In this situation would you offer to switch seats on a flight?

[Flightquandry]

Me and my husband took a flight today that was 10 hours long.

The cabin formation was
2 seats together / aisle / 3 seats together / aisle / 2 seats together.

Unfortunately, by the time we booked we couldn’t sit together. My DH was in a set of 2 seats with another woman and I was on the end of a row of three.

As soon as we took our seats the woman next to my DH went into full on chatty mode. When they were talking he mentioned he was travelling with his wife and she questioned why we weren’t seated together. He explained that we’d only been able to book what was available. She shrugged this off and then chatted to him incessantly for about 2 hours. I was seated across and behind so could see this and it stung (my problem entirely!)

I fully appreciate that she was in the seat that she booked! But in all honesty in her shoes I would have offered to swap seats with me. All seats were of the same value monetary wise. She even waved at me and then poured herself more drinks and chatted to my husband.

what would you do in her shoes? I would have offered to swap? Weirdly as well as we left the plane she followed by husband off and didn’t let me get in behind him to exit.

I prefer a window seat over an aisle seat any day so no, I wouldn't swap with you.

No.

swap window seat for an aisle in the middle row for 10 hour flight? no.

Your DH could have hung back and waited for you. On my last flight someone did that. One young adult waved us ahead and waited for his parents who were behind.

This will teach you to book earlier next time, Op.

I can't stand chatty people sitting next to me.

you honestly think someone should give up their window seat for a seat in the dreaded middle section? Just wow

I would have asked my husband to switch seats with me, not on the basis that I was jealous of the woman, but to save him from having to listen to her chat.

"She knew we were a couple but made sure not to let me in behind him."

Stand clear for The Couple.

Yabu. It's a flight and seating does not pay homage to your coupledom. "Another woman's husband" - what of it?

I understand you would have far preferred to sit next to your dh...that's normal. But you couldn't. So cope.

Then you would of hated me. Im terrified of flying and I was sat next to this man and he talked me through the whole flight and even held my hand he was great his wife just sat next to him reading her book. You either trust your partner or you don't. If you don't its not a relationship

perfect solution for next time, OP

Yabu and weird.

She didn't do anything wrong. She chose and booked a seat and occupied the seat she wanted. She talked to the random stranger who sat next to her (your dh). She had no reason whatsoever to swap for a less good seat for your benefit. If dh thought it remotely important for you to leave the plane together (it isn't) he coukd have taken a step back towards you after standing up into the aisle and let her off first.

I think you are suffering from Main Character Syndrome. The decisions that you are annoyed at othet people for failing to make would only make sense in a context where those people recognise you as the main character and themselves as merely supporting-role bit-parts.

I travel short and long haul with work often and I always book an aisle in economy/ premium because I want to easily get up and down and not squeeze past a creep sleeping person. I never swap when asked; it would need to be a really unusual situation that would make me take a window or middle seat out of the goodness of my heart!

In this case, your husband had the “better” seat. Mine would have offered it to me before we boarded because the seat numbers would have been obvious, or at least as we approached the rows.

Weird he didn’t put his headphones on or feign sleep, but he maybe enjoyed talking to her. I’m the opposite, and say a polite hello when I board then goodbye ten hours later 😁

Two other airplane annoyances of mine , one of which you mention, (there are many!) are 1) people, especially in the window or middle seats, wanting to stand up to empty the overhead lockers immediately upon the seatbelt sign going off (there just isn’t room in the aisle for all 500 of us) and 2) people not following the exit protocol of row-by-row aisle, middle, window). I commend her for her compliance here. 😁

Bring on retirement 😡😅

Oh dear, why’s it always the woman who’s to blame? In order for her to be chatting to him for hours, he must have been chatting back, otherwise she’d have been talking to herself. In order for her to have followed him out of the seat to disembark, he must have moved first rather than stepping back in the aisle to let her out, hence you being left behind by him.

She spoke to him 😮she should have swapped or at least ignored him once she knew that he was married.

Why would he do that? Maybe he was enjoying the conversation

It's not normal to be so insecure about someone just talking to your husband.

I wouldn't have offered to swap seats if I had booked a window and you were on an aisle.

She picked and paid for that seat for a reason. Not everyone is always putting other peoples’ needs ahead of their own. You don’t know what was going on in her life but you weren’t on her priority list. I’m the type of person to swap in this situation but maybe not if I’d specified a window seat.

Is everything ok in your relationship? Was he flirting with the passenger? Does he have a history of being unfaithful or are you very insecure?

This really is a none event. It wouldn’t have crossed my mind to swap seats. I specifically like aisle seats and pay at time of booking.

Don’t ruin your holiday thinking about this. Give some thought about speaking to someone when you get home. Jealousy eats away at you and destroys relationships.

If you wanted to sit together why didn’t you offer the middle person beside you to go and sit on the aisle seat your husband had. One of you could have gone in the middle!

I don't think so. I'm 70, and it wouldn't have bothered me at all.

OP you sound incredibly jealous. You need to work in that or your relationship is in jeopardy.

Were they flirting? If so YANBU. But I think I’d be more annoyed with my husbands handling of the situation tbh.

You sat in the seats you paid for, she sat in hers. Your seat was rubbish, hers was good therefore she didn’t swap. I think you’re angry she spoke to your husband for so long. If he didn’t like it, he could have used his voice and said “I’m sorry, I’m just going to listen to my audiobook/podcast now” or something…

No way would I give up my preferred seat (that I had presumably chosen and paid for) for a worse one on a 10 hour flight, just so someone I didn’t know and would never see again could sit there instead 😂

I wouldn’t have offered to swap.