If there’s one combination that’s sure to incite visceral feelings in most human beings, it’s airline travel with kids. Whether it’s a crying baby on a plane or a family separated via seat assignments—people have big feelings about all of it.
One woman is going viral for sharing her own airline travel story when she refused to give up her seat on an airplane to accommodate a mom and her two kids. TikTok user Tammy Nelson described her encounter with the mom during a recent flight.
@myconquering Having had only 90 minutes of sleep the night before and knowing I had to give a presentation to 500 people, I desperately needed some sleep, so I did not agree to switch seats.
Before anyone comes after me… the kids looked like they were about 11 and 15 years old. And the mom was in arms-reach of both of them from the middle seat in the row behind us. The mom proceeded to complain for at least 15 minutes to the person next to her loud enough for me to hear. But the woman actually defended me – several times. It was so kind and I appreciated it so much because I was feeling really guilty.
#airplaneseat#seatswitching#airplanekarens
“What would you do?” Nelson writes in her now-viral post. “I got on the plane and a woman was sitting in my seat and when I mentioned it to her, she said, ‘Oh, you want to sit here? I thought we could switch because these are my kids’ (she points to the two seats next to mine).’”
Nelson said she told the mom she would totally switch seats, as long as she could move to another window seat. Unfortunately, the mom wanted Nelson to take the middle seat.
In the caption for the video, Nelson provides further context about the situation: she was sleep deprived and was preparing to deliver a huge presentation for work, so she “desperately needed some sleep.” And because we all know the middle seat on airplanes isn’t the best for rest, she decided to not switch seats.
“Before anyone comes after me…the kids looked like they were about 11 and 15 years old,” she writes. “And the mom was in arms-reach of both of them from the middle seat in the row behind us.”
According to Nelson, the mom “proceeded to complain for at least 15 minutes to the person next to her” loud enough for Nelson to hear. Thankfully, the fellow passenger defended Nelson’s decision.
“It was so kind and I appreciated it so much because I was feeling really guilty,” she says.
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Many commenters shared their support for Nelson in this situation, and not the mom.
“Nope. They should have booked their seats together,” one person wrote.
“Even if I wanted to switch, the second someone acts entitled by sitting there before even asking… Not happening,” one commenter said.
“Mother of 3 here and I wouldn’t have switched either,” another mom wrote. “I pay more to book my family together.”
“The amount of families who aren’t paying to select their seats together is mind blowing! You were 100% right to not give up your seat.”
As a mom myself, I would pay to sit next to my kids—because my kids are 3 and 7. Would it be nice to have a fellow passenger offer up their seat to me in a situation like this? Sure. Would I expect or demand it? Absolutely not. And for what it’s worth, if I were the mom in question here, I’d enjoy my time alone in the row behind my teen and tween with my air pods and a good audiobook. But that’s just me!
What do you think? Would YOU give up your seat on an airplane to accommodate a family?
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