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Home / Travel

Influencer refuses to switch business class seats so family can sit together

By Shireen Khalil
news.com.au·
1 Mar, 2023 05:22 AM4 mins to read

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TikTok star Audrey Peters from the US shared a clip revealing she refused to switch seats with a family. Photo / TikTok@audreypeters

TikTok star Audrey Peters from the US shared a clip revealing she refused to switch seats with a family. Photo / TikTok@audreypeters

Plane etiquette has become a hot topic of late.

Just this week, an Aussie man sparked a heated debate when he asked the person sitting next to him on a Virgin flight in business class to switch seats so he could be next to his girlfriend.

He took to TikTok asking if he was in the wrong and an overwhelming number of viewers said he was, placing the blame on him for not booking seats next to each other.

Meanwhile, United States woman and TikTok star Audrey Peters has ignited the same debate after revealing she was on the receiving end of the same question.

The 25-year-old took to TikTok to share her dismay at being asked to move to a middle seat in order for a family to sit together.

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In her clip, which has been viewed close to a million times, Audrey appears to be sitting in first class with a glass of champagne in hand while on a flight from New York to Paris.

“When a family asks me to switch seats on the plane so they can sit together,” the video text reads.

She’s then seen smirking before she toasts the camera while mouthing along to a backing track which says: “Girl, f**k them kids, and f**k you too.”

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Audrey, who has 651,000 followers, posted the clip alongside the caption: “No I’m not switching for a middle seat – book your flights earlier babes”.

Hundreds of people weighed in, agreeing they too wouldn’t switch seats.

“I would simply never ask. My kid could be seated five rows away, I’d be like well … see ya in arrivals,” one mum wrote.

“YES OMG it’s always a middle seat they wanna trade for my window,” wrote another, while a third said: “If you’re asking to switch seats my new seat has to be equal or better than where I am now. Otherwise no dice”.

Others said the family should have “planned better”, but not all agreed with that comment.

“Yes BUT when you book your flights months in advance and pick seats together then Delta (US budget airline) moves your two-year-old to the back of the plane away from you,” one person wrote.

“Sometimes the airlines move seats without notification. But for this reason I STALK my seat assignments days and weeks prior,” said another.

Some criticised Audrey’s lack of compassion.

“I love you! But c’mon, I have kids but have always paid extra to be together. But can’t control cancellations and sh**ty rebooking. Be better,” one person wrote.

Another said: “To be honest – this mindset p**ses me off,” while another said helping out the family wouldn’t have been so bad.

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“God forbid we be expected to make anyone’s life easier!” they wrote.

It’s the latest in a long line of controversies around plane etiquette.

Another woman flying business class in the US, also revealed she refused to give up her seat to a family who wanted to sit together.

“I am not a villain for not moving from the seat in first class I paid full fare for. I’m also a mum so it’s called planning ahead,” she said in the clip that has since attracted more than 1.5 million views.

News.com.au ran a poll asking whether the passenger who Aussie man Jay Kloss asked to switch seats with should have given it up – and a massive 83 per cent of the 7178 readers voted ‘No’.

“I politely asked him, ‘Bro would you mind moving so I can sit with my missus? It’s her birthday,’ and he just looks at me and doesn’t respond,” he said in the viral clip.

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“I was like; ‘I have this seat, it’s sort of the same. Is it possible if you switch to here?’ But he just doesn’t respond and then he’s like, ‘No, I won’t’.”

The TikToker said the passenger said he would only move if he swapped with his girlfriend Zoe, who had the window seat.

Eventually the passenger in the window seat next to the TikToker offered to swap with Zoe, allowing the pair to sit next to each other.

“Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on here? It’s the same section, just on the other side of the aisle,” the influencer said.

But viewers weren’t happy, saying he shouldn’t expect the passenger to switch with him.

“Your [sic] automatically assuming he needed to give up his seat to accommodate you?” one person asked.

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“Bro, I’m sick of people asking to switch seats. Book the right seat first,” another wrote.

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