Woman refuses to give up first-class airplane seat for a six-year-old

• The unnamed woman, 21, took to Reddit’s popular Am I The A**Hole thread
• She and her boyfriend, 27, had been flying from North America to Central Asia 
• The traveler was asked to swap seats so a young boy could join his mother

A plane passenger has reignited the debate around travel etiquette after refusing to give up her first-class seat so a six-year-old boy could sit with his mom.

The unnamed woman, 21, took to Reddit‘s popular Am I The A**Hole thread to unravel the details of the encounter.

She explained that she and her boyfriend, 27, had been flying from North America to Central Asia when she was asked to swap seats so a young boy could join his mother in first class following a ‘booking error.’

The majority of readers sided with the woman – but what do you think?

The post, which was shared earlier this month, was titled: ‘Am I The A**hole for not giving up my first class ticket for a kid?’

It read: ‘A few weeks ago, my boyfriend surprised me with a first-class ticket for a long-haul flight. 

‘He’s been doing well in his career and wanted to treat me, and I was really excited because I’d never flown first class before. 

‘We had two connecting 12-hour flights and the airline we used has a very highly rated first class for those long flights.’

She continued: ‘So, after we boarded the flight, and I settled into my seat, I was already feeling a bit overwhelmed by the luxury. I grew up lower middle class, and I had never ever flown higher than the cheapest seats on a plane before. 

‘About 20 minutes before takeoff, a flight attendant approached me with a woman and a young kid (maybe around six years old). 

‘The woman explained that she had booked a first-class ticket for herself and her son, but due to a booking error, he ended up in economy. She asked if I would be willing to switch seats with her son so he could experience first class as well.’

The bamboozled plane passenger said that she felt caught up in quite the predicament.

Click here to resize this module

She continued: ‘I felt really awkward. I understand that it was disappointing for the kid, but this was a gift from my boyfriend, and I was really looking forward to enjoying it.

‘I politely declined and explained that it was my first time in first class and I wanted to experience it.

‘The woman seemed pretty upset and tried to argue that her son would appreciate it more than me, and that it was unfair because I didn’t even pay for the ticket myself.

‘The flight attendant seemed to be on the woman’s side, subtly implying that I should consider being more understanding. After about a minute, my boyfriend stood up and looked at the flight attendant.

‘He told her he had bought the tickets, that he was a platinum member of the airline, and that he tends to book all of his company’s business trip flights with the airline, and if she booted me to the economy, he would take his business elsewhere.

‘Eventually, the woman went back to business class with her son. But throughout the flight, I could feel the flight attendant glaring at me every time she passed by.’

Reflecting on the incident, the woman concluded: ‘When I told my boyfriend about it, he said I did nothing wrong and that it was my ticket to use and that he stood up for me because I had the seat on my ticket and it was disrespectful for her to even ask for my seat in the first place.

‘But some of my friends think I should have given up my seat to the kid, saying that it would have been the kind thing to do, especially since I didn’t pay for the ticket myself. Am I the a**hole?’

Unsurprisingly, the post was soon flooded with dozens of comments – with most siding with the woman.

‘That’s a hard pass. NTA. Booking error my a**. That mom was trying to get a first class seat at economy prices. Weird that the flight attendant would be on their side. They know better,’ one wrote.

Another commented: ‘NTA?? I have no idea why they were so adamant about you moving. It was not YOUR fault that they had a BOOKING ERROR.

‘Your boyfriend paid for that service for you to enjoy and you have every right to. 

‘That woman did not pay for your seat, so if she has an issue, she needs to take it up to the airline, instead of trying to guilt trip you into giving up your seat for a kid that is not your issue.’ 

And a third said: ‘NTA. I don’t believe for one second there was a booking error. She was trying to scam a free first class flight. Also if it was so important for her kid to experience first class, she could switch seats with him.’