An Airline Passenger Called Out A Mom For A Bad Seat Swap & Her Baby Claimed An Empty Spot

Travelling on a plane can be challenging as it is, but add a seat swap and a baby into the mix and it can all lead to a confusing situation up in the sky.

A Redditor is sparking another seat swap debate following a long travel day with their best friend and it looks like people are seriously divided on whether the passenger was right in how she behaved towards a mom and her baby on the flight.

The person who posted on the Am I The A**hole forum said they had been backpacking around Europe with their best friend and their journey home was an exhausting one.

Following an early morning shuttle ride to the airport and then "crap seats" on their first flight, the Redditor says she and her bestie were looking forward to finally getting some sleep on their six-and-a-half-hour flight home.

The two friends were in a three-person row, but the aisle seat remained empty.

"We are so excited at this point, thinking we can stretch out and share the spare seat," the post reads. "Boarding is finished, the seat is still empty, and we are SO excited to finally get some sleep."

The Redditor says after boarding a mom, who was seated a few rows down, noticed the empty seat beside them and asked if the man sitting beside her could come to sit in the empty seat. She basically wanted her seat neighbour to move up so she could use his spot for her baby.

"We were visibly disappointed; I was super nauseous at this point and just wanted to sleep for a bit," the Redditor wrote in their post and added that they asked the woman if the seat swap could happen later so they could rest.

However, the woman came over to them again shortly afterwards to tell them she'd had it, and that they needed to switch sooner than later. The man moved up beside the backpackers, leaving the mom with the extra seat.

"I gave her a rude look/looked away and didn't say a word more. She put her baby seat on the seat next to her, now empty, and that was that," the post reads.

"The baby was very loud, always whining and crying but that's nothing you can blame a baby for."

The person says they complained to their friend once they were off the plane and the Redditor got called out for "acting irritated" and for being unkind to the mom.

The post has divided a lot of people on Reddit, especially because no one paid for the empty seat beside the backpackers.

"Neither one of you were entitled to the seat you didn’t pay for. Seems like you both shared it. I don’t see the problem," one person wrote.

The Redditor then replied that the mom hadn't paid for the seat either, "yet she felt not only entitled to someone's seat (the one next to her) but to rearrange assigned seating."

Another person expressed how potentially a lot of air travellers feel when it comes to getting a good seat on a flight.

"International travel is a Game of Thrones style battle for power and survival. You did what you needed to do, and she did what she needed to do," they wrote. "Ultimately, she prevailed with her superior determination and maneuvering."

Many people liked the comment with one commenter replying, "I have to agree with this one. A battle occurred for a seat that neither owned."

Another person suggested the woman should have bought a seat for her baby if she wanted one, but then called out the Redditor for giving the mom a "rude look."

When it comes to a seat swap, the usual consensus is that you don't have to feel obligated to change seats if you don't want to. However, this Reddit debate covers new territory and it looks like no one can agree on who has the right to an empty seat when there is one.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.