"Entitled Mom Thinks I Should Give My Plane Seat To Her Spoiled Brat, Fights Over It"

Most people who fly on airplanes are polite and respectful. However, in recent years, there has been a spike in reports of passenger misconduct. One issue that folks keep running into is that their fellow passengers feel like they’re entitled to swap seats with them. And if they don’t get what they want, they cause a scene. Sometimes, that backfires.

One redditor opened up about a massive drama that they were sucked into during a recent flight. Right after landing, they immediately recounted how one mom and her kid made a massive scene when the OP refused to give up their seat. Things only escalated from there. Scroll down for the story in full, as shared on the r/entitledparents subreddit.

Without beating around the bush, let’s all say it loud and clear: nobody should be intentionally causing drama on airplanes. Flights can be cramped and stressful enough as they are.

Throw in some delays, and now everyone’s even more on edge. The last thing you want is to antagonize your fellow passengers and flight staff. If you’re a grownup and you want or need something, then you’re perfectly capable of asking for it in a polite way.

What separates ordinary folks from entitled people is how they react to failure. Most people, when they don’t get what they want or get told ‘no,’ simply accept this and then move on with their day. You win some, you lose some.

Unfortunately, some individuals cannot fathom the idea of living in a world where they’re rejected. For them, being told ‘no’ is akin to a personal attack on their character and way of living. So, they do the immature thing and lash out at the people around them.

Others try to bully their way into getting what they want. But what overly entitled people are less used to than healthy boundaries are folks who actively enforce them and won’t give in to threats or manipulation.

If you’re making your fellow passengers’ lives a living hell, don’t be surprised if you’re asked to get off the plane. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Christopher Elliott wrote on USA Today that some plane passengers have an entitlement problem. One way to fix this growing entitlement mentality would be to reduce the divide between all travelers.

For example, you could reduce the divide between those flying in first class and economy. The reality is that some grownups will get upset if they don’t get upgraded. However, if everyone were to get enough legroom to feel comfortable, they might be less inclined to fight over seats.

According to Elliott, airlines and travel companies should set some basic behavior standards that all travelers ought to follow. Though these might sound like common sense to many of us, the fact of the matter is that they’re completely alien to some passengers. They need clear expectations.

“Don’t cut in line. Don’t lean your seat all the way back into someone else’s personal space. Say ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’ If they don’t tell them what they expect, how can anyone know?” he suggested.

According to Business Insider, there were 6k reports of misconduct on flights in the US in 2021. By 2023, this number was far smaller, standing at 1.9k reports. Unfortunately, even with this drop, the situation is still worse than before the pandemic.

To put it simply, many passengers have become far more unruly in recent years.