We’ve discussed seat swapping on airplanes many times, but what happens when you’ve conned? I’d insist upon my original seat back.
Parents “Frantic” That Their “Little Girl” Is Separated From Them On Flight To Australia. She Was Actually A Teenager. If I Were The Man Who Moved Away From My Wife To Help Them Out, I Would Have Insisted Upon My Original Seat Back…
Here is what happened onboard, as shared on reddit:
My wife and I were getting seated on a 14-hour international flight. My wife had the window, and I was next to her in the middle seat. My laptop was loaded up with episodes from the show we were watching, we had our snacks all organized, etc.
Then two parents arrive, one sitting next to me, the other in the adjacent aisle seat. They are FRANTIC, and beg me if I could move so their daughter can sit next to them.
I think I normally would’ve stood my ground, but these people were clearly panicked. There were some airline protests going on at the time, so I figured they were in an unfortunate situation with a little girl.
So I agree, gather my stuff, and start start walking down the aisle to my new seat. All the time there is a ~16 year old girl playing with her phone in the exit row. That is when I realize she is the daughter the parents were panicking about.. she was literally taller than my wife. In typical teenage fashion, she seemed uninterested in the whole ordeal and just sat down next to my wife.
I was moved to a seat next to a toddler who was kicking and screaming the whole flight, and the teenager kept resting her pillow on my wife’s shoulder. It ended up being a very long 14-hour flight.
Shame on the parents for the con job.
A 16-year-old does not need to sit by her parents and their separation is no emergency. The parents need to get a grip.
But I am curious to explore the ethics of claiming back your original seat when you move under false pretenses.
A seat swap is contingent upon a meeting of the minds over the reason for that swap.
This guy was seated next to his wife for the 14-hour flight to Australia. When he thought there was a toddler or at least a young girl who was separated from her parents, he made the noble gesture to move. But when it became clear this was a teenager old enough to sit in the exit row (so at least 15), I would have said, “Hold up. Not so fast,” and then claimed my original seat back.
Had the parents protested, I would have immediately involved a flight attendant and complained there was someone in my assigned seat.
Parents frantic over being separated from their teenage children are either helicopter parents or paranoid ones. In either case, deplorable.
View From The Wing thinks this story is fake, but I see no reason to think so (it was never claimed there was a toddler in the exit row seat). In either case, these sorts of stories teach me that the next time I am asked to switch seats, I will ask many questions before agreeing to do so. It’s not that I am unwilling to ever switch seats (or even, under the right circumstances, trade for an inferior seat). But deception will not be tolerated.
CONCLUSION
A man moved away from his wife so that a teenager who apparently did not even want to sit with her parents in the first place could do so. The parents made it seem like their daughter was much younger than she actually was when requesting a seat change. I would have claimed my original seat back and will use this story as a reminder to ask questions when asked to move seats onboard.
“16 year old girl playing with her phone in the exit
“I was moved to a seat next to a toddler who was kicking and screaming the whole flight,”
What am I missing here? The girl he swapped the seat was sitting in an exit row. How was he then seated next to a toddler? Toddlers cannot be in exit rows.
I am sorry but when I book my tickets I choose my seats wisely. There is no way I will swap with anyone.
He didn’t say he took the girl’s seat.
If that was a plain swap, why would he take someone else seat? Plain and simple, you had the chance to pick your seats when you booked. Your problem.
It’s likely the teen was “camped out” in the exit row while the passenger who occupied that seat was in the bathroom and the assigned seat for the teen was next to a toddler.
He had the opportunity to “grab back” his seat when the teenager imposed herself upon the wife by intruding upon her space and sleeping against her. She could have insisted the teen behave or move back to her original seat.
I’m chuckling because I was subjected to a similar situation for being a “nice guy” back when I first started flying. The FA asked me if I would change seats to accommodate a senior citizen and I agreed and I got the worst seat imaginable and the FA told me I was stuck with it. I won’t agree to switch seats in the future unless I see if it’s a significant upgrade or downgrade and whether the requester is sympathetic.
Once I saw a guy ask an international business class passenger if he would switch seats with him so he could sit next to his girlfriend. The passenger didn’t blink. It was a seat in international first class. That was the only time I saw any advantage in swapping seats with anyone.
