Air travel can be less than ideal, especially if you’re flying economy. First, you’re herded through boarding, then there’s the risk of entitled passengers, parents who won’t control their kids, and seating so cramped you’re basically a sardine in a tin can.
One guy’s flight took a turn for the worse after another passenger showed up demanding he switch seats with him. The guy let him know it wasn’t going to happen, but that didn’t stop the stubborn passenger, who then got a flight attendant involved.
More info: Reddit
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Already in his assigned seat, he was approached by another passenger who promptly demanded he switch places with him
The guy told the passenger that if he wanted the seat, he should’ve booked it and that he wasn’t giving it up; end of discussion
The stubborn passenger then started whining about being “Platinum” before getting a flight attendant involved
The flight attendant wasted no time politely putting the problem passenger in his place, quite literally, leaving the guy with a story of failed entitlement to share online
A recent flight from Schiphol to Minneapolis got a little dramatic before takeoff, all thanks to one entitled passenger and his obsession with a particular seat. OP, in his assigned seat 27A, was getting comfy when the man stormed up and declared he was sitting in his seat. The only problem? It wasn’t actually his.
It turns out the guy was a Platinum flyer and claimed that he always sat in 27A. According to him, the airline usually handled it. OP double-checked, and sure enough, 27A was the seat on his boarding pass. Ignoring this indisputable fact, the man insisted OP switch with him, waving vaguely to the back rows like he was doing him a favor.
OP’s reply was stone-cold perfection: “Then you should’ve booked it.” The passenger wasn’t done, though. He tried everything, but only to be met with OP putting in his headphones and opening a book. When the frequent flyer called a flight attendant, hoping for backup, things really took off – just not how he expected them to.
Without missing a beat, the flight attendant politely shut him down, telling him his seat number and that OP was in his assigned seat. He tried again, pleading with his Platinum status like it was a golden ticket, but the flight attendant had the final word. Defeated, he pushed off to his seat, muttering something about loyalty, meaning nothing these days.
From what OP tells us in his post, he was dealing with the worst kind of passenger – an entitled one. Fortunately, the flight attendant did her job and laid down the law with a smile, of course, but what was with the stubborn passenger’s insistence on getting the seat he ‘always’ flies? We went looking for answers.
In his article for Quartz, Shekhar Chandra writes that always choosing the same seat is an expression of “territoriality,” a spatial organizing mechanism that expresses itself in some surprising ways.
“Usually, territoriality is thought of in terms of aggression and defense, but actually, its most common purpose is to keep the peace,” says University of Victoria psychology professor Robert Gifford.
According to Chandra, in the case of classrooms, always choosing the same spot allows students to effectively regulate and control their relationships with their fellow students in a shared space, which makes them feel more comfortable and less vulnerable.
Perhaps OP’s problem passenger is insecure about flying, but there’s no need to be a jerk about it. In her article for Business Insider, Emma Taylor writes that a former British Airways flight attendant revealed that the worst types of passengers he dealt with were those traveling on premium-level tickets.
Simon J Marton, author of “Journey Of A Reluctant Air Steward,” says the people who were most prone to tantrums and demands were those in first and business class or members of the airline’s Executive Club. Marton goes on to say that the passenger line that used to grate him most was: “I’m a gold card holder!”
At the end of the day, it sounds like the problematic Platinum passenger got the reality check he so badly needed. He’ll definitely think twice before trying to throw his weight around in a cramped cabin again.
What would you have done if you’d found yourself in OP’s shoes? Have you ever been the target of a whiney passenger who wouldn’t take no for an answer? Let us know in the comments!