Couple refuse to swap plane seats so young girl 'scared' of flying could be with her mother

The internet has come to the defence of a couple who refused to swap aeroplane seats so a child who was scared of flying could sit with their mother.

An unnamed woman posted about the incident on Mumsnet and asked other readers to tell her if she was being unreasonable or whether she was completely within her rights.

In the post, she explained that she and her boyfriend were travelling to Gran Canaria and had paid for specific seats.

She wrote: “I had booked mine and boyfriends seats when we booked and paid £22 for both. I had the window and he had the middle.”

Next, the woman revealed that the lady who was sat on the aisle seat of their row then asked if she could have their seats for her and her daughter.

The woman continued, writing: “A lady sat on the end and her daughter was in front. She asked could they have our two seats and we have hers /daughters or my boyfriend switch with her daughter.”

But, the woman was unmoved and revealed she declined to give the mother and her daughter the seats.

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She explained: “I politely said no. Which she wasn't happy about. We got ‘what difference does it make’. ‘Your adults, my daughter is scared of flying and is a minor’.

“Anyway we wouldn't move.”

The author then asked if she was in the wrong, reasoning that the mother should have just paid for seats, like she had, to ensure that she and her daughter could sit together.

The woman received a lot of support from other readers who told she was not in the wrong.

One person wrote: “She should have paid to book seats together the same as you did.”

Another added: “Well. I have a child who is scared of flying and so I would have paid to ensure that I had the seats I needed.”

While some said they would have moved, they still agreed that the woman was not in the wrong for declining to.

One person said: “You weren't in the wrong. I would've moved for her but that doesn't mean anyone else has to.”

Another reasoned: “She wasn’t being unreasonable to ask. You weren’t being unreasonable to refuse. She was unreasonable to be grumpy about it.”

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