A man is being praised for standing his ground and not giving up his seat to a pregnant woman on a flight. The man took to Reddit to describe the situation and ask other users if he was in the wrong or not.
“I was flying by myself on a 5+ hour flight to visit family over the holidays," the post read. "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."
“Right before boarding, a woman asked me to give up my seat so she could sit closer to the bathroom. She was pregnant but did not seem distressed,” the post continued. While the man did share that he empathized with the woman, he didn't find it fair for her to ask him to give up the seat he paid for to accommodate his medical condition.
The man refused to switch seats. The woman then tried to get flight attendants to step in and mediate the situation.
More from LittleThings: Man Wonders If He's A Jerk For Refusing To Give Up His Bus Seat To Heavily Pregnant Woman
"The flight attendants refused to help mediate when she insisted I should have to move," the post read. "There were also no other aisle or close seats available on the full flight that I or flight crew could facilitate swapping."
"I tried to recommend she speak to her doctor about needing accommodation if sitting far from the bathroom is not medically advisable for her situation during future flights," the man said. And he stood his ground, refusing to give up his seat.
Turns out, though, the man's family felt as though he was in the wrong. They believed that he “should have inconvenienced myself and given up my seat.” But he doesn't feel like he was in the wrong. "I think she and the flight crew were unfairly targeting me instead of handling it through proper channels."
People in the comments came to the defense of the man.
"NTA- I say this as someone who has been pregnant and has flown solo with a toddler… every passenger has equal opportunity to pre-book seats based on their needs and preferences," one person said. "It’s no one business why you booked that seat. Was the passenger or airline going to reimburse you for the cost of prebooking the seat? Zero obligation for you to move."
"I am so sick of this constant idea that people are jerks if they don't give up a seat that they paid for," another user chimed in. "I don't care if you're pregnant or a family trying to be together or whatever!!! If you know that you need a specific seat pay for it or deal with the consequences."
"This is not a subway or bus where seats are free and you can easily move around as people get on or off," another user pointed out. "This an airplane where such liberties are not available. On top of this, OP paid extra for his seat. No and absolutely no."
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
