29 July 2023 , 10:09
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When you're settled into your seat, ready to kick back, relax, and enjoy your flight, the last thing you want is a tap on the shoulder. But it's common for passengers to ask each other to swap seats - for all sorts of reasons.
Undoubtedly annoying, people often slam those they say should have planned in advance and purchased the seat they wanted. However, one passenger is urging travellers to have more compassion for each other after a heartbreaking interaction on a recent trip.
Recalling the exchange in a post to Reddit, the passenger said he was travelling alone when he was asked to help a family, who hoped that "a grown son could sit next to his mother."
The family appreciated the stranger's kindness (stock photo) (Getty Images)"It wasn't a big deal and I did not feel taken advantage of by the request. I moved several rows back from an aisle (my preference) to a window," the passenger remarked. But, as he later found out, his act of kindness meant a great deal to the family.
"As we were waiting for our luggage the son approached me and explained that his grandmother had a heart attack the night before and that they booked the tickets at the last minute and could not be together." Touched, the passenger took to the internet, keen to pass on the message. He also shared his own previous experience of needing to ask for a seat swap.
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"In full disclosure, I have before been that a****e who had to make the ask. Once a cancelled flight resulted in two seats being available in an exit row and two in the last row but I was travelling with my wife and two children. The children could not sit in the exit row and could not sit alone. We were the last ones to the plane (having just sprinted across the airport to catch the last flight out that night)," he claimed.
Unfortunately, his family could not find any willing volunteers on that occasion, partly because there were already lots of families onboard. "We eventually got off the airplane, frustrated and embarrassed, at a few minutes to midnight with two toddlers melting down in a strange city."
"Thus, my ultimate point is that not everyone is asking you to swap seats because they are entitled or did a poor job planning their travel," he wrote. "Sometimes, they are a scared sixty-year-old woman who hasn't flown since she left home many years ago and wants to hold someone's hand for the duration of the flight and have them translate the [flight attendants'] instructions."
One person agreed: "Thank you!! I hate hearing people complain all the time. No one knows someone else issues they got going on. Nothing wrong with being nice." A second said: "To me the thing is, everyone should feel okay about asking. Everyone should be respected if their answer is no. End of story." A third praised: "Kindness always matters."