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“Strangers On A Plane”: Couple Refuses To Swap Seats With Woman Stuck Between Them
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“Strangers On A Plane”: Couple Refuses To Swap Seats With Woman Stuck Between Them

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Sydney Miller, a fitness entrepreneur from Miami, shared a video on October 13 explaining how a couple refused her request to switch seats—after she offered for them to sit together—leaving her in the middle.

The couple’s decision confused Miller, who thought she would be killing two birds with one stone—allowing the couple to sit together and getting herself the aisle seat, which would facilitate access to the bathroom.

Highlights
  • Video of seating refusal goes viral with over 2.5 million views.
  • Couple refused to switch seats, leaving influencer in middle.
  • Trend of recording uncomfortable plane situations continues.
  • Viewers support couple's choice, preferring window and aisle.

The video went viral, garnering more than 2.5 million views and close to 500 comments from users who agreed with the couple’s refusal to cede their seats for various reasons, including not having to talk to each other for the duration of the flight.

“I always book the window and aisle, lol. I can go without talking to my husband for a couple of hours,” one user joked.

An influencer went viral after her offer of changing seats on a plane got rejected by a couple, leaving her confused while sitting between them

Image credits: Pavlo Vakhrushev/stock.adobe.com (Not the actual photo)

The video is the latest in an ever-growing trend of passengers recording various uncomfortable situations on planes, from fights to robberies, altercations, and other problems. For instance, a simple search of airplane fights returns more than 690 million posts on the platform. Similarly, a search of couples arguing on planes returns around 480 million clips.

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Image credits: sydmiller

Miller’s audience, accustomed to more hectic videos on TikTok, was surprised by the relative calmness with which all parties handled the disagreement. They took the chance to share their preferences with the influencer.

“I respect it so long as the couple aren’t talking over me or constantly passing things between each other,” one wrote.

Image credits: geargodz/stock.adobe.com (Not the actual photo)

“We do this too. He wants the window, and I want the aisle. We are strangers on a plane,” another passenger said.

“I’m a wife that buys a window seat for me and an aisle for my husband,” one viewer said in a similar video. “If the middle seat is bought, I never make the person sit between us. I always offer them a window seat”—a courtesy the couple in the video did not grant the TikToker.

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Couples buying window and aisle seats is not a new phenomenon, and people sitting in the middle have shared their awkward experiences online in the past

Image credits: sydmiller_

The fitness influencer’s video starkly contrasts with a video uploaded by user Malia Makaila in July, in which she found herself in the exact same situation—trapped in the middle seat between a couple.

Image credits: sydmiller

Makaila’s experience, however, couldn’t have been more different, as instead of the couple respecting the fact that a stranger was between them and keeping to themselves or communicating via phone, they proceeded to pass food and other items over her.

Image credits: Clique Images/Unsplash (Not the actual photo)

“They’re just passing chips and drinks over me, having a full conversation; meanwhile, the guy in front of me pushed his seat so far back I can’t open my laptop, and the WiFi doesn’t work,” Makaila said, sharing the uncomfortable experience with her viewers.

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This behavior seems to be linked to a well-known “travel hack” consisting of buying window and aisle seats, leaving the middle seat open, in the hope that the uncomfortable prospect of being squeezed between two strangers discourages potential travelers from taking the seat, effectively increasing the available space for the “hacker” couple.

“We do this too.” Miller’s viewers not only agreed with the couple’s decision but said they’ve done the same on their flights

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Abel Musa Miño

Abel Musa Miño

Writer, BoredPanda staff

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Abel is a journalist at Bored Panda. Born in Santiago, Chile, he holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication and a diploma in International Relations. In his spare time, you can find him tinkering with his motorbike, playing with his dog, or reading a good novel.

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Abel Musa Miño

Abel Musa Miño

Writer, BoredPanda staff

Abel is a journalist at Bored Panda. Born in Santiago, Chile, he holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication and a diploma in International Relations. In his spare time, you can find him tinkering with his motorbike, playing with his dog, or reading a good novel.

Karina Babenok

Karina Babenok

Author, BoredPanda staff

Read more »

As a visual editor in the News team, I look for the most interesting pictures and comments to make each post interesting and informative through images, so that you aren't reading only blocks of text. I joined Bored Panda not that long ago, but in this short amount of time I have covered a wide range of topics: from true crime to Taylor Swift memes (my search history is very questionable because of that).In my freetime, I enjoy spending time at the gym, gaming, binging Great British Bake Off and adding yet another tattoo artist that I would love to get a tattoo from to my pinterest board.

Read less »

Karina Babenok

Karina Babenok

Author, BoredPanda staff

As a visual editor in the News team, I look for the most interesting pictures and comments to make each post interesting and informative through images, so that you aren't reading only blocks of text. I joined Bored Panda not that long ago, but in this short amount of time I have covered a wide range of topics: from true crime to Taylor Swift memes (my search history is very questionable because of that).In my freetime, I enjoy spending time at the gym, gaming, binging Great British Bake Off and adding yet another tattoo artist that I would love to get a tattoo from to my pinterest board.

What do you think ?
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Sergio Bicerra
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sorry BP, but useless post. Can't wait for tiktok to be banned worildwide.

Anony Mouse
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The tiktok whiners always manage to find the one seat in the plane that magically reclines more than 2.5 inches, then sits behind it. Glad she showed us so many extreme close ups of her face while she complained to get internet attention. This is terrible content.

Petra Schaap
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I pay to NOT sit in the middle seat, but if it happens for whatever reason, as long as they're not passing food and drinks over me or invading my space in some way. If they get annoying, so will I.

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Sergio Bicerra
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sorry BP, but useless post. Can't wait for tiktok to be banned worildwide.

Anony Mouse
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The tiktok whiners always manage to find the one seat in the plane that magically reclines more than 2.5 inches, then sits behind it. Glad she showed us so many extreme close ups of her face while she complained to get internet attention. This is terrible content.

Petra Schaap
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I pay to NOT sit in the middle seat, but if it happens for whatever reason, as long as they're not passing food and drinks over me or invading my space in some way. If they get annoying, so will I.

Load More Comments
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