A post describing a frustrating airplane seating mix‑up between two passengers has gone viral on Threads.
The post was shared by @chasey_and has garnered 1.8 million views since it was published on February 17. In the caption, the poster recounts an encounter with a fellow passenger who was sitting in her assigned seat when she boarded a flight early in the morning.
“Boarded my flight this morning and there’s a man in my seat,” she wrote. When she told him he was sitting in her seat, she said he stood up and moved so she could access it. He then questioned her seat assignment. According to the poster, the man asked, “you had 3A?” She replied that she did, to which he responded, “well in case you book this again the aisle is 3A and that is 3B.” The Threads user wrote that she replied, “It’s not, but OK.” The man then insisted, “Yes it is.”
Rather than continuing to argue, the poster waited until a flight attendant approached to take beverage orders. She described calmly asking for clarification. “Good morning, can you tell me what seat this is please?” she wrote that she asked. According to the Threads user, the flight attendant responded, “Yours? That’s 3A.” Chase then added, “That’s what I thought…”
Following the confirmation, the man acknowledged his mistake. “Oh that’s 3A? I’m sorry,” he said, according to the post. She added that he tapped her afterward and apologized again. Still, the poster summed up the experience bluntly, writing: “It’s too early for these entitled antics…as if I can’t read and you’re doing me a favor.”
View on Threads
In follow‑up comments, the poster explained why she chose not to confront the man more directly. “Well, I wasn’t expecting all of this. It was 6 a.m., I’ve slept three hours and I didn’t want to argue with someone who knew they were wrong,” she wrote. She said the comment about “in case you book this again” was what stood out most to her.
She went on to outline what she felt were the underlying assumptions behind the man’s behavior: “as if: A: I don’t fly first class and the window seat numbers on the rest of this plane are different. B: I don’t know to pick a seat on an airplane. C: He was going to let me sit by the window even though it really wasn’t my seat.” She concluded the post by adding, “I don’t wanna tussle with y’all either…mind you this is my life.”
The viral story comes amid broader conversations about airplane etiquette and seat disputes.
In a June 2023 survey of 1,000 adults from the United States and Canada conducted for Kayak, travelers said “you are allowed to ask to switch seats if you ask politely,” with 54 percent saying they “have a soft spot for common courtesy.”
Those surveyed also said “you are allowed to ask to sit next to” a family member, partner or friend, with 58 percent saying they “have a grain of empathy.”
‘The Audacity’
Many Threads users expressed support for the woman in the viral post and criticized the man’s actions.
User @romes_mom521 commented: “LOVE the classy way you handled that. Cheers!”
Others focused on the confidence with which the man doubled down. @beetsbearsbattlestargala remarked: “If I had just half the audacity men are seemingly born with, I’d be a damn CEO by now.”
User @alicatfl added: “…can we also point out that there’s no way in hell he would’ve done this to a man. Patriarchy at its finest.”
Some commenters took a more measured view. @debbiekey3958 noted: “At least he apologized; they usually don’t.”
Meanwhile, @deborah277615 wrote: “He was a little condescending, but not threatening. I think people are beginning to think they’re the same things.”
Do you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via [email protected], and your story could be featured on Newsweek.