Refused to give up first-class seat to child: Online debate erupts
One of the users of Reddit decided to seek advice. "Am I a jerk?" she asked in a popular thread on the portal. The woman refused to give up her seat in first class to a six-year-old child.
"A few weeks ago, my boyfriend surprised me and bought us tickets for a first-class flight. He was doing well at work and wanted to do something nice for us. We had a long-distance, connecting flight ahead of us. I was very excited because I had never flown first class before," wrote the Reddit user in a published post.
A flight attendant tried to compel the traveller to give up her seat
Twenty minutes before the scheduled departure, a flight attendant approached her with a woman and a six-year-old child. She said that due to a booking system error, the place for her son in first class was lost, and therefore he would have to fly in economy class.
"The flight attendant asked if I would switch with her son because he had never flown first class and would really like to experience it. I felt awkward. I understand that it's a huge disappointment for the child, but it was also supposed to be my first time. I said that I got this ticket as a gift from my boyfriend and I am very sorry, but I will not switch," continued the traveller.
The argument was that the traveller received the ticket as a gift
According to the author of the post, the flight attendant seemed angry and tried to convince her that the child would have much more fun flying first class. The argument in the discussion was also the fact that the traveller did not buy the ticket with her own money but received it as a gift.
"The flight attendant clearly took the other woman's side. Fortunately, my boyfriend showed up and said that he has their platinum card, and if they move me back to economy class, his company will stop using this airline and will fly with other carriers. The child eventually flew business class, but I will never forget the guilt both of those women instilled in me. Am I a jerk for not giving up my seat to the child?" we read in the published post.
According to internet users, the traveller has nothing to be ashamed of
Most of the users commenting on the traveller's post believe that she did the right thing. Whether she bought the ticket with her own money or received it as a gift, in their opinion, makes no difference.
"If the mother was so concerned that her son wouldn't fly first class, she could have given him her seat herself," we read in the comments. "The kid ended up in business class, so he still made out pretty well"; "No error, they were probably trying to scam a first-class seat for the boy for free," wrote the internet users.
