A woman has sparked outrage after revealing how her husband flies first class while she sits with their children in economy. She explained how her husband "loves to travel" and always pays for an upgraded seat for himself - but doesn't extend this curtesy to his family.
Seeking advice on The New York Times Magazine's ethics column, the woman asked whether she's "wrong" for wanting to sit with her husband in first class, leaving her 12 and 16-year-old to look after themselves at the back of the plane.
She wrote: "My husband loves to travel and always either pays for, or gets an upgrade into, the first-class cabin. When we travel together with our children, he buys himself a ticket in first class and puts us in economy or economy plus.
"He even did this recently on an overnight flight to Paris."
Trying to justify his actions, he claims it would cost too much money for the entire family to sit together in first class - and he wouldn't want the children to travel without a parent present.
"I feel that this is unfair," she added. "I don't think our kids would mind if they were in economy plus and my husband and I sat together in first class. Is that unfair of me to want?
"My husband has suggested travelling alone on a different flight ahead of us so that we don't feel badly about the disparity, but this does not really address or solve the problem of the inherent selfishness in his thinking.
"Am I wrong? We are happy to travel, and love going places together, but it is still very strange."
The woman's post has since been shared on Twitter, where it has received more than 10.4 million views and 69,000 likes in a matter of days.
While most users slammed her husband for being "so selfish", others urged her to get a divorce as soon as possible.
One user said: "So my husband has elite status as he travels a lot with work and we, the two kids and me, don't.
"I have no problem with him in first or business class and us in economy. He worked hard for it. Sometimes he gets an extra upgrade then we take turns in joining him."
Another user added: "One for all all for one! Pay for the whole family to fly first class. They are worth it!"
A third user said: "Whenever me and my fiancé travel together, if one of us gets upgraded and the other doesn’t, I first offer it to her, and then I refuse it myself if she doesn’t want it.
"Strange hill to die on for this guy. It’s just a larger seat at the end of the day."
One more user added: "What a real man would do is purchase first class for the wife, and he'd sit with the kids in economy. That's if they didn't all sit in economy together, which I also don't see an issue with."
Urging her to leave her "selfish" husband, a fifth user said: "We had one upgraded seat once and we gave it to my then seven-year-old daughter. Divorce!"
Do you have a story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
