A flight passenger was shocked at what their fellow flyer decided to do when they refused to swap seats.
A Reddit user with the handle u/liberty340 shared a photo of an airplane window with the blind shut on the social media platform, explaining to people in the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit what had happened.
In the post, which has received over 66,000 upvotes and thousands of comments, the original poster (OP) said: “[The] guy sitting next to me on the plane wants to switch seats (I was in a window seat). When I refused, he reached around my shoulder and shut the window.”
The OP said that when they opened the window, the passenger nearby asked them to shut it because he wanted to nap. When the OP ignored him, he called the flight attendant for assistance, something the Redditor called a “d*** move”.
“He did end up sleeping, but I’m still p***** about it,” they wrote.
Commenting on the incident, National Etiquette Expert Diane Gottsman told Newsweek: “Reaching over someone to close the shade is still an invasion of personal space. Rather than taking it upon himself to close the shade, he should’ve asked if they would mind closing the shade because the sun was in his eyes or whatever the reason.
“It feels like an act of aggression rather than a simple gesture given the fact [the OP] did not want to switch seats. Not to mention the fact that someone is reaching over another person’s body.”
She added: “He told them he would like to take a nap, and it would’ve been courteous for them to turn on their light to read or oblige to another passenger if it’s within reason. Emotions on both sides were in this situation.”
In an interview with Simple Flying, sleep expert James Smith said that a window seat may be the best place for getting some shut-eye while on a flight because you will be provided with a wall to rest your head on and you also won’t have to get up when other people on the row need to use the bathroom.
Among the thousands of responses to the Reddit post were people sharing similar difficult experiences with fellow passengers.
User u/OopsAllLegs commented: “Once had a guy ask to switch with me because I had the aisle seat. I’m 6’5 and need to stretch my legs every so often or my knees start to hurt. I told him firmly that No, I specifically paid for this seat and that I was significantly taller than him. He kept insisting that I need to move.
“In my best angry dad voice I snapped with, ‘Is this what we are going to do? Start shit before our 4 hour flight because if so, it’s going to be an awkward flight.’ He dropped it and didn’t look my way the rest of the flight.”
Others seemed equally frustrated with the Redditor’s situation, with u/ Sea-Poetry-950 writing: “The thing that gets me is he reached around your shoulder?? Dude, don’t even go there.”
u/ Autumnwood simply said: “Oh people. If he wanted a window seat, he should have booked one.”
u/ Some-Statement7360 said: “I would keep opening it, he can find a different seat.”
“I’d have put it back up while looking at him with an expression of ‘balls in your court’,” said Initial-Wrongdoer938.
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