I paid for two seats on my flight home for Christmas because I’m fat, but a mom got mad I wouldn’t let her son sit there
AN overweight woman was left frustrated after getting into a heated dispute with a fellow passenger on her flight.
She had bought an extra seat to ensure that she would be comfortable on the plane after previously having had bad flight experiences due to her large size.
She took to Reddit’s Am I The A**hole forum to explain the situation which left her feeling “bad” for the remainder of her journey.
The 34-year-old spoke candidly about actively trying to lose weight but still being considered obese at the time of her travels.
She wrote: “I’m going over to see my brother and his husband for Christmas across the country and because I’m fat, I booked an extra seat so everyone can be more comfortable.
“I know it sucks having to pay for an extra seat but it is what it is.
“I know Southwest Airlines has this ‘customer of size’ policy but I’ve had some bad experiences with Southwest even before I was obese, so I wasn’t doing that and it’s mostly my fault I even got fat.
“Everything goes smoothly from checking in to security and boarding, at least at first.”
The fat woman said a mom suddenly came to her row demanding that she “squeeze” into one seat so that her son could sit in the other.
The mom made a “big fuss” when she refused the request as she had paid specifically to have extra space on the flight.
Speaking about the mom, she continued: “She told the flight attendant I was stealing the seat from her son.
“I showed my boarding passes proving that I paid for the extra seat.
“The flight attendant asked me if I could try to squeeze in, but I said no, that I wanted the extra seat I paid for.
“The boy, who the mom said was 18 months old was supposed to sit in her lap so he could do just that.
“The flight attendant eventually told the mom to put her son in her lap.
“I got dirty looks and passive-aggressive remarks from her for the entire flight and I do feel a little bad because the boy looked hard to control so AITA [am I the a**hole]?”
An overwhelming number of responses to the post argued the mom was in the wrong.
Many tried to reassure the woman that she shouldn’t feel guilty about refusing to move.
One person wrote: “She’s TA [the a**hole] for not buying a seat for her son and assuming someone else would give up a seat they paid for.
“Odds are she was hoping there’d be extra seats on the flight so she didn’t have to pay and used the lap thing as a loophole. A classic case of you snooze you lose.”
Another said: “This is why I hate traveling at the holidays. I fly all the time but at the holidays people just go nuts.
“That woman was both rude and wrong.
“You did exactly what you should have done and I’m surprised the FA [flight attendant] didn’t just tell her to pound sand.
“Also, just a note but you’re being super hard on yourself regarding obesity – you bought two seats, you are working on your health – you’re doing everything right.
“Don’t let this one rude woman make you feel bad. You deserve to be comfortable.”
A third commented: “It already sucks that you had to buy an extra seat but to then have cabin crew try to steal it from you is outrageous.
“I’m glad you held firm against the entitled mom and the cabin crew.
“The only acceptable response from cabin crew in that situation should have been telling the entitled parent that ‘I’m sorry, this seat is taken.'”
Another added: “I bet the same woman would have thrown a tantrum if you had bought only one seat and inconvenienced her with your size.
“You did everything right. That woman should have bought a seat for her baby if she wanted one.
“You should file a complaint against the flight attendant who tried to get you to give up the seat that you paid for in favor of someone who skimped on the cost.”