Woman Boards Charlotte-To-Orlando Flight. Then A Child Asks Her To Switch Seats After Boarding Late: ‘I Didn’t Know What To Say’

Whether you should switch your seat on an airline is a heated topic of debate online.

Generally speaking, you can’t just move to an open seat on a plane without asking a flight attendant. Flight attendants have to follow a strict set of safety guidelines and regulations. For example, a seat may be left open to meet balance requirements; by moving there without permission, you may put others on the flight at risk.

Whether you can trade places with someone who is already seated, however, is a different story. Passengers are generally allowed to swap seats—as they can do so without causing a fuss.

That said, some on the internet claim that certain passengers can get particularly pushy about seating. These passengers demand that other flyers swap seats with them, even going so far as to sit in the seat they want without first asking for permission.

One woman recently shared her own requested seat-switch story. According to her, she thwarted a seat switch request by being a little tricky—but was she right to do so?

Charlotte-To-Orlando Flight: What Would You Do In This Awkward Situation?

In her video, TikTok user Frankie (@frankieshino) explains that, while flying from Charlotte to Orlando, she encountered an awkward situation.

According to Frankie, she had already boarded when a family arrived on the plane. Each member of the family—a mother, a father, and “three or four kids”—all went to separate seats, leading Frankie to believe that they were previously on standby.

One of the family members, a young girl aged “8 or 9,” sat next to Frankie, who was seated in the window. Immediately, she made a request.

“Once [the plane starts] backing up, she goes, ‘I wanna sit next to the window,’” Frankie recalls.

Not sure what to say, Frankie deferred. She told the girl that she did not believe they were allowed to switch seats at this time.

Frankie adds that not only did she not want to switch seats, but that doing so would present logistical problems.

“I don’t know how she thought we were gonna switch places,” she states. “There’s no way I could climb—there’s no situation [where we could switch] unless all three people got up, got out, and we switched that way.”

She Distracts The Child

Throughout this experience, Frankie was conscious of the fact that she did not want to upset the child. Frankie told the child that they could switch later; the child seemed to accept this. From there, the child began ordering drinks from the flight attendant and watching a movie without headphones.

“The mom didn’t say anything, you know?” Frankie says. “I think they were just busy with their other kids…They didn’t even ask to switch seats, nothing like that. Like, ‘You’re sitting here, you’re old enough.’”

Eventually, the child began asking Frankie about sitting next to the window again. This time, Frankie intentionally distracted the child.

“I was like, ‘Oh, is it your first time to Disney World?’ You know, ’cause I’m assuming they’re going to Disney World,” Frankie shares. “She’s like, “No, I go all the time.’”

Then, flight attendants announced passengers should prepare for arrival. Frankie used this as an excuse to say why a seat switch was not possible. Still, she says she made sure to give the child as much access to the view out of the window as she wanted—though Frankie notes that the child “wasn’t even looking.”

Should You Swap Airplane Seats With A Child?

This is certainly an awkward situation. That said, you are generally entitled to the seat on your ticket. Whether you want to give it up for a child is a personal decision—though having to explain that to the kid may be a little difficult.

In previous instances where situations like these have gone viral, users have largely sided with the person who decided not to switch seats. For example, after a similar story made waves on Reddit, users generally agreed that it was not the responsibility of the passenger to take care of the child, even if the child threw a tantrum in response.

“You paid for and intentionally booked the window seat because it mattered to you,” wrote one user. “It’s not your responsibility to accommodate someone else’s poor planning or their child’s tantrum.”

“Parents often face tough moments with kids, but teaching them that a tantrum can force others to give in isn’t a great lesson,” shared another.

Depending on the airline, the carrier may also have a policy about keeping a family together, especially if the child is particularly young. If you are traveling with a family, it may be a good idea to look at an airline’s policies and discuss the issue with the airline itself before boarding.

BroBible reached out to Frankie via TikTok direct message and comment.