I’m reminded of one of Matt’s earlier stories, back more than a decade ago, where some gal approached him in business class to ask if she could sit next to her boyfriend next to him and he agreed and then… look at the ticket and she was in economy in the back. Matt changed his mind and declined and she stomped her widdle feet all the way back. Her boyfriend sat next to him for the rest of the flight but I’m sure if he had gone back there and offered to switch seats, it would have been accepted but he didn’t.
Two Kings sat up front in business class that day.
Easy: one parent gives up their 14-hour aisle and takes the kid’s middle. I guess now we have to ask questions… how old is your kid? The teen probably would have been happier separated from her parents for a while before a family vacation. 🙂
The teenager was bummed I’m sure!
Probably already not happy being on a trip with her parents.
So here is a question.
Let’s assume something has happened beyond your control and you are assigned seats away from your kids. At what age do people think kids can sit next to strangers on an airplane? Obviously at 16 they are certainly old enough. And yes the maturity and personality of the individual child is going to alter that number.
Thoughts?
A few other factors go into that decision– how far away will I be as the parent– one aisle, or halfway down the cabin. How long is the flight, will there be a meal served, is there an IFE system to sort out, how competent do the people next to my child look, etc…
If you want an answer that basically covers the worst of all of these considerations, it’s probably around 12– meaning that even a somewhat below average 12 year old should be able to do basically the whole flight by themselves, even if the parents are several rows away, select and eat the meal without help, low risk of spilling a drink, can figure out an IFE system, knows how/where to get to the bathroom (assuming they have some experience with flying).
You can pull it off at a younger age as you start to get some advantageous factors– a less than 2 hour southwest style flight, with a parent 1 aisle away, a kid who is a bit independent, and reasonably competent passengers around the kid, you can probably do that at around 8, maybe 7.
Under 7, most of those kids need to be seated next to their parents.
Unaccompanied minors flying is a different situation.
I mean, unless this 16 year old girl was handicapped and needed assistance from her parents, then this dude got hoodwinked. Although, it does seem there was a brief window of time when he realized their child was a teenager, and at that moment, he could have reneged on his offer to swap.
I’m traveling with a buddy of mine (think Grumpy Old Men) to Europe. I’ve already coached him on what to say should he be approached about swapping seats. We also plan to wear masks (COVID) to scare off intruders within the first hour of each flight. Our final fall back is to mention a certain male condition common to elderly gents that will cause us to step on many, many toes as we make frequent trips to the head.
Will let you know if successful.
That’s pretty intense planning.
I don’t find these requests to be all that common. Sure it happens, but it’s not every flight. It would seem that you will probably be able to cover most situations with a simple “No, thank you”.
On international flights, perpetrators are devious.
One scenario that has not been mentioned as a possibility was human trafficking.
I work for an airline and there is a good amount of training that goes on regarding trafficking and overbearing “parents” is a possible sign. I know it mentioned the girl was playing on a phone, but its hard to say if that phone had service or a way for them to communicate.
I doubt it is the case in this situation, but it is something to look out for in the future.
I had a similar situation where a man was traveling with his teenage son. He asked me to swap and gestured at the seats across the aisle where the window was occupied by a gentlemen and the aisle was vacant. I presumed (in error) that the aisle seat was his and agreed to the swap. A few minutes later it became clear when the person seated in the aisle seat I was then seated in approached and challenged me; the man at the window seat was not even seated in first class. When confirmed that the man who wanted to swap had misled me, I said to him I wanted my seat back – I strongly prefer aisle seats on cross country flights. He did agree and moved to his assigned window seat. Had it been a young child, I would have moved to the window seat, but given he did not deal with the squatter in his seat and he mis-represented where he was seated, I did not feel in the slight bit wrong to ask for my seat back. He did not protest this – perhaps he realized what he had done.
This almost happened to me once, BWI-KEF, I had my desired aisle seat. Mother asked if I’d switch seats with her daughter so that the daughter didn’t have to be alone. I asked where her daughter was seated…several rows back in a middle seat…and the daughter was obviously not a child. I declined. The mother was less than pleasant and I got glares from surrounding passengers.