I find all these 'seat demand' posts interesting. I've taken 18 flights (mostly in the US and UK) in the last 12 months and did not have anyone ask me to move, nor did I hear any exchanges between other passengers. With the frequency BP posts these stories, you'd think it happens every day. Time to find another drum to beat BP.

Ugh I’m so tired of these

NTA. As a mom myself, I either pay to have seats together, or deal with it I don’t!

Yes that guy wasn't talking "to" the OP, but he was talking about her within her hearing and in public. She has every right to give him a big STFU.

A no is a complete answer. There are more people in the world that needs to learn this

Notice the parents in this scenario weren’t sitting together. Why not split up the kids, some with mom and the rest with dad, in seats as close together as possible—-without putting none else out to seat a large group together?

as a genXer, i would have loved to sit away from my family on a flight. and my parents would have been fine with it too. means if my mom got mad about something, she wouldn't have been able to reach me from a seat further away. i probably did have to sit in a separate row or something at least once but i don't specifically recall. i would say that once the kid is old enough to behave themselves in a seat by themself and come find a parent if they need something, let them sit alone. but i've seen too much online and with my friends' kids that i know most families don't have/allow that kind of childhood independence anymore.

The only time I switched seats when asked was when it was a major improvement. I was in a flight from LA to Sydney. The man next to me asked if I'd trade my middle seat for his gf's window seat, so they could sit together. I was happy to do it, they were super grateful, and the flight attendant gave me a free drink.

For gods sake just answer loudly that a family of 5 should think ahead and book their seats together instead of harassing other passangers, who paid extra for their seats! It‘s ok if they can‘t or want afford it. It‘s ok to ask. But it is NOT ok to demand!

How are people angry at folks who take their seats when ITS THE AIRLINE that split up the family to begin with. THE AIRLINE IS THE AH!

Why do these people never check with the flight staff prior to boarding the plane... like when they arrive at the airport? It isn't as if your seat is a surprise. Do it that way, everything gets sorted prior to boarding or even before other people have gotten their tickets.

NTA.. they wanted to sit together they should've paid extra. Not your problem!!

If you want your family to sit together, then book the seats in advance. It’s not that difficult for people with two working brain cells. Stop being a lazy entitled jerk.

I agree with all of these. That said, my husband and I booked flight and paid for seats in business that had a divider that was supposed to retract all the way down so we could easily talk and be cozy together. It didn't go down, so now we had a divider between us and had to stretch around it to talk and share goodies. The man behind us was alone (no one beside him) and his divider was working. We asked if he would switch with us since he'd be one row forward and it should not make any difference with the divider since he was alone and still would have no one next to him. He refused. I still don't understand that. Seemed a bit mean-spirited, but what could we do? We didn't fight him. But in a case like that, I think it was a bit mean. We were also celebrating a 25 wedding anniversary, so the cozy-factor was important. Oh well.

You were 100% correct in keeping your seat. The mam of the family should have manned up in scheduling/paying for seats together. Don't play the family card at someone else's expense.

"in my best Jean-Luc Picard voice" lol I love it!

What I think a lot of you fail to recognize is that it isn't always the fault of the split up family, but the airlines. I've always paid for better seats and pre-booked so myself and my 2 children are in the same row. Where we live there are a lot of flight cancelations due to weather. When this happens, we've been bumped, about 3 times in total, to other flights.... and every time we're split up. Asking an adult to change seats with your young child so you can manage them on the flight is actually a curteosy to the other passengers. My son is autistic and vomits on flights.... so I promise you'd rather have him next to me than you! Just so acting like these families are all irresponsible and don't plan ahead. Some I'm sure are that way... and they shouldn't be entitled if the person says no... but some of us are just trying to get to a funeral or a wedding or some other important life event and traveling with kids is tough. Having grace and compassion for others and will benefit all

I paid for my seat so it is meant for me only. you cannot sit together due to poor planning is NOT my problem, get it ??

Hey, listen up folks! If it's so damn important to keep your family together, then purchase seats together! Don't try to bully someone else to give up the seat they had the wisdom and foresight to purchase and reserve, move on and deal with your c**p! As for all the rest of the passengers getting involved, shut the f**k up and mind your own damn business!!! If I want your opinion or involvement I'll let you know!!

NTA. The only one keeping that family from sitting together was their own bad planning. No one is entitled to anyone else's seat for any reason, EVER.

I booked a window seat because of an arm injury that I have. If that arm is by the window no one will jostle it and put me in pain. When I boarded a flight, there was a mother with a baby in the middle seat and a small child in my window seat. I told the flight attendant and she said to just use the aisle seat. I explained about the arm and she said to take the aisle seat any how. Luckily the flight was not full and I was able to switch to another seat and not have the restless baby constantly bumping my arm. The other passengers gave me the grief, although I had booked the seat and specifically asked for it because of the injury. Alaska Airlines, I'm looking at you.

When the guy said “She thought her seat was too special so she wouldn't let you sit together.", you should have cheerfully agreed with him “Damn straight. I thought this seat was so special that I booked and paid for it. You should try it!”

I don't like middle seats

As far as I'm concerned they could all sit in the hold.

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Seems rather petty not to move.If it's just someone wanting to look out a window, fine. But airlines split families up on purpose to encourage extra payments for "prebooking". My local cinema can manage it without the extra fees. We should all be willing to be flexible to help make other people's lives a bit more pleasant. And stop the airlines trying to scalp us for just doing their job.