Economy air travel during the holidays can come with its challenges. Delays, cancellations, packed airports, and rude passengers are all part of the territory. So, if you can strike it lucky with your seat booking, it goes a long way to having a better journey.

One taller woman traveling home on a 4-hour flight was excited when she managed to snag an aisle seat in a row that was otherwise empty. When she got to her seat, though, it was occupied by a woman – and her dog. That’s when things started to go south.

 More info: Reddit

Economy class air travel isn’t great to start with, but this woman’s long flight home started off extra uncomfortable

Image credits: onlyyouqj / Freepik (not the actual photo)

Thrilled to book an aisle seat, the woman was looking forward to the extra legroom, but when she got to it, she found another passenger and her dog sitting in it

Image credits: nimito / Freepik (not the actual photo)

When she told the passenger she was sitting in her seat, the woman told her the seating had been rearranged and that the woman could sit in her original seat

Image credits: jannoon028 / Freepik (not the actual photo)

After sitting in that seat for a while, the woman decided to assert herself and returned to the passenger and her dog to tell her she wanted her assigned seat back

Image credits: Austinthrowawayyyy

The seating drama continued until a flight attendant got involved and told everyone to go back to their assigned seats, giving the woman the seat, and space, she paid for

OP begins her post by telling the community that after dealing with a flight delay, she finally got to board the plane for her flight home. She was feeling particularly happy because she’d managed to book an aisle seat in an otherwise empty row.

When she got to her seat, she was met with a woman and her dog sitting in it. After politely explaining to the woman that she was in her seat, the woman informed her that the seating had been rearranged and that she could go and sit in her original seat. 

After sitting in that seat for a while, OP decided to confront the entitled woman and insist on having her assigned seat back. Rolling her eyes, the woman gave the dog to her husband and vacated the seat, but not without much grumbling. Then the woman’s husband suggested OP take the empty row behind them.

Not wanting to split up the family, OP agreed. Everything was going smoothly until a flight attendant told her the row she was in was out of service. At this point, the flight attendant told everyone to go back to their assigned seats, and that’s when OP realized the whole family, dog and kid in car seat included, had never been in their assigned seats in the first place. 

OP concludes by telling her readers that, despite the couple staring daggers at her every time they had to pass her, she still managed to kick back, put in her headphones, and even sneak in a nap.

Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)

Entitled people can be the worst. Not only do they think everyone owes them something, but they often also possess a complete lack of self-awareness. But what makes them act this way? And can they ever overcome it? We went looking for answers.

According to the BetterHelp website, there are a number of possible reasons why a person may develop a heightened sense of entitlement. 

Some people think that when a child is given everything they ask for without earning those things, it creates an expectation of the same treatment when they reach adulthood.

In other instances, after experiencing unfairness or neglect, some people develop an entitled attitude in an attempt to overcompensate for past wrongs. Another cause may be that the person is suffering from some type of personality disorder. 

WebMD says that if you find you have an overgrown sense of entitlement, there are still ways to change your mindset, starting off by trying to practice more gratitude and humility, treating others as you’d like to be treated, trying to recognize that not all situations are unfair, and being willing to learn from your mistakes. 

Image credits: Kelly / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Bored Panda reached out to psychologist Dr. Debroah Hecker to get her expert insights on the situation.

When we asked her what she thought makes a person entitled she had this to say, “There are several theories about why someone develops a sense of entitlement. Someone who believes that good parenting means always giving their child what they want will be inadvertently contributing to their child expecting others to cave into their demands.”

Hecker goes on, “For some, a sense of entitlement may be the result of a personality disorder, which can contribute to a skewed, or inflated value of themselves in relation to other’s worth.  In other cases, people will overcompensate for what they believe are past wrongs: a child who is deprived of love may grow up feeling entitled to demand it from others.”

We asked Dr. Hecker for one piece of advice she’d offer someone struggling with a sense of entitlement, she advised, “It can be challenging trying to navigate a relationship with someone who has a sense of entitlement, especially because they often lack empathy.  I would suggest to them that they treat others as they would like to be treated.”

Hecker concludes, “It is important not to cater to the whims of entitled people and to set clear boundaries with them. They will respect you for it.”

Think OP had it bad? Check out this collection of 30 annoying passengers who left their manners at the boarding gate. What would you have done if you’d found yourself in OP’s shoes? Do you think the entitled family got what they deserved? Share your opinion in the comments!

In the comments, readers weighed in with their own tales of travel trouble, with more than a few expressing their frustration at the state of people’s behavior on planes these days

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