Flyers blasted for taking couple’s first-class plane seats, ‘bullying’ them

A couple’s post on Reddit has taken off — and many readers agree they were wronged by a pair of first-class jerks.

The posting details how a couple handled strangers who were sitting in their first-class seats — and social media users were in the wings applauding the couple for how they managed the awkward situation.

Since being shared eight days ago, the post has gotten more than 12,000 upvotes.

In a now-deleted post on the r/Delta subreddit, obtained by Newsweek, user Zealousideal-Host467 outlined how another pair of flyers sat in the couple’s assigned seats — and then made them feel bad for asking them to move.

The poster said that the two people, also a couple, moved seats to be closer to their friends and knew the seats they were sitting in didn’t belong to them — yet they didn’t want to move to their assigned spots.


A Redditor said a couple gave them and their husband attitude for asking them to move out of their first class seats.
A Redditor said a couple gave them and their husband attitude for asking them to move out of their first-class seats. Shutterstock

The poster said the pair offered them their seats a row behind them, but the poster wasn’t having it. 

“When I was confused, they said, ‘Oh, sorry, [we’re] in the wrong seats, well you can have our seats,’ which were a row behind, but I paid for and selected the seats I wanted for a reason.”

The couple squatting the seats didn’t leave before giving the poster a high-altitude bad attitude.

“[They] made me feel stupid for asking and kept saying, ‘You must not fly much because this isn’t a big deal,’ and ‘We just got comfortable and you’re making us move,’” the Redditor explained.


Commenters said the couple who refused to move were being first-class jerks.
Commenters said the couple who refused to move were being first-class jerks. Shutterstock

People rallied behind the Redditor and agreed that the other travelers were the ones being rude.

“They are wrong. They are trying to guilt you into switching. You are not wrong. You can get a flight attendant involved,” one person said. 

“I had someone do this in coach once. To be fair it wasn’t an accident, our boarding passes had the same seat assignments (this was 30 years ago). But the person in the seat was a huge jerk. Full flight and was sure I was getting booted. The [flight attendant] put me in first class,” another said. 

“Entitled bullies behave like that. You paid for that seat, you have every right to use it. Please talk to a flight attendant instead of direct confrontation if this happens again,” said a third. 

Proper airplane etiquette isn’t always clear, which is why flight attendants have taken it upon themselves to educate travelers about the dos and don’ts of airplane travel. 

Natalie Magee, 42, from Colorado, shared her list of annoying airplane habits from bad bathroom etiquette to clipping toenails on board — offenses that bug “every” flight attendant. 

Magee shares videos on her TikTok about her experiences that have garnered thousands of views. 

“There are so many [pet peeves]!,” Natalie told NeedToKnow.

“[Such as] when people don’t shut the bathroom door or leave the bathroom a mess,” she said. 

And if you thought flight attendants weren’t paying attention to whether or not you wash your hands, you’re wrong. 

“Also, when you can hear it flush but not the sink, you know they didn’t wash their hands,” she said.