Flyer Who Didn't Give Up Seat For Pregnant Woman Praised Online: 'Public Shaming Didn't Work'

Not every time does everything unfold as anticipated, and such was the case in a recent ‘AITA’ narrative when an individual turned to the subreddit seeking advice from Redditors after declining to yield his seat to a pregnant lady on a flight. While it might sound a bit impolite and insensitive on the man’s part, the users didn’t precisely respond in the way ‘expected,’ praising him instead for maintaining his stance in the air.

Posting on the popular “Am I The A**hole?” Reddit forum under the username @michaeldonelly, the traveller questioned whether he was at fault for refusing to give up his seat on a plane to a pregnant woman. He went on to recount his experience of travelling alone on a flight lasting over five hours to visit family for the holidays. Detailing the planning he undertook when booking his flight, he explained, “I specifically booked and paid extra for an aisle seat in the second-to-last row because I have medical issues that sometimes require quick access to the bathroom.”

However, just before boarding the plane, a woman approached him, asking him to “give up [his] seat so she could sit closer to the bathroom.” He continued to explain that although he empathised with the pregnant woman, stating that she “did not seem distressed,” he believed it was not “fair” for him to change his seat, especially since she had not pre-booked an aisle seat herself. The traveller then asserted that the flight attendants declined to mediate the situation, and despite the pregnant woman’s insistence, he stood firm on not moving.

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“There were also no other aisle or close seats available on the full flight that I or flight crew could facilitate swapping,” he wrote, before adding that his family told him that he “should have inconvenienced [himself] and given up [his] seat”.

“I disagree though,” he wrote, referencing his family’s recommendation. “I think [the pregnant woman] and the flight crew were unfairly targeting me instead of handling it through proper channels.” He concluded by asking if he’s truly the ‘A**hole’ for his actions. In the comments section, users praised him for retaining his seat, acknowledging the specific accommodations he made before the flight.

“She should have booked another seat she wanted herself or not gone on the flight. Seems she just assumed she wouldn’t have to pay for it, since some s****er was going to move. The flight attendants are at fault for not mediating. At some point they should have told her to go back to her seat,” wrote one user.

Another chimed in, “This, yeah. No idea why that woman was so focused on OP‘s seat when there were others available. Seems like she thought good old public shaming would’ve worked.”

Also Read: Man Refuses To Offer Seat To Pregnant Woman In Train, Netizens School Him

Since being shared, the Reddit post has garnered more than 15,000 upvotes.