I was bullied by a couple on a flight after they tried to use a ‘budget’ seating trick they found on TikTok: ‘They called me cheap’

A young woman was labelled ‘cheap’ and bullied on a flight after ‘ruining’ a couple’s attempt to score more room.

The solo traveller usually pays more to select her seat ahead of time but a medical emergency on another plane had her waiting on standby.

She was then greeted by a couple who had purchased both the window and aisle seats in a bid to have more space – a ‘trick’ that has been popular on TikTok of late. 

As few people actively choose the middle seat, it usually leaves couples with plenty of extra space. The method has been dubbed the ‘poor man’s business class’.

‘When I got to my row the man and woman were chatting and sharing a snack… it was obvious they were together. I mentioned to the man that I’m in the middle, and he got up to let me in,’ the unsuspecting traveller wrote on Reddit.  

‘I asked them if they would prefer to sit together, I said I was totally okay with that. The woman reacted rudely to this and said “you’re not supposed to be sitting here anyway”.’

The plane was full and she  offered to show the pair her new ticket with the correct seat number on it.

‘She flicked her hand at my ticket and made a disgusted sound. I offered again if they wanted to sit together to which she didn’t reply, her partner said it’s okay and… made some small talk,’ she continued. 

A solo traveler was made to feel a girlfriend’s wrath when she unintentionally ended up in the middle seat between her and her boyfriend 

His girlfriend then interrupted: ‘Did you use one of those third party websites to book your flight? It’s so frustrating when people cheap out to inconvenience others.’ 

The American woman explained that she had booked her flight directly and she had been placed on standby like everyone else and didn’t choose the middle seat – she was assigned it.

She then tried to keep the peace by refusing to engage with the furious woman.  

‘I was so done with her attitude, I put my headphones on and attempted to do my own thing,’ she explained.

But the ‘entitled’ girlfriend wasn’t letting it go.

‘This woman kept reaching over me and tapping her partner and trying to talk to him in a way that was super intrusive,’ she said.

‘I could tell even her partner was trying to engage her less so that she would hopefully stop, but she didn’t. 

‘Plane etiquette’ is a hot topic online with flights even being forced to land after disputes about seat reclining and swapping places

‘I think they tried to pull that tactic where they don’t sit together on purpose…hoping no one will sit between them. But on full flights it doesn’t work. And even so – it’s not the other persons fault.’

Hundreds of people then unanimously slammed the ‘monster’ couple.

Everyone agreed that the ‘insufferable’ girlfriend had a case of ‘air rage’ and was taking it out on the woman who wasn’t to blame – especially after kindly offering to swap seats so the couple could sit together. 

‘It’s like a toddler having a tantrum,’ one woman said. 

‘She was disappointed and a total a******. Gross entitled people,’ another added. 

A few people were impressed with how level-headed and diplomatic she had been in offering to sit anywhere in the row.

‘Wow! You are my hero for keeping it classy – I’m afraid I would not have been as kind as you,’ one said. 

One man was dismissive of the common air travel strategy: ‘The old ‘redneck class upgrade’ trick – book the two seats either side and hope that middle seat remains empty.’ 

Others admitted that they had tried the seating trick several times – but never took it out on the third person if the strategy didn’t work. 

‘Totally weird hill to die on. Sometimes you gamble and win, sometimes you lose. This time they lost, but it wasn’t the fault of the original poster,’ a man argued. 

‘As someone who absolutely has tried that same tactic I am so sorry the other person was a b****,’ one woman said.

‘Whenever my partner and I do it we always let the person joining know and ask if they’d like the window seat, so we sit together,’ she added. 

One man had his own take on why the couple wasn’t sitting together in the first place.

‘I’d have said to the boyfriend at the end “I can see why you didn’t want to sit next to her”,’ he quipped.