Solo traveler forced to give up plane’s exit row seat for couple: ‘Humiliating’

A man is cooling his jets after being “humiliated” by airline staff who made him give up his seat.

Writer Todd Plummer wrote an essay for Condé Nast Traveler talking about his experience being double booked on board a Turkish Airlines flight and being made to give his spot to a couple. 

Plummer, who frequently solo travels, booked his flight for one from Istanbul, Turkey to Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania in September and was happy when he was seated in an exit row. 

“As a six-foot-two individual with the thighs of a lifelong skier, every millimeter of legroom makes a difference for me — and on Turkish Airlines Flight 567, I was delighted to be ticketed in 11D, an exit row. It wasn’t business class, but hey, in this economy I’m happy to take what I can get,” he said 

After taking the seat he thought he’d be able to enjoy during his seven-hour flight, he saw a gate agent “storming up the aisle” towards him along with a couple. 

He said the flight attendant commanded him: “Sir, I need to see your boarding pass.”

“It wasn’t so much the question that put me on edge as it was the way he asked it — not in an inquisitive manner, but an accusatory one, and for everyone to hear,” he recalled of the experience. 

The flight attendant informed Plummer that 11D was double booked and that he’d have to move so another man could sit across from his female companion who was in 11C.

“The gate agent said that I needed to move to 9D to accommodate the pair despite being settled into my seat already. Couldn’t the two unseated passengers take the still-empty seats just two rows apart?” Plummer pondered.

He said had it been a child needing to sit with a guardian or some kind of medical emergency, he would have been happy to make the seat switch. 

He attempted to stay put — but it didn’t go as he had hoped. 

“But 9D isn’t an exit row, and I’m quite fine where I am, thank you,” he said he told the flight attendant. The flight attendant replied: “This plane is very full,” as though it were Plummer’s fault. Plummer eventually caved. 

“Something about publicly singling me out as a solo traveler who should move to an inferior seat was disappointing, irritating, and downright humiliating,” he wrote.

Lately, it seems that seat selections, pre-paid or not, are far from guaranteed

A woman’s TikTok recently went viral after posting a video saying she refused to give up her seat so a mom could sit with her kids. 

A woman, who goes by @MyCONQUERing on the app, posted a video that has gained over 5 million views, explaining why she didn’t accommodate the family. Her followers applauded her behavior. 

“The amount of families who aren’t paying to select their seats together is mind-blowing! You were 100% right to not give up your seat,” one said. 

“For her to assume and sit in your seat before asking you is already a huge NO lol,” another added.