A woman was left “fuming” for the duration of her flight after a man was rude to her, despite the fact that he was sitting in the seat she’d paid for
Danielle Kate Wroe Senior Social News Reporter
16:29, 14 Oct 2025
The six word question left the woman passenger fuming. (Image: Getty Images/EyeEm)
A woman was left “fuming” throughout her entire flight after a man was rude to her, despite the fact that he was occupying the seat she’d paid for. Wander Woman, who urges people to “book that trip” on TikTok, revealed that she doesn’t usually bother paying for a designated seat on a plane.
But she felt like treating herself to a window seat on this particular journey.
It only cost her €8 (£7) – and “on this occasion” she “fancied” it – so she went ahead and booked it. So you can imagine her shock when she boarded the aircraft and discovered someone already sitting there.
Wander Woman explained that she looked to a member of the cabin crew for help, prompting the flight attendant to ask whether everything was alright.
She said she was “confused” because someone was in her seat, but then the man explained that he just wanted to sit next to his wife, reports the Mirror.
The travel enthusiast said: “Another member of cabin crew saw there was a bit of a commotion, so he came over and said, ‘Is everything okay?’ and I explained that there was somebody sitting in my seat.
“The guy that was sitting in my seat goes ‘Um, yeah, I just want to sit next to my wife, that’s alright, isn’t it?’
“And I looked at the cabin crew and I said, ‘Is that even allowed? Are we allowed to switch seats?’ And the cabin crew said, ‘It is, as long as you’re happy to do that’.
“So I said to this guy in my seat, ‘If you wanted to sit with your wife, you could have paid extra to make sure that you’re sat together’.”
But it was his cheeky six-word question that left her fuming for the remainder of the journey.
“Have you paid for the seat?” he cheekily responded, mistakenly believing she’d simply been allocated it randomly.
The TikToker clarified that she had indeed purchased it, which caused him to retreat and admit he “didn’t realise”.
Nevertheless, “his original seat was also a window seat,” so she chose not to continue the petty row any further and simply shifted to one seat behind where she’d bought.
This didn’t prevent her from “seething” for the duration of the flight, though.
Posting about the incident on TikTok, she questioned whether she should have given in or not.
She continued: “I was so irritated that I’d sort of allowed him to take advantage of me.”
In the responses, users were eager to voice their opinions.
One individual commented: “He should have at least bought you a drink on the plane.”
Another wrote: “You got a window seat and you were kind enough to swap. But the man shouldn’t have sat there. He should have asked if it was possible to swap once you were seated”.
Meanwhile, a pilot revealed: “I’m flight crew (pilot) and completely understand your frustration. I probably would have done exactly the same thing as you, though.
“You’ve achieved what you set out to do. I probably would have added the caveat to the gentleman that perhaps he can buy that seat off you with a nice drink on the flight. I would have offered to do that anyway”.
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