As many Americans gear up for holiday travel, many have begun complaining about ‘seat squatters’ stealing assigned seats and refusing of move out of them.
The trend has sparked complaints on Reddit and TikTok as a slew of passengers traveling on Delta, United and American Airlines’ flights have shared their horror stories – with many wondering why squatting has become so common.
Shannon Ella, a TikToker who traveled from Toronto to Charlottetown earlier this year shared that a man had taken her window seat and did not move till a flight attendant did not intervene.
‘So I was on a flight from Toronto to Charlottetown today and I went to get on the plane and I paid for a window seat.
‘But when I got to my seat, I saw someone sitting in it. And I said «Hey, you’re in my seat’. He looked at me and was like «I don’t think so.»
‘I was like «Nope. 17F. F is by the window. You’re in my seat. It’s my seat.» so he looks at his boarding pass and his seat was 17D and he’s like, «Oh so mine’s not the window?»
‘And I was like «Nope, it’s not’. but he just still sat there and looked at me as if I was supposed to say «oh don’t worry, just take my seat.» No, I am a window seat girl. I sit by the window. Get out of my seat.
‘Now obviously I did not say that but is this a thing people are doing on planes now? They just sit in your seat and just go «no. It’s mine, I sat there first.»
Shannon Ella, a TikToker who traveled from Toronto to Charlottetown earlier this year shared that a man had taken her window seat and did not move till a flight attendant did not intervene
The trend has sparked complaints on Reddit and TikTok as a slew of passengers traveling on Delta, United and American Airlines’ flights have shared their horror stories – with many wondering why squatting has become so common
In a later video, she revealed that the man continued to sit in her seat, and stared at her while she asked him to move to his assigned spot.
After five to seven minutes of waiting, he finally moved to his aisle seat after noticing that flight attendants walking up to their row.
Another Redditor who faced a similar situation on a Delta flight this month also shared: ‘I had a 5 am flight from SFO to NYC (LGA) (correction: was to DTW en route to NYC) and had gotten upgraded to comfort plus, was one away on the upgrade list for first class.
‘Well after the boarding door closed, an agent approached me and let me know someone didn’t show, so they had a first class seat (3A) available for me. Score!
‘As I gathered my stuff and walked up to 3A, I noticed a woman in the seat. I figured the computer was wrong and the person originally booked for the seat had made the flight. I approached the attendant just to double check, and she confirmed that 3A was now assigned to me.
‘So we both approached the woman and right away, when the flight attendant asked her for her boarding pass, the woman said ‘Oh I’m supposed to be in row 33! I’ll move back!’
‘The attendant, the entirety of everyone watching in first class and I were all left speechless! This lady had just seen an open seat in first class and figured she’d see if she could get away with sitting there.
‘The woman pleasantly went back to row 33 without a fuss and I have no idea if she got talked to by any attendants or anything after.’
In the midst of this debate, Gary Leff, a Virginia-based travel industry expert and author of the blog ‘View From the Wing,’ confirmed that the seat in question always belongs to the person who has been assigned to it on their boarding pass
The expert suggested that instead of stealing seats, flyers can try their luck on board by simply asking others to swap seats
On the same Delta Airlines forum, one traveler shared their experience: ‘I was flying a red eye and I always book a window seat for those so I can lay my pillow against the wall and sleep.
‘I board the flight, there’s a couple in my row and the lady had decided to take my window seat. I told her nicely that she was in my seat and she played dumb about which seat corresponds to the letter.
‘A flight attendant preemptively intervened without me having to say anything else and had her move over. I think she hoped I just wouldn’t say anything.’
But one American Airlines flyer said that instead of being given his seat back, the squatter was allowed to remain.
‘I booked a Main Extra seat near departure because I saw an empty row and thought I’d take advantage of a whole row to myself. Upon boarding and just before the door was closed a person came along and sat in the seat I had presumed was empty. Happens, I just assumed they got a last minute upgrade or something.
‘Before we push back the flight attendant comes to our row and asks my new neighbor where their seat was and they say the right row but wrong seat. FA asks to see their ticket and my new neighbor makes a great showing of digging in their bag for their phone, eventually saying «I can’t find it» with a look of convenient resignation. FA says I can look it up on my tablet, be right back.
‘While the FA is gone this person is mumbling under their breath about the FA and pulls their phone out of their pocket to have ready when the FA returns. At this point I’m expecting I should be ready to film a future submission for the Public Freakout sub.
‘When the FA returns she asks my neighbor her name again and calls them out for being 10 rows forward of where they’re supposed to be. My neighbor says, non plussed, “oh” and the FA pauses a moment before telling them “ah you can just stay there” and just walks away.
One American Airlines flyer said that instead of being given his seat back, the squatter was allowed to remain
‘After all the lies and posturing my neighbor gave, the FA didn’t relocate them to their seat.
‘Anyway, frustrating but I was asleep a few minutes later. Last time I saw my neighbor they were walking around baggage claim yelling in their phone, so maybe it was a crisis averted.’
In the midst of this debate, Gary Leff, a Virginia-based travel industry expert and author of the blog ‘View From the Wing’ confirmed that the seat in question always belongs to the person who has been assigned to it on their boarding pass.
‘[Flyers] may not be able to get what they want from the airline when reserving seats, or the airline may want a fee for the seats they want and the passenger doesn’t want to pay, so they’ll try their luck on board,’ he told Fox News.
The expert suggested that instead of stealing seats, flyers can try their luck on board by simply asking others to swap seats.
‘Have a compelling reason that will resonate with the person you’re asking, and have something decent to offer in return so it isn’t as much of a hardship for the person to give you what you want,’ he said.
