Saying ‘No’ to Switching Seats with Someone on an Airplane Is Perfectly Fine
It doesn’t seem like an unreasonable ask. You’re seated on an airplane, and for one reason or another, your neighbor’s assigned seat is away from their friend or family member. So, they ask you to switch seats. While many folks would say “yes” after brief consideration, it’s perfectly acceptable to say “no.” Actually, saying “yes” could land you in a negative spot. Here’s how.
Several stories have been floating around this week after airplane passengers have taken to social media. In an effort to normalize a “no” response, three people have shared their recent seat-switching struggles. They’re warning others of their terrible experiences after either swapping seats or politely declining to switch.
One passenger gets permanently banned from Spirit Airlines – by mistake
One TikToker, Caleb Chronic, was flying Spirit Airlines when someone asked to swap seats. They wanted Caleb’s seat so they could sit with their friend. Caleb agreed. In a nightmarish turn of events, the passenger who took Caleb’s seat allegedly vaped in the airplane bathroom. Since authorities used Caleb’s seat number to identify the accused passenger, Caleb’s return flight from Las Vegas was canceled, and he was left stranded for days.
Caleb tried to contact Spirit and reverse the ban but says he was told there was “nothing they could do,” and the permanent ban remains in place.
Seat scamming
Caleb was inspired to share his story above after watching another TikToker, Mark Roberts, post about his interaction with what could be called a seat scammer.
In Mark’s TikTok, he shared that after sitting down in his assigned plane seat, a woman approached him and pressured him multiple times to switch seats with her daughter. She claimed to be ticketed right next to Mark while her daughter was a few rows ahead. He thought that was odd, considering the only rows in front of him were first class.
Mark says he asked to see the tickets, but the woman refused and instead described her daughter’s appearance. Mark again asked that he be shown proof of the seating arrangement she proposed. The woman continued to make a fuss, including collapsing in the seat next to him and insisting he didn’t understand how difficult motherhood is.
Since Mark felt uncomfortable with her request, he declined to switch. The woman apparently became visibly upset. Finally, a man approached the woman and claimed that she was sitting in his seat. The woman got up in a “huff” and went to the back of the plane. His TikTok has been viewed more than 15 million times.
While the underlying intentions cannot be determined, this shows that not all requests to switch are necessary or even legitimate. This brings us to our last account.
Is it rude to say “no” to families requesting a switch? Not always, says one TikToker
One woman took to TikTok after her flight last year. She had been approached by a mother asking her to switch seats so she could sit next to her son. The son appeared to be a near-adult, perhaps 16 or 17 years old “at a minimum,” recounted Surya Garg.
Since Surya paid extra for her window seat and the near-grown child was talking on his phone during boarding and didn’t seem to be dependent on the mother, Surya declined to switch.
Instead of accepting the “no,” Surya says that the woman spent the entire flight “muttering profanities” at Surya.
Surya explained at the beginning of the post that if a mother of a small, dependent child had approached her, she would have been more inclined to switch.
It’s fine to ask to switch, but there are considerations to keep in mind
If there aren’t assigned seats on the airplane, in my mind, it’s perfectly acceptable to ask to sit with a companion. However, you might get a “no,” and you should be prepared to accept that.
Assigned seating is trickier. When arranging travel with multiple people and assigned seats are part of the flight, it’s best to just plan ahead and choose seats together as early as possible. Don’t bank on others giving up their assigned seats.
Once onboard, if you really feel inclined to ask someone to switch assigned seats, you could start with the flight attendant, especially if a young child is involved. They have a better idea of the passenger mix and seating capacity.
Otherwise, if you just want to sit next to an adult companion, you might be out of luck. Understand that in many situations, people have paid an additional fee for their assigned seat. If they don’t want to give it up, they don’t have to.
