Solo passenger called 'a**hole' after refusing to swap seats with family

Am I the a**hole? A Solo traveller asked the internet to solve his moral dilemma. Photo / 123RF

A solo traveller who refused to swap plane seats with a family has had a pang of conscience, taking to the internet to ask if he did the right thing.

The traveller, who recently shared a 10-hour flight from Greece, took to Reddit under the alias u/Unlikely-Strategy596 to plead his case.

He wrote he had booked his seat close to the nose of the plane, in order to be first to disembark. When he was approached by a family of four asking to swap seats, in order to sit closer together, he refused after learning it would bump him 20 rows to the back of the plane.

The mother began to "make a scene" according to the traveller, pushing him as a solo traveller to trade places. However, he would not budge.

"Maybe you should have booked ahead of time, or spent more money on tickets so you all could sit together," he told the family. "This is not my issue!"

However he later was less sure of his decision, having felt guilt for the entire trip.

Taking to the anonymous Reddit forum to appraise his actions - he asked: "Am I the a**hole?"

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"So I travelled home today from Greece. The flight was roughly 10 hours and around this time of year it's extremely hectic," he wrote.

"I booked my ticket specifically to be closer to the front of the plane so I can be closer to the gate when it's time to get out.

"I personally hate travelling so I spent a bit more money to be closer.
"When I got on the plane, a family of four approached me and asked if I could switch spots.
"Normally I'd be okay with that but switching spots would mean moving back 20 rows down which leaves me at an inconvenience and I would not be getting my money's worth."
Yet when he refused to move the family turned on the traveller, "the woman said that I was being an a**hole and should just give up my seat so she could sit with her husband and kids."
He responded with: "Respectfully ma'am, your travel issues are not my problem. I am keeping the seat I paid for."

He went on: "She ended up making a scene and basically said, "Wow look at this a**hole who can't even move seats so a family could sit all together."
"I said, 'maybe you should have booked ahead of time, or spent more money on tickets so you all could sit together. This is not my issue. Grow up and get over it. I am not moving seats. End of story!'"
"I sat down, her husband apologised to me for her behaviour and said that, 'She hates travelling, but giving her the seat would've made things easier in the end.'"
With the mother's words still ringing in his ears, he asked Redditors to settle the conundrum. Was he the a**hole?
Attracting 9600 upvotes and thousands of comments, it was clearly an emotive topic.
Overwhelmingly the response was on the side of the solo traveller.
"If it was really about sitting together, why didn't they ask the people 20 rows back if they'd like the better seats upfront? They'd still all be together," reasoned one respondent.
"She just wanted a better seat than what she booked for free," wrote another.
Others said it was the airline at fault for not seating the family closer together, but he should not beat himself up for not giving away his chosen seat.