A passenger boarded their American Airlines flight and found a child sitting in their seat. He paused, double checked the row, and is ready to let the child keep the seat-provided the parent asks politely.
However the parent wouldn’t ask nicely. They acted as though the seat was theirs by right. They wouldn’t apologize or make a request.
So the passenger whose seat it was declared, “Since you want to do it that way, give me my seat.”
- A woman a few rows away snaps, “You’re doing too much—we’re tired of hearing about it.” The man fires back with profanity. A nearby flight attendant tells the woman to “mind your business.”
- The aircraft can’t push back until everyone is seated, so this needs to be resolved. The air conditioning is off. APU bleed air isn’t on until doors close. It’s hot, getting hotter, and patience runs thin.
- Several other passengers urge the man with the boarding pass and a right to the seat to “just sit anywhere” so they can leave. But he won’t. He paid for that seat assignment.
One flight attendant tells bystanders to stay out of it, while another suggested removal of the passenger (‘Well, he can always get off’).
Eventually, though, the parent moves the child, the passenger sits in his original seat, and the flight can push back.
Another passenger on the flight, who shared video of the incident to TikTok, narrated how things unfolded.
And she concludes – after some salty language – that the parent tried to “pop their privilege,” got called on it, and American Airlines handled it poorly.
American ostensibly guarantees children up to age 14 will be seated next to an accompanying adult at no extra charge. That’s sometimes not easy – there may not be open seats available to organize that.
If a family shows up split across rows, volunteers are usually requested. Passengers aren’t supposed to just commandeer a paid seat assignment from another passenger.
The airline is trying to kick off fewer passengers, though, so this story had a happy ending with everyone reaching that plane’s destination.
