There’s something about being on planes that makes people act horribly. The Federal Aviation Administration reports 2,455 unruly passenger incidents in 2023. That constitutes a 59% decline from 2022, but still is wildly high for pre-pandemic years, as in 2019 there were only 1,161.

People are coming up with increasingly creative ways of dealing with entitled passengers. This person, for example, tricked a Karen into thinking that she would get a first-class upgrade. When that happened, she caused a huge scene that the person’s cousin documented online.

Bored Panda got in touch with the netizen and asked for more details about their cousin’s plane adventure. The author u/compile_commit kindly agreed, so, check out our chat below!

A plane Karen stole a man’s aisle seat, so, he decided to trick her

Image credits: Nikita Korchagin / pexels (not the actual photo)

When the jig was up, the woman caused a massive scene in front of the entire plane

Image credits: Pew Nguyen / pexels (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Pavel Danilyuk / pexels (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Adrien Olichon / pexels (not the actual photo)

Image credits: behrouz sasani / pexels (not the actual photo)

The person who posted this story later added an update for people who doubted its authenticity

Image credits: Madjid Atmania / pexels (not the actual photo)

Image credits: compile_commit

The hero’s cousin tells us that he came up with the revenge plan on the spot

We have to admit—tricking the Karen into switching for a business class seat was a creative move. We asked the person who posted this story, u/compile_commit, whether their cousin thought of that on the spot or borrowed the idea from someone else.

“My cousin came up with the business class trick in the heat of the moment!” the Redditor tells us. “He’s quick-witted and tends to have a dry sense of humor, so, when Karen refused to move, he decided to use a bit of ‘creative persuasion’ to reclaim his seat without escalating things too much.”

The plan could’ve easily backfired if the Karen just had some critical thinking skills—she would’ve known that there was no business class on the plane. But the cousin didn’t have the time to consider that.

“I think he figured that if she believed it, great—it’d be an easy fix,” u/compile_commit says. “And if she didn’t, he could still go back to the flight attendant for help. He wasn’t too worried about her catching on; he just thought it’d be a fun way to get her to leave, and it ended up working perfectly.”

Since the Karen delayed the flight for almost half an hour, other passengers weren’t too happy with her antics either. “Once the Karen finally left, everyone around him was visibly relieved, and a few passengers even shared looks or whispered comments about how dramatic she’d been,” the Redditor relays their cousin’s experience to us.

“He could tell the row mates had been dealing with her attitude for a while, so they seemed pretty amused that she got called out. One of the flight attendants gave my cousin a knowing look, and she even checked in with him afterward to make sure everything was okay. It felt like everyone onboard could finally relax and enjoy the flight in peace!”

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

Switching seats on a plane is generally quite a controversial topic

Perhaps few people run into a problem like the cousin in this story, where a person insists upon having a seat that doesn’t belong to them. More often, people want to switch seats: either to sit with their friends or family or for more comfort that they think they deserve.

Many passengers, however, think that asking to change seats is a breach of flying etiquette. 31% of respondents in one poll said that swapping places is a no-no. This also corresponds to what etiquette experts say; if you want a particular seat, you’ll have to reserve it.

Etiquette expert Diane Gottsman explains that people shouldn’t assume that someone will want to switch seats. And if you’re doing it, at least have the decency to make the trade equal. “Asking someone to take your middle seat to take their aisle seat is not a fair exchange,” she told Today.

The protagonist’s cousin hopes that this story reminds people to be mindful to each other on planes. “Beyond the humor, I think [the story] shows the importance of mutual respect and boundaries, even in small spaces like airplanes. People often try to push boundaries to get what they want, assuming they won’t be called out.”

“My cousin’s story is a reminder that respecting other people’s space and possessions goes a long way—and that sometimes, a little creative thinking can defuse a situation better than confrontation,” they believe. “Also, in crowded spaces, it’s easy to feel anonymous and forget how your actions impact those around you, so, it’s a good reminder to stay considerate!”

Image credits: Domenico Bandiera / pexels (not the actual photo)

People applauded the author’s cousin for his genius way of dealing with the Karen

A couple of others shared stories of encounters with similar entitled passengers

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