I remember, some years ago, boarding a plane only to discover that our seats were already occupied.
My wife and I had planned a trip to visit relatives in London. We bought our tickets well in advance, making sure to choose two seats together, with the window seat left free between us and the aisle.
I knew the aircraft had three seats per row, so I carefully selected the ones that would place us side by side and give us a view through the window.
But as soon as we stepped onto the plane and reached our row, I noticed a woman sitting in my seat, and in the seat reserved for my wife sat her little boy, perhaps five years old. At first, I assumed there must have been some confusionshe appeared to act as if nothing was amiss.
Excuse me, youre sitting in our seats, I said politely.
She showed no sign of moving. When my wife repeated the request, the woman finally turned and said, quite firmly, My boy wanted to sit by the window. First come, first served, isnt it? Well be staying here. There are spare seats in the middle row, you can take those.
I replied as calmly as I could, Im sorry, but we deliberately purchased these seats. Would you kindly move, and lets not make a fuss.
She brushed off my words and said, Cant you see the child is excited? If I move him now, therell be tears. Dont you have children? Youre the adults here.
My wife and I saw no reason to create a scene, so we asked the steward for assistance. Only after he intervened did the woman finally, with some protest, gather her son and move to her assigned seats.
If she so desperately wanted a window seat for her boy, why hadnt she simply booked one ahead of time? It smacked of nothing but selfishness.
Thankfully, the steward resolved the issue quickly, otherwise who knows how long the dispute might have dragged on. Other passengers supported us, for we hadnt caused an uproar but did our utmost to settle the matter considerately.
What Ive never understood is why some parents presume travelling with children entitles them to special treatment. We have children of our own, but wed never dream of taking someone elses seat, or breezing ahead of the queue.
Im thankful the rest of the journey passed without further incident, and hope that woman learned the value of planning ahead and not putting others in awkward positions.
