A mum who asked a fellow passenger to swap seats with her young daughter for a flight has been slammed for being "rude". The debate followed a request on a flight to Gran Canaria.
The Tui flight to the Spanish island holiday destination placed a mum in a seat behind her daughter. Many budget airlines charge separately to guarantee seats together or for extra luggage and meals.
One woman flying with the airline had paid an extra £22 so she could sit with her boyfriend but feels she was put in a difficult situation when a nearby mum asked her to swap seats. The mum wanted the woman to move so her daughter, who she claimed was afraid of flying, could sit next to her, Edinburgh Live reports. The mum was upset and "wasn't happy" about the couple refusing to move.
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Considering the dilemma, the woman took to Mumsnet and asked fellow mums who was in the wrong. She explained on the Mumsnet chat called 'Am I being unreasonable' [AIBU]: "Last week I was travelling to Gran Canaria with TUI. I had booked mine and boyfriend's seats, when we booked and paid £22 for both. I had the window and he had the middle.
"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. I politely said no, which she wasn't happy about. We got: 'What difference does it make? You're adults, my daughter is scared of flying and is a minor.' Anyway we wouldn't move."
She asked: "Was I in the wrong ? Surely if she was that bothered she could have paid like us. Many hit back at the mum who had asked for the seat swap agreeing that she was rude to ask.
One person replied: "You are completely in the right in my opinion! I wouldn't have moved either. She was just trying it on". A second person said: "TUI has never seated me separately to my kids and I never pay extra. But then they're also under 10 so I expect that is their policy. If her child was presumably older, she should have paid."
A third interjected: "I wouldn't have asked but I would have swapped if I had been asked. This really bugs me - I have lost count of the number of times there have been parents on flights with small children who haven't paid to sit together and expect people who have to move!"
Another pointed out: "Airlines need to make it clear they can't guarantee that children will be sat directly next to their accompanying adults. Would make the whole scenario a lot less common." However, another said: "I would have quite happily moved. This thread is making me think I'm nicer than I thought I was and that's saying something!"
Some could see both sides of the argument as one commented: "She wasn’t unreasonable to ask and you weren’t unreasonable to say no." And one argued: "Not unreasonable. Just uncharitable. Personally I would have swapped for the sake of a child. My partner is an adult and can survive a whole flight without me holding his hand. You value money and the entitlements it gives you more than a stranger's child's feelings."
In TUI's terms and conditions regarding seats, they say: "Seats are assigned separately for outbound and inbound flights, and you’ll need to make each seat reservation by looking at a digital aircraft seat plan for your flight. Remember to make sure seats are assigned for each leg of your journey.
"Please note, if you leave empty seats between the ones you’ve chosen, or you leave a single window seat unoccupied, we won’t be able to confirm your seating request and you will be asked to re-select." They add: "We’ll attempt to accommodate your party together wherever possible, although this can’t be guaranteed. Seats together means seats that are alongside each other, immediately in front and behind each other. Parties may be separated by an aisle."
