A flight attendant has revealed the ‘punishment’ she metes out to passengers who refuse to swap seats to help families with young children – and says 80 percent of her trips are now plagued by similar requests.
Mitra Amirzadeh, a flight attendant based in Orlando, said seat-swap requests have become so frequent they occur during eight out of her ten monthly shifts.
While she rarely intervenes, Amirzadeh, 38, said she will step in as a meditator when a child is involved.
If no willing volunteer steps up, she resorts to a more aggressive approach – assigning the passenger who won’t swap the role of babysitter to the separated child.
‘I have said before, “OK, so you’re going to watch the toddler?” ‘ she told the Wall Street Journal. ‘You’ll want their snacks and their coloring books then, because they’re going to need that.’
Mitra Amirzadeh, a flight attendant based in Orlando, said seat-swap requests have become so frequent that they occur during eight out of her ten monthly shifts
A former flight attendant has taken to TikTok to offer insights into the likelihood of successfully swapping seats
Want to exchange an aisle or window seat for a similar one nearby? You’re almost guaranteed a yes,’ she said in the video. But attempting to trade a middle seat for a coveted aisle or window? Your odds plummet to a mere 10 to 15 percent
Amirzadeh highlighted the growing trend, with an increasing number of requests coming from couples who have been seated separately.
The flight attendant, who serves as a union representative for an airline that implements fees for advance seat selection, believes passengers who expect a specific seat should pay in advance for it.
‘The next time you feel yourself getting angry or getting frustrated that you’re not getting the seat you want (…) you need to remind yourself you didn’t pay to pick your seat. Otherwise, you’d be in it,’ she told the Wall Street Journal.
Another former flight attendant has even taken to TikTok to offer insights into the likelihood of successfully swapping seats.
‘Have you ever wanted to change seats on a plane to sit next to your friend or partner? Here are seat change success rates, couples edition,’ TikTok user Jeenie Weenie said in a video with over 300,000 likes.
If you are a couple who wants to change seats with a solo passenger in the same area, she said the likelihood is near 100 percent.
‘I have never had anyone say no,’ she said.
But if the seat change involves one passenger moving to the back of the plane, that decreases your chances to about 20 percent.
And if the seat is near a bathroom or crying baby, the success rate plummets to about 40 percent.
Meanwhile, if you ask a passenger to give up their window or aisle seat for a middle seat, the likelihood of them agreeing is even lower at about 10 percent.
But the other way around – offering up a window or aisle seat to a middle seat – that brings up your chances all the way back up to 99.9 percent.
‘Want to exchange an aisle or window seat for a similar one nearby? You’re almost guaranteed a yes,’ she said in the video.
‘But attempting to trade a middle seat for a coveted aisle or window? Your odds plummet to a mere 10 to 15 percent.’
To change seats with other classes – she laughs and says please ‘don’t even try.’
While she rarely intervenes, Amirzadeh, 38, said she will step in as a meditator when a child is involved in the seat-swapping requests
Airline seat fees and basic economy restrictions have turned simple seat-swap requests into a potential problem – sometimes a dramatic spectacle or controversial debate – both on planes and online.
Passengers asking to switch seats are often accused of being stingy or self-important while those declining are called selfish and unkind. Flight attendants then get stuck in the middle when tensions rise.
Many seat-switching dramas have gone viral in recent years – with one incident garnering 6.6 million views and a f of comments with various opposing opinions.
It became so argumentative that the original poster had to provide a detailed diagram of the seat-switching request before shutting down further discussion.
Last year, a frequently flyer issued a PSA to fellow travelers about seat swapping after he found himself in a nightmare experience that saw him forced to move five times when he begrudgingly gave up his spot to another passenger.
The unknown man took to Reddit to recount his seat swap story that ‘permanently changed [his] mind on ever being nice and trading seats with someone.’
He reignited the heated conversation surrounding travel etiquette after a frequent flyer was applauded for refusing to switch seats so a woman could sit by the window.
He shared his experience in a thread dedicated to ‘Delta Air Lines’ – adding that the disastrous incident took place eight years ago while he was on a flight from New York City to Utah.
Last year, a frequently flyer issued a PSA to fellow travelers about seat swapping after he found himself in a nightmare experience that saw him forced to move five times when he begrudgingly gave up his spot to another passenger (stock image)
He shared his experience in a thread dedicated to Delta Air Lines – adding that the disastrous incident took place eight years ago on a flight from New York City to Utah
He wrote: ‘This was about eight years ago. I’m dead tired. Working and Tinder-ing in NYC for the last week, my first trip ever there. I’m completely exhausted from working long hours and lack of sleep from going out at night.
