Plane Passenger Tries to Steal Window Seat— Until ‘Justice’ Handed Out

A dispute over an airplane seat has struck a chord online after one traveler described what they saw as instant karma at 35,000 feet.

Reddit user Purple-Fun-6048 recounted boarding a flight and watching what they called a, “punk ass kid, college age,” attempt to claim an emergency exit row window seat that was not assigned to him.

According to the account, the passenger repeatedly insisted, “Oh, I’m in 15, I’m in 15,” when the rightful window seat holder arrived and said it was theirs.

When a flight attendant asked to see the young man’s boarding pass, the original poster (OP) said he, “just puts on a confused face and keeps saying 15.”

Passenger’s Retort

The attendant had him stand, revealing he was assigned to seat 15E, the middle seat. After passengers settled, the same attendant returned to conduct the emergency exit row briefing.

According to the post, the passenger kept an earbud in during the instructions. When told to remove it, he apparently retorted, “I can hear you.”

The attendant replied, “Take your head phone out,” and later pressed for a verbal confirmation.

“A verbal yes, do you understand,” she said, prompting the passenger to answer yes. The attendant then asked, “Are you sure you can handle this, are you sure we don’t need to move you?”

The moment resonated with Reddit pundits who said they have witnessed similar incidents.

“After all that mess, if I was the FA I’d have moved him right from his little backchat about, ‘I can hear you’,” a critic responded.

Another added, “PAK (punk ass kid) is an acronym we can all get behind. Thank you, OP!”

A commentator shared a related story: “One of the kids from a [high school] group trip on my plane sat himself in the exit row behind me.

“When the FA came over to read us the instructions, she was like, can I see your boarding pass? Knowing full well that he was not on her manifest for being in that row haha.

“He obviously squirmed and tried to talk her out of it, but she held firm and made him go rows back to his seat. Love to see it!”

How to Prevent Tension

Travel expert Jessica Dante told Newsweek that there are “key flight etiquette tips” to prevent tension onboard.

“Once on board, respect people’s personal space by reclining your seat slowly and avoid excessive noise or disturbing activities like watching a film on your phone with no earphones,” she advised.

Etiquette expert Jo Hayes also told Newsweek that it is important, “not to encroach on the space of one’s neighbor,” including avoiding leg-spreading or claiming too much armrest.