Woman Refused to Give Up Her Window Seat So She Could Sleep. "I Don't Owe Anyone Anything."

Travel etiquette has long been a topic of conservation and the debate on airplane behavior has heated up again on social media. People wanting to switch seats is nothing new, but when you're asked to give up a seat in an unfair trade, like the widow for the middle, that's a problem. It's also an issue when you have an entire row to yourself and someone tries to take a seat.  @mewhiskers123, from Montana, posted a six-second-long clip on TikTok that has almost six million views for this reason. She got lucky and scored a row to herself, and "politely declined" when someone asked to sit next to her. TikTok viewers agree and are rushing to support the traveler for standing her ground. 

The Plane Situation that Caused TikToker User to Go Viral

A TikToker who goes by the name @mewhiskers123 posted a short video that showed her laying across an entire row with a blanket covering her. An on-screen caption read, "no one is in my row and someone asked to take my window seat and i politely declined because i don't owe anyone anything and i deserve to be comfortable for my 15 hour flight as well." The six-second clip ended with the TikToker smiling at the camera before pulling a mask over her eyes. 

The Debate

According to the TikToker, she was asked to give up her window seat and not the middle or aisle. Commenters clarified for others who didn't understand the issue. One person wrote, "Y'all don't get it, they asked for her specific seat that she bought, which was the window seat. They never asked for the other ones." Another person wrote, "for y'all who can't read: she paid for the window seat which was hers and the middle and aisle was open. they asked for HER SEAT," and a user responded "Lmao right? Where is the disconnect? what is so hard to understand?" Someone else commented, "Right?? She could have taken the other seats if she wanted to but clearly she just wanted HER WINDOW SEAT. How is this difficult to comprehend?"

Why Viewers are Supporting the Traveler

Most people have experienced rude behavior by other travelers and are fed up. Viewers have flooded the comment section of @mewhiskers123 TikTok showing support. One person wrote, "u don't own them your seat especially if paid for it. but the other two seats are free for the taking as long as the crew is ok with it. " Someone else wrote, "It's so odd that people ask others for their window seats I've never understood that lol." Another person commented, "I don't get this seemingly new phenomenon.. I pay good money for a seat. It's quite rude to expect me to give it up." Another supporter wrote, "i will neverr give up a window seat LMAO" and one user racked up 33,000 likes so far with the comment, "No bc sometimes I think "it'd be nice to do something nice for someone" but it'd be even better if I did something nice for myself." 

Viewers are Sharing Their Own Seat Swapping Stories

People who have watched the TikTok are using the comment section to share their own travel stories and similar experiences. One user revealed, "I had a 4 seater row to myself and I let a lady take one of the seats. She proceeded to lay down * put her head ON MY LAP AND SLEEP THE ENTIRE FLIGHT." Someone else shared, "one time i had a row to myself and some dude asked to sit next to me and when i said no he walked away came back and SAT DOWN ANYWAYS." Another person wrote, "omfg one time my bf and i were in economy + on delta and this mom was like can we trade so i can be by my kids? NO GO AWAYYYY." One commenter exclaimed, "Girl last time I said yes to letting them sit in my row it ended up being a drunk dude who tried to snuggle. You did the right thing."

Why Families are Commonly Separated on Flights

Even if you book a reservation together, families are finding out at the airport they aren't seated together and are told to ask people around them if they will switch seats so they can stay with their kids. While that wasn't the case in this TikToker's situation, many people who commented on the video complained about this problem. One user wrote, "Some woman asked if her child could have my window seat and I said no and she got so mad." But this has become a common issue for families due to airlines overbooking, canceling and delaying flights. The situation has become so bad that federal officials issued a notice "urging U.S. airlines to do everything in their power to ensure that children who are age 13 or younger are seated next to an accompanying adult with no additional charge."