Air travel has always brought out the best—and the worst—in people.
Every frequent flyer has seen it: the person who blocks the boarding lane, spreads out across three gate seats, or stuffs a carry-on into the overhead bin 20 rows before their assigned seat.
But there’s one passenger behavior that’s become so common it now has its own nickname.
And no, I’m not talking about gate lice.
It sometimes feels as if basic travel etiquette has been disappearing one flight at a time. They’re less interested in what other people think or how they feel, and just do whatever they want because of a, well, a “we’re #1” mentality 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 didn’t understand the rules, but still insist they’re in the right.
Self-Centered Behaviors Take Flight
So is it surprising that “We’re #1” self-centeredness continues on the plane, too?
- The passenger who puts their bags in the overhead in the front of the plane and then walks to their seat that’s 20 or 30 rows back
- The passenger who obviously never read a thing about how to make flight attendants love you
- The passenger 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
The fact that multiple major news outlets have written about this over the past few years tells you it isn’t just an occasional annoyance anymore.
- Fox News said that a passenger was “bullied” after they refused to swap with a seat squatter.
- According to the Daily Mail, is the biggest mistake you can make on a plane.
- Metro called them “the worst type of plane passenger”
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. (/sarcasm)
The seat squatter stayed in my assigned seat – can I get reimbursed for my seat selection fee?
As with so many airline customer service issues, Your Mileage May Vary. 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.
Honestly, I don’t understand the thought process.
If you want an aisle seat, window seat or extra-legroom seat, book one if you can. If your plans change or you need to sit somewhere else, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with politely asking another passenger if they’d be willing to switch.
But simply helping yourself to someone else’s assigned seat and expecting them to accommodate you?
That’s not confidence. It’s entitlement.
Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but if your boarding pass says 32B, then 32B is where your trip should begin—not 6C because you figured you’d take a shot and see if anyone objected.
And if this keeps becoming more common, I wouldn’t be surprised if airlines eventually adopt stricter procedures to discourage it.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
