A woman has sparked debate over whether she was in the wrong after “embarrassing an oversized passenger on a flight” by asking to change seats.
Write on the popular Reddit forum AITA (short for “Am I a hole?”), the 19-year-old asked if she had crossed the line when she asked to move because “neither of my neighbors can sit down.” feel free to take their place.”
The poster claimed that she was assigned to sit in the middle on the flight from Las Vegas to New York, while the people sitting on either side of her were “oversized”.
“I wouldn’t have had a problem with this in any other situation, but plane seats are too small,” she wrote.
“On either side of me, my neighbor’s shoulders were on me and their thighs were on mine.”
After informing the flight attendant of the situation “as privately and as gently as possible”, the crew appeared to “find a seat a few rows from me that I could sit”.
The woman went on to mention that “getting my bag from under the seat in front of me and moving was pretty awkward,” but “the rest of the flight went well” and was uninterrupted.
However, she was surprised to see the woman she had been sitting next to waiting for her after getting off the plane.
“She basically told me I embarrassed her and the other man and that traveling in great shape would have been hard enough if it weren’t for people to see obesity as a contagious disease. ‘.
“She also said that I have publicly proven to people that oversized passengers are an ‘inconvenience’ and open the door to obesity on flights.
“I really didn’t mean for it to happen that way, but I can understand how it happened and everyone on the flight saw me move, so now I’m wondering if I Should I let it out?”
The thread received more than 2,100 comments, with many voicing support for the woman.
One user said: “You have not done a ‘public protest’ nor contributed to obesity in any way. You are uncomfortable and you discreetly ask for another seat. AH is really the airlines that have been making seats smaller for over 20 years.”
Many others agreed, with one commenting that the woman “handled things with caution and didn’t embarrass others. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
