One of the Most Brazen Pax Plane Behaviors Now Has A Name

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Over the years, some people have become more self-centered. They’re less interested in what other people think or how they feel, and just do whatever they want because, well, “we’re #1,” I guess. For some folks, it seems like caring only about you and yours is the “in” thing to do, regardless of probably being taught manners at some point in their life.

Airport Selfishness on Full Display

You see it in airports all the time nowadays.

• There are no open seats at the gate, but some A-holes will leave their bags on the seat next to them, not because they’re saving the seat for someone, but just so their bags don’t have to be on the floor
• Acting like gate lice is 100% leaving your manners at home and not caring about anyone else.
• That sense of entitlement some travelers have is also a type of self-centeredness. I’m talking about looking for compensation for the smallest inconveniences.  Making a big fuss over an issue because they (the pax) didn’t understand the rules, but still insist they are in the right.

Self-Centered Behaviors Take Flight

So is it surprising that “We’re #1” self-centeredness continues on the plane, too?

• The pax who puts their bags in the overhead in the front of the plane and then walks to their seat that 20 or 30 rows back
• The pax who obviously never read a thing about how to make flight attendants love you
• The pax who didn’t pay to choose seats and then asks everyone else to switch seats with them so they can sit next to their travel mate

But nowadays some people are getting even bolder. They don’t even ASK to switch seats. They just take them. And when confronted by the person who is assigned to said seat, the person tells them that nope, THEY’RE sitting there…YOU go sit somewhere else.

If they’re “nice” (#rolleyes), they may tell you where they were originally sitting (32B. They had a middle seat towards the back of the plane and took your aisle seat in row 6?!?!?!). And, of course, you can get a flight attendant involved and they will always take the side of the person who was assigned the seat in question.

It even has a name

Of course, if this type of behavior only happened here and there, it wouldn’t rarely be mentioned. But it’s happened enough where it even has a name: Seat Squatter. Fodor’s described it this way:

There’s another annoying thing happening on planes now: people are squatting. “Seat squatters” is a new term being thrown around on social media as more and more people grab unoccupied seats. No, they are not checking with the flight attendants or waiting for boarding to be completed to move up. In the most bizarre way, these squatters notice a seat while boarding and simply decide to occupy it.

They continue:

It’s easy to get confused and mistake someone else’s space for yours. This mistake can be easily rectified by checking your boarding pass when someone points it out. Seat squatters, however, aren’t confused. They’re taking what’s not theirs and then getting into arguments with passengers and flight attendants.

Seat squatting happens when passengers sit in seats they’re not assigned to, hoping they don’t get noticed or asked to move. Because some seats and even seat selection cost extra on most airlines, some have seen this as a move to get a better seat without having to pay for it. However, for everyone else involved, seat squatting can cause confusion, discomfort, and conflict. While it may seem like a small inconvenience at first, the behavior can lead to significant disruptions, including delays, uncomfortable confrontations, and even last-minute seating adjustments.

It’s happening more

Social media has covered seat squatting extensively:

• According to the Daily Express US, many Redditors have dealt with something similar. The outlet cited the story of one Reddit user who claimed to have witnessed three “seat squatters” on their flight, including one man who wouldn’t budge.
• Fox News said that a pax was “bullied” after they refused to swap with a seat squatter.
• Meanwhile, the New York Post recently reported that some squatters are even trying to pose as first-class passengers to get free liquor and other benefits of sitting in first.

What can you do?

Obviously, if a squatter is in your seat, you can try reality orientation with them – they’re in your seat, here’s your boarding pass that says it’s your seat. So ask them to please get out of your seat.

But c’mon…if they were brazen enough to sit in someone else’s seat to begin with, I question if they’ll get up just because you asked them to. So the next step (or the first one, if you don’t want to confront the person in the first place) is to let the flight attendant know that someone is sitting in your assigned seat. Hopefully they can get the person to move.

Seat squatting is definitely becoming more of a “thing” but it’s not something the airlines have directly addressed. This means individual crew members often find themselves in the position of mediating these situations. In some cases, as reported in a post on the “r/americanairlines” subreddit, flight attendants may allow seat squatters to remain in their chosen spots if it doesn’t cause significant disruption.

Awesome.

The seat squatter stayed in my assigned seat – can I get reimbursed for my seat selection fee?

This is probably a Your Mileage May Vary sort of thing. You could write to the airline, explain the situation and ask for the fee money back. Whether or not you’ll get it is another story. If you volunteer to move your seat because the seat squatter wouldn’t move, there’s a good chance you don’t get a refund.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary