50 Travelling Dramas That Happened Because People Just Can’t Sit In Their Assigned Seats

Happened to me once too. The configuration was 3 seats on the left of the aisle and 2 seats on the right of the aisle. I had paid for the 2 seats on the right many months prior for me and my child. When we boarded the plane, we found two teenage girls in our seats. I explained those were our seats, and they said, "Why don't you just take those two over there?" like we were all at Disneyland about to board a ride or something. I said absolutely not. They moped back over to their seats next to their mom in the 3 seat configuration.

Not travel-based, but I bought some sought after tickets to a sporting event that was sold out. Got to my seats early, section was like 85% full and still filling up. Guy and his girl where in my seats. I politely told him they were mine. He pointed to some empty seats in the row up, told me to just take those. I said no, asked him to move again. He got angry, I went and told an usher who moved them. He cursed me out so bad and called me a snitch, etc. His seats ended up being nosebleed, we were in the 100 level.

And a few minutes later a family of four sat in the seats he told me to take. Still pisses me off to this day lol. If it had been like a half empty stadium, probably wouldn't have bothered me. But I could tell it was gonna be packed and knew I'd just be taking someone else's seats who would probably show. No consideration for anyone else.

The first time someone stole my assigned window seat, I was young and caved but was silently steamed about it. As it turned out, a 4-5 year old was assigned to the window seat in the next row back and that kid proceeded to kick the shit out of the back of the seat for the duration of the 3.5 hour flight. The guy who took my seat offered to swap back and I just put my headphones on, closed my eyes and relaxed while his coccyx was treated like a soccer ball.

The second time someone stole my paid-upgrade window seat, she was part of a group traveling for business and I guess she wanted to be closer to her coworkers who were seated in the rows ahead. She first pretended to not understand my observation that she was in my seat, then played dumb about which row she was supposed to be in, then generously offered me her seat, which turned out to be somewhere way in the back. FA swooped in and had her move, then later gave me an empty row and multiple mini splits of wine.

Not travel based, but someone once tried to take my table at a restaurant while I went to the bathroom, with my clothing etc still obviously at the table. Pointing out I'd been sat there before she tried to say well too late... until I sat opposite her and said you can stay, but I will too. She threw a hissy fit and left. The entitlement of some people...

I fly frequently from the state I live in now to my home state to visit family. It’s a 1.5hr flight. My most recent solo trip up, I boarded and sat in my window seat. A family then got on and the father politely asked if I wouldn’t mind taking his seat a few rows back as he and his family were assigned separate seats and he had a small daughter. No big deal to me since it was a few rows back and I’ve been there before when airlines have for some reason separated myself and my minor kids and we had to go through the process to be sat next to each other. BUT when I get to his seat, it’s occupied by an elderly woman who moved to sit next to her family that she was separated from. Good lord, I told her don’t worry- just stay there and I took her seat across the aisle. A flight attendant who saw the whole thing came to me and said she noticed my kindness and moved me up to an empty seat towards the front!

united lied to me about a baby needing my seat. i was in a bulkhead in economy plus on an international flight, and a desperate flight attendant came and BEGGED me to switch seats, saying there was a baby aboard who needed this particular bulkhead seat for a cradle, and if i didn't agree to switch seats, we wouldn't be able to depart.

i moved to a standard seat, and didn't think much more of it.

midway through the flight, i saw an adult sitting in my seat, no baby. i asked the flight attendant for an explanation, and was told the OTHER non-baby-having passenger would not give up his seat unless he was in a bulkhead, so they gave the baby his seat, and gave him my seat. i suppose the net result was the same: i gave up my seat for a baby, but they wholly failed to say that my seat was to accommodate the no-baby-having adult, not the baby. in fact, they lied by saying, literally, my seat was the only seat remaining on the plane to accommodate the baby. i'm a woman, if that factors in.

they gave me a bottle of mid wine. ffs.

Attempted seat steal - boarded the plane with my partner to find someone sitting in the window seat already (her seat). When we went to sit she was asking us to swap with some family members who were further back, so the two of them could sit next to her. She said "they are exactly the same seats" so it shouldn't be a problem to move. She was actually asking us to move from premium economy to regular economy and give up our premium seats for her family! After trying to argue with us, we sat anyway of course. Interestingly, she didn't ask to swap her seat to move to sit with family back in economy!

I did it once at a sold out ball game with my nephew. People came and accused me of being in their seats. I was aghast! No way! Usher came over and the seats were correct but I was a day early so he took us down to some much better seats and we got to go to two games!

I can't imagine being that guy but I was.

I’ve kind of stolen a seat exactly one time but hear me out. I was travel alone with my 4 year old son. Somehow we ended up with 2 aisle seats on the same row but across the aisle from one another. I sat in my assigned seat and put my son in the middle seat next to me leaving his aisle seat open. When the person assigned the middle seat boarded I briefly explained and said I could move my son across the aisle so the man could sit in his assigned middle seat but it would be great for us if he would sit in my son’s aisle seat. The man was happy to sit in the aisle seat so my son could sit next to me in the middle seat. Even though the man got a better seat out of the deal, I still felt bad for even asking him to sit in another seat.

