A shocked mum faced the wrath of an entitled plane passenger who called her a vicious name when he realised she’d booked her three-year-old child a first-class seat
An entitled plane passenger erupted into a sweary rant at a mum who booked her toddler a first class seat.
The foul-mouthed tirade came as a shock to the parent, who insisted her little girl was well behaved throughout the flight.
Every summer, a fierce debate ramps up online over the ‘correct’ flying etiquette with children – with some less tolerant passengers insisting that kid-free flights should exist.
The mum was confident that her three-year-old tot could handle the flight easily, having travelled many times before, but one passenger fumed at the concept of a toddler having a first class ticket, as they hated the thought of sitting next to a child.
Taking to Reddit to share her flight ordeal, the mum wrote anonymously: “My husband, toddler (almost 3) and I were flying across the country for Thanksgiving. Since we could afford it due to a nice pay raise my husband recently got, we decided to splurge on 1st class tickets for the trip.
“My toddler has always been a good flyer and has flown a lot throughout her short life. She’s never been disruptive or cried on an airplane, this flight included.
“She’s good at staying in her seat and tells us when she a needs to go potty, food, a toy, etc. She stayed seated and quietly playing throughout the flight, only getting up when she had to go potty.”
Despite the little one being on her best behaviour and not disrupting other travellers, one passenger was seething at the mum for sitting her child in first class – as he complained to the cabin crew on board.
The mum explained: “The issue was with another 1st class passenger. We boarded early since my husband is disabled and when another 1st class passenger saw us he started glaring.
“We take off and all is good. My kid fell asleep in the middle of coloring [sic], husband is snoozing. I’m listening to music when I get a tap on my shoulder.
“It was the guy that glared at us as he boarded and before I could even get a word out he told me that children weren’t allowed in 1st class and that we needed to move to our ‘real’ seats”.
In a bid to avoid confrontation, the parent asked the flight attendant to deal with the man’s complaint, as she felt ‘uncomfortable’. Things seemed to get cleared up, but the man was still hot with rage.
“The flight attendant came and explained to him that we were in the correct seats that we paid for and asked that he sit back down and not bother us again. He did go back to his seat but as we were getting off the plane he whispered to me that I was a ‘fat c***’ and that he pays too much money for first class to be surrounded by children.”
Desperate for advice, the mum concluded: “My kid was the only kid in 1st class and she didn’t misbehave or even cry so at first I felt like I was in the right, but after talking to family at Thanksgiving many of them told me that we should book economy next time because people pay extra to relax in 1st class. Are we really a******s for flying 1st class with our toddler?”
Many people flocked to the comments section to defend the mum’s decision, as one wrote: “Even if your child did cry, it wouldn’t have mattered because you paid and are entitled to the seats you paid for… if they don’t want to be around children/other people that bad – they should fly private”.
Another added: “I can understand why he would initially be wary and upset, but he frankly should have calmed the f down once it became apparent that your toddler was just sleeping peacefully like anyone else.
“And since you know that your kid is a good flyer, there’s no reason not to sit first class if you can”.
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