Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Man tells family they’re in ‘wrong seats’ on flight after they book first class with a toddler

Mother accused fellow passenger of ‘glaring’ at her child

Ella Doyle
Tuesday 06 December 2022 13:10 GMT
Comments
Ryanair customers discover seats they booked didn't exist
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A mother has shared her experience on a flight after she was told she shouldn’t have her young child in first class - and it sparked a debate online.

The woman posted to Reddit to ask the forum’s opinion after the experience on 26 November.

She explained that she had “decided to splurge on first class tickets for the trip” as she, her husband and young daughter were flying across the US for Thanksgiving.

“My toddler has always been a good flyer and has flown a lot throughout her short life,” the woman added, noting that her daughter stayed in her seat and played quietly during the flight.

But once the family had boarded and taken their seats, they noticed a fellow passenger was “glaring” at them from his seat.

Shortly after, a member of cabin crew approached the family and asked to see their boarding passes. Two minutes later, another member of staff asked them the same thing.

While her child and husband were asleep, the man who had glared previously approached her. She wrote: “It was the guy that glared at us as he boarded and before I could even get a word out he told me that children weren’t allowed in first class and that we needed to move to our ‘real’ seats.”

After a flight attendant told the man the family were in their correct seats and to not bother them again, he allegedly called the mother a “fat c***”, and said that “he pays too much money for first class to be surrounded by children”.

The woman explained that as her child “didn’t misbehave or even cry”, she believed she was in the right, but family later told her at Thanksgiving that she shouldn’t have booked her young child into first class.

Comments were split, with many showing support for the woman. One said: “Even if your child did cry, it wouldn’t have mattered because you paid and are entitled to the seats you paid for.”

Another wrote: “I personally would hateeee if I paid first class to have a disruptive kid there but that would be my own internal problem to deal with.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in