Woman refuses to give up her first class seat for a family

A mom-of-two has thrown fuel on the fire of the ever-raging airplane seat debate after she revealed she refused to switch her first class spot in order to enable a family to sit together. 

Maresa Friedman, who based in the US, took to TikTok to open up about an awkward encounter she had while traveling, revealing that a family on a recent Delta flight asked her to move to a different first class seat so that they could all be together in a row.

Maresa’s confession has thrown further fuel on the fire of the airplane seat debate – and comes just days after a Reddit user brought the topic to the forefront of conversation when he asked if he was an ‘a**hole’ for refusing to switch seats for a family to sit together and after DailyMail.com’s columnist Jaci Stephen offered up her view on the topic.  

She shared that the family of three requested she move so they could be closer together; because the first class seats were arranged in couples, they wanted Maresa to move so that they could occupy one pair as well as the nearest spot across the aisle. 

But Maresa, who had specifically chosen her seat, refused – instead suggesting that the family move out of first class and into another section of the plane where they might be able to sit in one row.

According to the outraged TikTok user, the family were left incredulous over her suggestion, and over her refusal to move, with Maresa noting that they kept shooting ‘death stares’ at her for the remainder of the journey. 

Her TikTok series about the uncomfortable encounter prompted a furious debate in the comments section – the latest in a line of online arguments over the etiquette of switching seats on a plane in order to accommodate larger groups.   

Maresa Friedman, based in the US, has sparked debate after she revealed she refused to give up her first class seat for a family to sit together

The mom-of-two was asked to switch her seat in first class by another passenger so that their family could sit together

Maresa showed the first class map to her users after explaining that she suggested the family of three move to the back to sit together in a row 

Captioning the video, ‘I am not a villain for not moving from the seat in first class I paid full fare for. I am also a mom so it’s called planning ahead,’ the mom-of-two explained her reasoning behind her decision. 

She added: ‘I’m sorry moms and families but as a fellow mom I’m not a villain for not giving up my seat.’ 

Maresa then stitched a video of man with text overlay that read, ‘When an entitled person wants to switch seats’, before adding that it ‘just happened’ and she had said ‘no’. 

In a series of videos the frequent flyer further detailed her reasoning for refusing to move, explaining that she didn’t believe she should be inconvenienced because the family had not planned their travel far enough in advance. 

‘If you didn’t plan ahead, and yeah the airline bumps you or moves you or whatever, totally fair, so the suggestion I gave was basically like, “Oh if all of you want to sit in together, in a row, since first class is two seats and two seats, I’m sure you could ask the people behind you, I think they would be super pumped to sit [in first class] so that the three of you could be together.”‘ 

After Maresa offered up the suggestion, she revealed she began receiving death stares from the family. 

‘To which of course, I just got the look, the flight attendant looked at me and was like, “That was a good suggestion,” but it didn’t stop this mom from [giving me] side eye, I was getting looked at, she was talking about me. 

‘If you book with the airline, because this has happened to us as a family of four who travels together, they will group your reservation together. The only time that you might be separated is if you miss a flight or a connection,’ she explained in her video. 

The mom-of-two added that she recommends those who always ask to switch seats purchase ‘travel insurance’ to avoid their seats getting separated in case of an emergency. 

Maresa then clapped back at those who said she should’ve moved and said it wasn’t on her to ‘accommodate’ someone else.

‘Before you come for me, I have two kids, so I have been there, even in the early stages and I would buy my baby a seat next to me, but when you book with the airlines, you have to tell them to book your reservations together and that you’re traveling with a minor. That way, when they are looking to bump people they make sure to set you next to one another. 

When she took to TikTok to share her reasons for refusing to move, she sparked a furious debate over giving up the seat you had paid for

Maresa then stitched a video of man with text overlay that read, ‘When an entitled person wants to switch seats’, before adding that it ‘just happened’ she said ‘no’.

When the mom-of-two began receiving hate for her decision she posted a video revealing she has a ‘disability’ and those who are ‘triggered’ by her decision are ‘not compassionate’

‘So if you are a frequent traveler and you’re with your family, there things that you can do proactively and also, depending on the class of ticket that you buy. 

