Everyone's Saying The Same Thing After Man Refuses To Swap Plane Seat For Grieving Mother

A college student from the U.S. is now reflecting on whether he made the right call after refusing to give up his upgraded airplane seat for a mother who had just lost her father.

He shared his experience in a post on Reddit, where he described the situation that unfolded during his return trip from an international exchange program.

As a little reward for himself after a long and emotional semester abroad, he decided to treat himself by upgrading to a premium economy seat. Being 6-foot-3, the extra space meant a lot to him.

But right before boarding began, a woman approached him and politely asked if he’d be willing to swap seats. Her ticket was for a standard economy seat, and she explained she just wanted to sit beside her young son. They were flying back after attending her father's funeral.

When he shared this story on Reddit, many people in the comments section agreed with his choice not to give up his seat, saying he wasn’t in the wrong.

In his full post, he explained: "I (23M) was on a 10 hour international flight heading home from my university exchange program. I had saved up for months to afford this trip, and with some extra money, I splurged on a premium economy seat so I'd have more legroom (I'm 6'3) and could actually sleep. This was a big deal to me I rarely treat myself."

A man declined to swap seats on a plane with a grieving woman laddawan Punna/Getty Stock

"About 20 minutes before boarding, a woman (maybe mid-40s) approached me at the gate with a flight attendant. She asked me very politely if I'd be willing to swap my seat for hers in regular economy so she could sit next to her young son, who was seated beside me."

"She told me she was flying home from her father's funeral and didn't want to be apart from her son during the flight. I asked where her seat was, and it was in the very back row, non-reclining, middle seat."

"I felt terrible, but I said no. I told her I understood her situation, but I paid extra for this seat, and I needed the space and rest after a long, emotional semester. She got teary-eyed and didn't argue just walked away. But I overheard her say to the flight attendant, 'I guess some people only care about themselves.'"

"The flight went on. Her son (maybe 8 or 9?) was quiet the whole time, didn't even talk to me. After landing, another passenger tapped me on the shoulder and said, 'You could've shown some humanity.' Now I feel awful."

"I don't owe anyone my seat, but I keep wondering if I should've just done it."

One person chimed in and pointed out what many saw as a better solution: "They could have moved her son back to her and given someone else the upgrade."

Reddit users supported his decision Alexander Spatari/Getty Stock

"Can't understand why her son didn't go to the back? What am I missing here?" echoed someone else.

"Honestly, sounds like she just wanted to stir something up. Some people care more about being right than just being reasonable." suggested a third user.

Things got more intense when others jumped in with harsher takes. A few felt the mother was trying to work the system to her advantage.

"She wanted the better seat. That's all." read one of them.

"She bought one upgrade and counted on her sob story pulling on heartstrings to finagle another upgrade. Otherwise they would have offered the upgraded seat to whomever the mom was sitting beside so that her son could sit with her. She and the flight attendant both could see that you physically needed the extra room THAT YOU PAID FOR!!! She is the only jerk in this situation." added another user.