A man has been praised online for refusing to swap seats with a pregnant woman on an airplane. In a post shared on Reddit, a man explained that he was flying solo to visit family over the holidays and carefully selected an aisle seat that was next 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," he wrote.
Reddit user u/michaeldonelly shared the post, titled "AITA (Am I the A**hole) and for not giving up my airline seat to a pregnant woman?", on December 15. He explained that he paid extra because he has a medical issue that sometimes requires "quick access to the bathroom". Because of this, he wasn't willing to change his seating arranges, the user said.
"I did not feel it was fair to demand I move from the seat I planned for and paid for, especially since she apparently had not booked an aisle seat herself in advance," he wrote.
AITA for not giving up my airline seat to a pregnant woman?
byu/michaeldonelly inAITAH
Further, the social media user claimed that the flight attendants didn't try to help resolve the issue and there weren't any empty aisle seats that could facilitate the pregnant woman's request. He concluded by stating that his family backed the woman as they felt that he should have "inconvenienced" himself.
Since being shared, the Reddit post has accumulated more than 15,000 upvotes. In the comments section, users praised the man for keeping his seat since he made specific accommodations before the flight.
"NTA. [Not the a******] She should have booked another seat she wanted herself or not gone on the flight. Seems she just assumed she wouldn't have to pay for it, since some sucker was going to move. The flight attendants are at fault for not mediating. At some point they should have told her to go back to her seat (and all of this is regardless of your medical issues. You paid for the seat. She didn't.)," wrote one user.
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"Because she felt entitled to it because she was pregnant. She thought she could use that to her advantage. But, she found out she couldn't. And rightfully so OP!!! You booked and paid for that seat. NTA," said another.
"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. It's no one's business why you booked that seat. Was the passenger or airline going to reimburse you for the cost of pre-booking the seat? Zero obligation for you to move," commented a third user.
