Accidents happen. Not much we can do about it, except try to do better next time around and possibly suffer the consequences.

And by consequences, it can just so happen to be a certain degree of subtle public shaming. Like when you accidentally sit in the wrong seat, and then swap it for another one, and then another one, and then another one, and then the breadcrumb trail leads back to you.

It’s rare for a person to board a plane and not feel tired. So, you can understand why sometimes mistakes happen because of it

Image credits: Portuguese Gravity / unsplash (not the actual photo)

One plane passenger accidentally sat in the wrong seat, and then proceeded to swap seats a number of times until the jig was up

Image credits: DC_Studio / envato (not the actual photo)

Image credits: tomfoolery77

While no real harm was done, the Redditor still felt like everyone was giving them mean looks throughout the flight

The story goes that OP, u/tomfoolery77, was traveling and sat in the wrong seat because they were tired. All fine and dandy, but they were strangely asked to swap seats several times without understanding what’s up.

Well, what was up was that they were in the wrong seat, accidentally creating this chain of swapped seats they weren’t entitled to, leading to a bit of a delay and some stink-eyes along the way.

And you can’t help but appreciate the lighthearted simplicity of the situation—the commenters certainly did. Describing it as a Mr. Bean plot, commenters thought it was harmless fun, though many still pointed out that seat swapping is kinda taboo before the plane takes off.

Seat swapping is as common as unsolicited social interactions in enclosed spaces, so there has to be rules, right?

There are. Well, at least the Points Guy points it out.

There are a number of unwritten and implied rules for swapping seats. For instance, if you’re unfortunate enough to be the proud owner of the middle seat and there’s an empty aisle seat, you might end up being asked to move so as to create room for 2 folks to be able to sit next to each other.

Another quite controversial rule is who gets the armrests? The general tendency among experts and aeronautical aficionados is that the middle seat gets both armrests. Probably as compensation for being stuck with two smelly, snorey, and maybe slimy people on each side.

Reactions to seat swapping depend on a number of things, most commonly on the reasoning and the person whose seat you’re trying to get.

In any case, asking is important. It’s generally viewed as acceptable to ask to swap seats if you want to sit next to a spouse or a friend or have a tight layover, but you also have a comparable seat to offer as well. It’s making someone downgrade that’s the problem.

An exception to this would be asking to swap if you have someone to care for, like you’re a parent and your kid is seated somewhere else.

A cardinal rule regarding seat swapping is to never take someone else’s seat before they board (let alone faking sleeping once they do board) and then making up stories, hoping you are allowed to sit there while the sucker you just stole the seat from gets to sit between two smelly, snorey, slimy dudes.

But, if you do want that good seat, the best thing you can do is just book it. And if you do end up asking someone, best do that with the gate agent before boarding—they are the authority, and it would be much harder to convince someone already in the seat to move. But don’t abuse it. Please.

So, what are your thoughts on any of this? Do you have embarrassing seat swapping or flight stories? Share your takes and tales in the comment section below!

Folks online thought it was pretty harmless and lighthearted fun even if it was accidental, with some sharing their own stories

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