“We get on to find that a family is in our seats. The parents won't even look up at us. The teen daughter mumbles that she got there first and just sat down.”
This was the experience of a family who boarded a flight only to find their seats already occupied. Posting on the Reddit thread r/StolenSeats the mum related the incident.
“They were in our A-B-C seats. They were supposed to be D-E-F. They were clearly not moving, seats were identical so we just sat in their D-E-F seats. Whatever, not worth worrying about.
Well, until the mom, who initially refused to even look at us, leaned over to ask me if our usb and outlets were working. Yes, while I had headphones on.
Why yes, yes they are.
Oh my, are yours not?
None of them?
Isn't that a shame. Especially since we sat on the runway for a bit over an hour and it is a long flight. I imagine batteries are getting low.
Hello Karma.”
According to the Daily Record paper, “The woman was left reeling after seeing her pre-booked flight seats had been stolen.”
The Mirror reports that instead of making a fuss, she just moved into the spare seats left available to avoid disrupting the other passengers.
Readers had no sympathy for the seat-stealing family and felt they deserved what they got.
One wrote, “Don’t you just love it when KARMA jumps up and takes a big old bite out of entitled j*rks, I do…”
“I love watching Karma do her thing,” a second agreed.
People stealing other passengers seats seems to be a common occurrence, judging by the number of articles that pop up on the internet. In one incident a seat stealing passenger refused to move and the airline “rewarded her” by upgrading her to business class. The fact that Reddit has a whole sub dedicated to this annoying trend shows how frustrating it is for those who are affected.
In some cases passengers have spoken about being asked to move from their allocated seats, which they booked in advance.
What do to if someone steals your seat
Be assertive. Don’t be afraid to speak up. Let them know that they have taken your seat and need to move. They may have made a genuine mistake or assumed the seat was available.
Stealing other people’s seats is inconsiderate. It’s better to ask politely if there is a valid reason, such as requiring extra leg room.
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