I was recently in a flight and the guy who had the middle seat was sitting in my aisle seat. I’m sure he was hoping I wouldn’t show up but like, sit in your seat until they close the doors? Then move over one. He was buckled in and everything so it’s not like he was waiting to see if I would arrive or not.

it was a few years ago, but I watched a young woman try to take her seat only to find that a family from India (who were sitting in their own correct seats) had FILLED ALL THE LEGROOM in a different row with their luggage. I don't know how a flight attendant allowed them to bring like 6 carry-ons aboard, but the whole row (NOT the one they were seated in) had luggage jammed under all the seats. Then they argued with the woman about how they weren't going to move it and they thought it was fine. Baffling.

Just saw this happen on a plane a few weeks ago and the full grown lady put on her headphones and these super young girls where standing in the aisle FOREVER and were kind of getting in the way of everyone trying to stow their luggage and get seated. Well after about almost 15 minutes of them standing literally everyone outside of the flight attendants are seated and stowed. The flight attendant comes and tells them hey you guys you need to get seated. Well turns out the reason they had been standing was because someone was in their seat. The flight attendant asks for their tickets and then asks the lady seated. Lady seated gets all irritated and the flight attendant says these ladies have tickets for this row. She continues to argue. Finally reluctantly she shows her ticket and the flight attendant gives her one of those disappointed mother faces and says your is over here. Lady continues to argue and mad dogs the kids. Literally have no idea why she decided to do all that but it held up the flight for another 10 minutes.

Happened to me once. Girl was in my aisle seat, asked if I'd switch for her middle seat so she could be next to her boyfriend who was across the aisle. I said no. It was a 7am flight, I had just gotten back from a trip that involved me traveling all night and I paid extra for that aisle seat so I could get some rest on my way to a conference. They proceeded to text each other about how ridiculous I was. I would've swapped for his aisle seat, but it was clear they both just wanted the aisle.

I once got on a flight as a solo traveler and there was a young lady in my seat. She said something about already having her bag in the overhead so I thought I'd be nice and offer to just take her seat. So she keeps my seat and I go to her seat to find someone already sitting there. Okay... I go back and tell her and she gives me a different seat number/letter. Once again, I walk there and someone else is sitting there. Now I'm annoyed. I've been walking up and down the aisle against the flow of passengers to find a nonexistent seat because someone stole mine. The girl pulls out a pocketful of seat stubs. I turn to a flight attendant and ask to be seated anywhere open.

Happened this summer! Flew to Bangkok from Istanbul. The plane had the 3-4-3 setup and I had the aisle seat from the middle row. My seat was also the first row so I did not have anybody sit in front of me. I got on the plane and this random Thai dude sat on my seat and had already made himself comfortable. Unpacked the blanket and earphones. Of course I was not happy because where was I going to sit? I showed the guy my ticket where it stated it was in fact my seat he was occupying. I felt like he was pretending to not understand me so I got the flight attendant. He was still being difficult so another crew member came. They made the man show his ticket and it suddenly became clear why he took my seat. His seat was a few rows further back in the middle of the middle row. It has to be the wordt seating option on such along flight so my guess is he just hoped he could get away with it. But in the end he still had to move and I got my seat

Ughhh, I HATE those. I always book an aisle seat, and this one time I came across a woman sitting in my seat. I thought, no biggie, she might have gotten the numbering wrong. I showed her my ticket and explained that I have the aisle seat, and she says "Oh, that's okay, I have the window seat, you can just sit in mine"?!?!?

Lady, if I wanted a window seat I would have booked a window seat... To her credit, at least she moved without throwing a tantrum when I said no.

I screwed up once and sat in the wrong seat because I looked at the wrong boarding pass.

People acted like I set their dog on fire.

Seriously, sometimes it's just an error.

Watched someone look at my empty seat in 12F, look at the overhead, put their bag in the overhead, and walk back to the 20s. I pulled their bag out a bit and replaced it with mine. FA wanted to know whose bag was just hanging out. It fit just fine in their row after all. Edit, spelling.

I was at a venue and arrived a few minutes late and there was a woman & her friend was in my seat. I told them they were in the wrong seats. They protested and got up but the woman continued on that she wasn’t the one in my seat, that her friend was. I said I just want the seat I chose and paid for. Ridiculous.

I posted this in this sub before, but I had my seat stolen by a little kid (thankfully, not a seat that I paid an upgrade for).

I get to my seat and there's a girl who's at most 12 years old with her little brother, who's no older than 8, in my seat. I get there and I'm like "umm, that's my seat" and she just kinda said "he's going to sit there with me. You can have his seat" (which, of course, was near the back)

Yes, she did say it that frankly instead of asking. It wasn't that long of a flight, and was a total lose / lose situation, but it definitely irked me as I walked back to my new seat.