I remember, many years ago now, when my wife and I boarded a plane bound for London to visit our relatives. Wed saved up to buy two tickets, making sure to reserve seats beside each other, with one by the window left open for the best view.
Back then, the planes had rows of three seats each, and I made certain to select our spots carefully. I wanted us to sit together, side by side, so we could both enjoy the flight and the view across the English countryside as we came in to land.
When we finally made our way onto the plane, I noticed straight away that our seats were already occupied. Double-checking my ticket, I could see I hadnt made a mistake. Where I ought to have been sitting, there sat a woman, and her young son of about five years old had claimed my wifes seat. The woman seemed entirely at ease, so at first I thought perhaps shed simply muddled up the seat numbers.
Excuse me, youre sitting in our seats, I told her politely.
She didnt respond at first, and when my wife repeated the request, the woman finally turned around and replied, My son wanted to sit by the window. First come, first served, isnt it? We arent going to move. There are spare seats in the middle rowwhy not take those?
I do apologise, I said firmly, but we specifically bought these seats. Would you kindly move to your own places so we dont have a fuss?
The woman huffed. Cant you see my boys excited? If I move him now, hell throw a tantrum. Havent you got children? Youre adultsbe reasonable!
Not wishing to cause a scene ourselves, my wife and I decided the best course was to speak to the flight attendant. Only after the steward stepped in did the woman sourly return to her own seats, reluctantly gathering up her son with a mutter.
I couldnt help but think: if shed been set on getting her little boy a window seat, why hadnt she arranged it when booking the tickets? It felt terribly selfish.
Fortunately, the steward settled the affair swiftly and without fuss, preventing the disagreement from dragging on. A few of the other travellers nodded supportively towards us, appreciating that wed sought to resolve things quietly rather than making a spectacle.
Ive never understood why some parents suppose that having children entitles them to special treatment. Weve got kids ourselves, but never once have we thought it right to take someone elses place or skip queues because of it.
In the end, I was grateful that the rest of our journey went smoothly, and I do hope that woman learned a lesson about being preparedand not making other passengers feel awkward. It seems to me its simply a matter of common courtesy.