Flying direct back to SLC in the evening. I’m looking forward to crashing in my seat; I’ve prepped by taking some Nyquil sleeping pills. The seats to know are in row 12. ABC DEF.’
He clenched his ticket, which read 12F, in his hand as he walked through the aircraft.
Once he arrived to his aisle, he saw that a woman was sitting in his assigned seat.
‘When walking down the aisle to my row. Seats CDEF are all taken. I’m holding my ticket for 12F. Of course I mention to the woman in my seat that she has my seat.
‘She claims it’s hers and I must be mistaken. (See one sentence before holding my ticket in my hand).
‘She has to dig through her bag forever to find her ticket to see she has 12A and asks if I’ll just take her seat so she won’t have to move as she’s ‘settled’. Fine. Same seat. It doesn’t matter to me. I sit in 12A and fall asleep,’ he said.
However, his nap was interrupted when the woman who took his seat approached him and demanded her spot back.
‘Some moments later the woman from 12F is standing in the aisle tapping my shoulder saying she needs her seat. She is holding her ticket and says she has claustrophobia and needs her seat (12B is empty so now 12A looks better than 12F),’ he explained.
Despite being sure she was ‘full of s***’ and just wanted the middle seat to herself, he swaps with her once again because it is officially her seat.
Nearby passengers take notice and tell the man he is ‘nice’ for putting up with the constant changing of seats.
‘I agree, but f*** it, I want to sleep so bad, so I fall back asleep,’ he added.
However, his snooze is once again disrupted when the same woman approaches him again.
‘Some moments later the woman is waking me up again. She is offering 12A back to me again as she is suffering from a panic attack and has decided to exit the plane. (The door still hadn’t closed due to a delay waiting for a pilot).
‘I nod to 12E saying he should take 12A. He’d have a better seat than the middle seat but he’s ‘settled’ so f*** it I move back over to 12A, 12E ends up sliding over to 12F, of course and I fall asleep again,’ he said.
And yet again the passenger is awoken – but this time by another traveler who is now demanding he move so that he can sit in 12A.
‘Some moments later I’m awoken by a man standing in the aisle saying I’m in his seat. He’s holding a freshly printed ticket for 12A as the plane door is still open and he was issued this seat after the claustrophobic woman left the plane.
‘What can I do? He doesn’t know everything that’s happened, it’s certainly officially his seat.
‘I’m exhausted and look to 12C and say, ‘I’m sorry I’m just going to slide over to 12B, I’m not going to go take my seat back from 12E who is now in my seat 12F. I fall back to sleep,’ he added.
Of course, his slumber doesn’t last long. The man from seat 12A now offers him the seat back because he has decided to move to the back of the plane.
He explained: ‘Some moments later I’m awoken by the man in 12A who said I can take his seat as he’s going to go to the back where there are more open seats.
Etiquette expert Diane Gottsman has revealed the best ways to persuade someone to swap seats with you on a flight
‘The plane has only now just closed the door after sitting at the gate for three hours and is prepping for take off as I settle back in to seat 12A once again to fall asleep.’
At the end of the post, he advised travelers to stay in their seats no matter what.
‘Never give up your seat people,’ he said.
People flooded the comments section and agreed with the man as many social media users shared their own experiences.
One person said: ‘Agreed a million times over.’
How do you go about framing the seat-swapping question? Speaking to MailOnline Travel last year, etiquette expert Diane Gottsman has revealed the best ways to persuade someone to give up their seat on a flight.
Diane Gottsman, the founder of The Protocol School of Texas
Gottsman, who is the founder of The Protocol School of Texas, said: ‘When it comes to switching seats on a plane, it’s always best to plan ahead so you can sit next to each other when you book your flight. If that is not possible, it’s a delicate situation to ask someone who has selected their seat in advance to switch.’
First and foremost, Gottsman recommends exchanging an equal seat with the passenger.
She said: ‘For example, an aisle for an aisle seat, or a window for a window. It’s inappropriate to ask a person in an aisle seat to switch to a middle seat so you can sit next to a friend or loved one.’
Most airlines will prioritize seating families together.
British Airways, for instance, ensures each child under 12 years sits next to a guardian from the same booking. What’s more, if you’re flying British Airways with an infant under two, you can choose a seat for you and everyone in your booking, free of charge. Ryanair, meanwhile, allows a free allocated seat to a maximum of four children per adult that purchases a seat.
With this in mind, cabin crew might be able to lend a helping hand if you’re travelling with family, Gottsman reveals.
She said: ‘If the situation is that you would like to sit next to a younger child, [or] family member, of course, it’s understandable, and you might even ask the flight attendant for assistance.’
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