It’s a question as old as time: should you, a solo traveler, have to move your seat so that others traveling together may sit next to one another? It’s as divisive a topic as any, and it’s recently, as it often does, made its way back to the ol’ double-u, double-u, double-u — this time in the form of an Instagram post from the Today Show.
“What would you do in this situation?” the caption reads. Reader, nearly 4,500 people chimed in to offer up what exactly it is they would do in “this situation.” As People noted, even Food Network star Sunny Anderson took the time to weigh in, saying: “Sorry, mom. I’m sitting in the window seat for my anxiety. I shouldn’t be forced to explain that for your visible issues or picked on about it. If ever I can’t get a window seat, I legit look for another flight.”
But first, before I tell you where I stand on this issue, a little context. This particular round of debates was inspired by a now-viral TikTok in which user Tammy Nelson refuses to give her seat up to a mother of two. “I got on the plane and a woman was sitting in my seat and when I mentioned it to her, she said, ‘Oh you want to sit here? I thought we could switch because these are my kids.’ (She points to the two seats next to mine),” the clip reads. “I said, ‘As long as it’s a window seat, I’m happy to switch.’ She points to the row behind us and says, ‘Mine is right there.’ (It’s the middle seat.)” Further, and crucially, the kids appeared to be aged around 11 and 15, she adds.
Now let me preface this by saying that everyone on any given aircraft, at any given time, should want children to sit with their parents (I, for one, would rather not be the one in charge of cueing up the next episode of Bluey come time). That said, the onus shouldn’t fall on other passengers to make sure that happens — particularly given the likelihood that those same passengers chose, and maybe even paid for, their seats in advance of the flight.
The DOT Just Launched an Airline Family Seating Dashboard
Carriers are getting named and shamed for charging extra fees for adjacent child seatsWhat’s more is that it’s literally easier than it’s ever been for families to sit together. Earlier this year, United Airlines introduced a new family seating policy, allowing families with children under the age of 12 to select seats together free of charge. It was so well-received, it inspired the Department of Transportation to launch an “Airline Family Seating Dashboard,” which displays all airlines that guarantee family seating. All it takes is a little foresight! And if that’s too much, as one Instagram user and real life gate agent pointed out, you can simply ask the gate agent!
“Look, I’m a gate agent for a major airline. All you have to do is come up to the gate like ‘Hey, I’m with two minors can you put us together?’” the user offered. “And I’ll either find y’all an empty row to put you together in or I’ll page up some single travelers to see if they can accommodate you. If I as the gate agent say no, it’s probably a full flight, at which point you can ask all you want but you can’t force anyone to switch with you. (I’m the same — I love me a window seat.)”
Even travel experts, by and large, seem to side with solo travelers. “In this particular case [of the Tiktoker], I understand why she didn’t want to move. A window seat, especially one pre-booked as such, is very much not the same thing as a middle seat,” Nicole Campoy Jackson of Fora Travel told People, adding: “As much as it’s possible, passengers should be choosing their seats ahead of time for this exact reason. I don’t think that you can board a plane with the expectation of someone leaving their seat for you.”
Of course, it’s worth noting that there’s nothing wrong with asking. That rings especially true if it’s a move of equal or greater value (an aisle for an aisle or a middle for an aisle, respectively). And, arguably more importantly, there’s nothing wrong with saying no. Both of those things can be true at the same time. Maybe, though, we can all eventually agree to stop making TikToks every time it happens.
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