Female Olympian Discusses Seat Selection On Airplanes After Entitled Couple Asks Her To Switch Seats With Them

"I always say unless you're in first class, I don't switch"

Maryjane

• Published in Interesting
• December 4, 2022

If you've ever flown on a plane, you know that where you sit matters a lot, and the longer the flight, the more willing you might be to pay extra for a better seat. Aircraft are claustrophobic, hot, and daunting machines; the least you can do is sit as comfortably as possible.

Plane seating used to be much more spacious, with both first and economy classes having enough leg room to stretch out during long flights. Nowadays, the largest planes, such as the Airbus A380, have around 900 seats.

Of course, this is only possible because seats are packed so closely together in all directions that there isn't enough room for passengers to move around freely. Even in the economy section, it costs more to reserve a specific seat in today's air travel world.

You have the option of selecting a window, a middle, or an aisle seat. With this new world, it stands to reason that no one wants to trade seats with anyone.

Unfortunately, the need to switch is still present in situations where parents are separated from their children, couples are separated, and people who should be near each other are suddenly on opposite sides of a massive aircraft. These circumstances will undoubtedly make you want to switch seats in order to be closer to your loved one during the long flight.

Should you switch seats?

On the popular social media platform TikTok, a discussion about switching seats with strangers recently erupted after people realised it's an outdated courtesy to switch seats with someone on a plane simply because they asked. One TikToker went viral after sharing an on-topic story she had experienced while flying.

A lot of conversation

She has her own story

A particular airline in Canada

A premium economy seat

Cynthia Appiah, a 32-year-old Olympian athlete who represented Canada in the bobsleigh category at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, posted the TikTok video. This happened after an encounter with a couple on a plane.

Cynthia explained that she dislikes sitting for long periods of time or having to crawl over people to use the restroom, which is why she prefers isle seats. So, with some extra miles, she decides to splurge on a pre-reserved aisle seat.

She hates bothering people

She had picked an aisle seat

Seats configuration

She was surprised to find someone else sitting in her seat after she had already reserved it

She was forced to confront the situation after confirming her seat was the one in which someone was sitting

Would you mind switching seats?

I rather stick with my seat

I bought the aisle and I'm not moving

What this TikToker doesn't understand

You can choose seat selection

The TikTok-verified athlete posted a three-minute video to start the conversation

Despite what the commenters had to say, the majority of them seemed to agree that no one should feel entitled to switch seats in this day and age

The audacity of some people

Is it so important you seat together?

No way I'm moving

And in case you need a perfect response for such people, this is it

We are all humans, and sometimes we swap seats with strangers on airplanes for good reasons. However, it is a show of entitlement to make people feel obliged to swap seats with you on airplanes just because you feel like you have good reasons.

What are your thoughts on this common issue? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Maryjane