One of the hallmarks of American culture is passive aggressiveness and it was on a full display in a rather comical way invovling a “stolen” exit row seat on a recent United Airlines flight.
Seatmate Rats Out Exit Row Poacher on United Flight, Then Claims She Was Trying To Help Her Avoid Fee…
Travel blogger Ariana Arghandewal, who runs Pointschaser, posted about a recent experince she had on United Airlines. I’ll summarize it:
- Arghandewal was seated in the exit row in an aisle seat, with the middle and window seats empty
- Toward the end of the boarding process, a woman boarded, stopped at the row, and asked Arghandewal if she could sit there, explaining, “I need a little extra space.”
- Another woman sititing across the aisle piped in that flight attendants had announced there was a $100 fee to upgrade to EconomyPlus, United’s extra-legroom economy section, but added, “Maybe they won’t charge you?”
- The “seat poacher” decided to remian in the exit row, justifying it by saying that she was one of the last to board
- Oddly, she plopped herslef down in the middle seat intead of the exit row seat (and this ws not one of those rows where the slide storage portrudes into the cabin and makes the window seat uncomfortable)
- A minute later, a flight attendant walked by and the woman across the aisle stopped the FA and asked, “Is there a charge for upgrading to this row? Because this woman did and I don’t want her to get charged.”
- A confused look spread across the FA’s face and the poacher mumbled, “You just messed up my whole thing!”
- The FA actually just began to walk away, but the woman across the aisle piped up again, stating, “She didn’t pay for her upgrade and you guys will charge her right?”
- The FA then told the seat poacher to move back to her assinged seat
- But the poacher expalined, “Well the FA by the door told me to sit anywhere I wanted. I’m in 30 and don’t wanna sit that far.”
- The lady across the aisle said, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”
- The poacher respodned, “Yeah well you knew his would be the outcome if you had a brain.”
- Now upset, the poacher got up to gather her things
- The lady across the aisle said, “I just didn’t want you to get charged” to which the poacher responded, “Well if I got charged I’d pay for it. I have money
- She started to make her way out of the row, mumbling, “Now I know why people go crazy on planes sometimes.”
- Then the FA who was at the boarding door showed up and told the poacher, “I told you to sit at your designated seat and if anything else was available, we’d let you move. I didn’t say you can sit anywhere.”
- The poacher responded, “Well you said only one other person is boarding the flight! With so much space why can’t I just sit wherever I want?!”
- She was told she could sit anywhere within the economy class cabin, but not ugprade to “premium economy” (the FA meant extra-legroom economy)
- So the poacher grabbed her stuff in a huff and walked down the aisle, saying, “I’ll Just move to the poor people’s economy section and be uncomfortable.”
- Apparently, the poacher cried during the flight…
- Meanwhile, the woman across the aisle stuck her bare feet up on the armrests of the seat in front of her.
- Arghandewal considered asking a FA, “Is she allowed to have her bare feet on the armrests like that? I don’t want her to be charged a cleaning
fee.”
LOL.
To answer her question, I am of the opinion that both were Karens…or to put it more nicely to all the decent Karens out there, both women were jerks. I tend to be more sympathetic to the poacher than the woman across the aisle…we all need to mind our own business better. I can also underastnd why the poacher thought she could take any leftover seat.
But if you want extra legroom, pay for it…don’t steal it and then cry when you are called out for it. And just a common courtesy tip: if you poach a seat and there is a window and middle open, take the window so you don’t bother the person in the aisle.
What do you think about this?
