Actually, there are cases where asking a question hurts. One of those cases is this one, where a person observes that I have something nice and proposes that I give it to him without fair compensation. The harm done is in the first impression: I now consider him avaricious and will view with suspicion every subsequent "offer" he makes to me in the future. Of course, if our only interaction ever is this airline seat there's no downside to him in such a shameless request. And that's why people do it. But how does he know we won't meet again?