swap seats with a pregnant woman who asked him to move.
The passenger was approached by an expectant mum before his long-haul flight who asked him to give up his seat so she could sit closer to the bathroom.
But the man declined her request and said he didn’t think it was “fair” for him to move, considering he had “planned and paid for” his aisle seat.
The anonymous flyer, who took to Reddit to ask fellow social media users if he was in the wrong after saying he refused. He said the woman “did not seem distressed”.
His unchivalrous actions surprisingly went viral with over 15,000 upvotes and thousands of people supporting his decision to stay firm.
He explained in his post that he was visiting family over Christmas and disagreed that the pregnant woman should have priority.
He defiantly wrote: “I specifically booked and paid extra for an aisle seat in the second-to-last row because I have medical issues that sometimes require 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.”
The man said that he “felt for her situation”, but “did not feel it was fair” to demand he must move from his seat “especially since she apparently had not booked an aisle seat herself in advance”.
He went on to explain that the flight attendants “refused to help mediate” the situation, as the woman insisted that he “should have to move”.
He noted there were no other aisle seats available near the bathroom, before adding that his family told him that he “should have inconvenienced [himself] and given up [his] seat”.
He concluded: “I disagree though, I think she and the flight crew were unfairly targeting me instead of handling it through proper channels.”
In the comments section, many Reddit users applauded the man for refusing to move seats, with one person writing: “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.”
Another added: “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’s business why you booked that seat. Was the passenger or airline going to reimburse you for the cost of prebooking the seat? Zero obligation for you to move.”
