I had saved up for months to treat myself to a business-class seat on a 14-hour flight. Comfort was my priority, and I wasn’t about to give it up without a fair exchange.
Shortly after settling in, a man approached me with his new wife. “Hey,” he said, flashing a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Would you mind switching seats with my wife? We just got married, and she works in economy.”
Now, I’m not heartless. If they had asked politely and offered to compensate me for the price difference, I might have considered it. So I responded calmly:
“Sure, no problem. But since my ticket cost more, if you cover the $50 difference, I’ll switch.”
His smile vanished instantly. His jaw clenched, and he leaned in slightly. “You’ll regret this,” he muttered before storming off, leaving his wife to shuffle back to economy.
I thought that was the end of it. I was wrong.
What followed was a masterclass in petty revenge. The man spent the next hour coughing dramatically, sneezing without covering his mouth, and blasting an action movie on his phone—no headphones. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, his wife returned and plopped onto his lap.
“We just want to cuddle,” she said sweetly, as if that justified breaking every basic rule of airplane etiquette.
Other passengers stared in disbelief. I tried to ignore it, but when the loud chewing started, I’d had enough.
I pressed the call button. The flight attendant arrived, took one look at the situation, and shut it down immediately.
“Sir, you can’t disrupt other passengers, and you definitely can’t have two people in one seat,” she said firmly. “Please return to your assigned seat.”
The wife, now bright red with embarrassment, scurried back to economy. The man shot me a glare but finally put on headphones and stayed quiet for the rest of the flight.
Some might say I was harsh, but here’s the thing: being newlyweds doesn’t give anyone the right to act entitled. If they wanted to sit together, they should’ve planned ahead—not expected a stranger to foot the bill for their comfort.