‘If you buy basic economy tickets, you should have zero expectations of sitting together, because everybody knows you’re just going to get whatever seats are left. 

‘If you buy a better class of ticket or a full fare ticket, you’re going to get more accommodations, so I’m not a villain and neither is anybody else. 

‘And by the way, the few times that I did switch seats in my lifetime, it was horrific, never again.’ 

When the mom-of-two began receiving hate for her decision, she posted another video revealing she has a ‘disability’ and those who are ‘triggered’ by her decision to say no and labeling her an ‘elitist’ are ‘not compassionate.’ 

Maresa’s experience echo’s that of a man who sparked furious debate after he revealed he refused a mother’s request to give up his extra-legroom seat and move to the second row on a 10-hour flight so that her husband could sit with her and their baby. 

In his now-viral post, the unnamed plane passenger explained that he and his wife were boarding a 10-hour flight from Europe to Asia, when a mother asked whether he would mind switching seats with her husband, who was sitting in the second row, a request that he quickly denied.

Recently, a Reddit user questioned whether or not he was in the wrong for not changing seats for a family in a thread titled, ‘Am I the A**hole?’

‘My wife and I were travelling on a 10-hour flight from Europe to Asia last week,’ the man wrote. ‘We booked our tickets well in advance and also managed to book the specific seats we wanted – two seats in the first row.

‘We paid for these seats as it was going to be a long journey and wanted the extra leg space.

‘When we boarded, there was a woman holding a baby sitting in the middle seat. This woman, before I even had a chance to put my bag in the overhead compartment, asked me “Can I be really cheeky and ask you to switch seats with my husband?”

‘She then pointed toward her husband sitting in the second row (only the first row has extra leg space and requires additional payment to book the seat). She then told me that her husband needs to be next to her to help with the baby.

‘My wife stayed quiet while I politely but firmly told her that unfortunately as his seat is in a second row, I wouldn’t be moving there as I had specifically paid for the seat with extra legroom.’

The mom was so angry she even called over a member of the cabin crew in hopes of solving the seat debacle, however, the man still refused to switch seats.

The crew member was luckily able to dissolve the issue by locating two other seats in the front row the couple could move to.

And while it left everyone happy with their seating arrangements, the Reddit user noted that the mom was still angry at him.

The viral post continued: ‘A steward came and requested me to switch with the husband, and I had to tell him the same thing, making things quite awkward.’

‘The woman then threw daggers at me for some time. Thankfully the steward came back and told me that there were two vacant seats in one of the other first rows and offered to move us.

‘We ended up moving there but could hear this lady animatedly make comments about us to her husband from behind for some time after that.

‘When I recounted this incident to my in-laws they said that I should have just moved as she had a baby with her and that turned into a different conversation about baby expectations.

‘My wife agrees with me that her poor planning is not our problem and that we should have stayed out if there were no other first row seats.’

Reddit users went into a furious rage at the mom after the man explained his situation, which comes just two months after DailyMail.com columnist Jaci Stephen explained her take on switching seats.

Jaci confessed she ‘absolutely refuses’ to swap seats, no matter how angry the passenger requesting to switch may get.

Luckily for Maresa, many of her followers were quick to come to her defense and even noted she did the right thing and would ‘never’ be the villain

In her confession, she explained she travels a lot and carefully selects her seat way in advance, she noted she even choose which direction she wants to face when traveling.

Jaci added that in the past, she’s had many passengers yell at her, and glare at her in annoyance, but she doesn’t mind as she noted its her ‘right to refuse.’

Similar to Jaci’s confession, the Reddit user and Maresa both explained they stood firm on his decision because he planned ahead and paid extra for the seats.

Luckily for Maresa, many of her followers were quick to come to her defense and even noted she did the right thing and would ‘never’ be the villain. 

One user said: ‘Now they’re asking for people to move from first class?! What’s wrong with these people?’

Another added: ‘Thank you! As a child free person I get shamed for not moving. I paid full price. I’m not moving.’

‘You’re NEVER a villain for not giving up a paid seat. Period. Folks need to one, plan ahead, and two, pay up if they want your seat,’ one user commented.

Another user wrote: ‘I don’t give up my seat anywhere ever on a plane. I reserved it early enough to get what I wanted. Your loss if you didn’t.’