I fly often, and I always run into the same problem: the person next to me invades my space, elbows everywhere, no respect for boundaries — and forget about comfort.
So this time, I decided to do something different.
I bought two seats. One for me, and one to keep empty. I wanted space. I paid for it. No arguments.
Boarding went smoothly, and I settled in. Window seat, middle seat empty. All good… until it wasn’t.
Just as I was buckling in, a mother walked up with a toddler and casually pointed at the seat next to me — the one I paid for — and said:
“Excuse me, this is my child’s seat.”
I blinked.
“No, it’s not. I paid for both these seats,” I said calmly.
“But he’s just a little kid…”
Now, fellow passengers started to look over. The mom gave me a dramatic sigh and said loud enough for half the cabin to hear:
“Wow… really? You’re going to make a child stand?”
That’s when I had enough.
I pressed the call button for the flight attendant, showed my boarding pass, and explained exactly what was going on.
The flight attendant didn’t hesitate.
“Ma’am, either you can return to your assigned seat with your child or we’ll have to call the captain.”
Apparently, that did it.
The mother huffed, rolled her eyes, and finally walked off, loudly complaining all the way.
Minutes later, the captain himself made an announcement:
“Just a reminder to all passengers: occupying a seat you didn’t pay for is a violation of FAA regulations. Thank you.”
The rest of the flight went smoothly — though I did get a few side-eyes from people who clearly sided with the mom.
But I had zero regrets. I didn’t yell. I didn’t insult. I stood my ground.
And I sat in peace.
