Originally Posted by
javabytes
I had a fun experience with this earlier in the week. Flying MIA-ORD, and I have an aisle seat in First Class. Another woman has the aisle seat on the other side. Towards the end of boarding, a couple gets on (I'd estimate to be late 60's to 70's) and asks the FA to find them seats together, as they have the two window seats in my row. The FA declines, but tells them they are free to ask people to switch.
The woman across the aisle says no first. The man grumbles a bit, then asks me. As I have mild claustrophobia, I choose the aisle to not feel trapped and suffocated, and was not looking to repeat the experience of the last flight where I was stuck in the window, I tell him that I need the aisle.
"Why? You got prostate problems?"
I ignore him and he settles into the seat next to me. It's a 9p-midnight flight; he and his wife both proceed to fall asleep, so I'm not entirely sure why it was so critical that they sit next to each other anyway.
At the end of the flight, I step into the aisle and place my backpack onto the seat to pack up the items I had in the seatback pocket. The guy stands up and moves from his seat into mine, right in the middle of me packing up my things. I ignore him and keep retrieving my things from the seatback pocket and packing my bag. When I'm done, he informs me that I need to move.
The aisle is, of course, packed with other people, so I tell him I don't really have anywhere to go. He shoves me back into the person behind me, and forces his way in the aisle in front of me. He then realizes his bag in the overhead is further back, so he shoved me the wrong direction - now he needs to get by me again. I ignore him and he shoves me back into my seat so he can get past. I step back into the aisle after he passes, which further infuriates him once he has his bag... he wants to get past me again. I've had enough at this point and told him he needs to stay where he is, a suggestion the other passengers reiterated to him when he didn't like it.
I've never seen anyone throw such a good tantrum when being denied a seat swap...
I got one better. I was seated in an aisle E+ seat on a flight very close to the front of E+. Family proceeds to board and woman walks up and asks if I would switch with her husband so the family can sit together. I ask where and it's a window seat 20 rows back and I say, "No, I prefer this seat". She pipes up real loud,
"SO YOU WANT TO SIT NEXT TO MY 13 YO SON!!??"
The inference was very clear...Screw you lady.
So I told her, "I prefer staying in my assigned seat, I'm sure whoever has a seat 20 rows back will be glad to move up front....AWAY FROM YOU!" She stormed off and I never heard any more.
Still galls me to this day.