Abby Connolly
When you’re sitting on public transportation, it’s common courtesy to offer your seat to a pregnant woman if there is nowhere else for her to sit. But what happens when you’re sitting in a more expensive mode of transportation, like an airplane, for which you paid hundreds of dollars to be on?
One man has been feeling guilty for not giving his luxury airplane seat to a pregnant woman on a recent long flight.
He’s 28 and was recently traveling on a 12-hour flight from New York City to Hawaii for vacation.
Because he’s six-foot-four, he knew when he was booking his plane ticket he’d need some extra room and comfort for the long flight. Months before his trip, he paid for a comfortable seat that gave him extra legroom, and it cost him an extra $200, which was on top of the regular ticket price.
When he boarded the plane, he felt excited about his vacation and thankful he thought of booking himself a more comfortable seat. Then, things went downhill.
“About 15 minutes before takeoff, a visibly pregnant woman was walking up and down towards the front of the plane,” he recalled.
“She and a flight attendant looked around for a moment, and then the lady approached me [and] asked if I would be willing to switch seats with her due to her condition.”
He politely told the woman no, telling her he booked that seat specifically because he was very tall and needed the extra legroom in order to be comfortable.
The flight attendant told him he’d be reimbursed for the additional cost of the luxury seat and would only have to pay an economy fare, but he still declined.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
