‘The fact that he tapped you and woke you up’: Man gets asked to switch seats on airplane. Things take a dark turn when he refuses

A man asked to switch seats on an airplane so another passenger could sit with his children refused and set off an escalating situation that ended dramatically.

The tale comes from creator Nick from Ohio (@nickfromohio), who promises "rants from the shower" on his TikTok account. This particular video, clocking in at almost six minutes, went up on Monday and has received more than 10,600 views as of this writing.

'Just say no'

"If somebody asks you to switch seats with them on an airplane, just say no because these people do not have good intentions," he begins, explaining that he just got home from an early morning flight that he took in part to interact with as few people as possible.

"You get on the plane, get your seat, pop in an Airpod, close your eyes, and you're home," he shares of his ideal plane ride. "You just fall asleep for the entire flight."

However, on this particular flight, he is asked to change seats by a man who woke him up while the plane was still boarding.

"I look at the person, and it's a grown man, and he's like, 'Hey, do you mind switching seats with me?' And my first thought is that he wants the window seat. I usually take the aisle seat because I'm, like, pretty tall, but this was the only seat available."

But it turned out that he was much farther forward on the plane and wanted to switch to be closer to his kids. Nick was puzzled by this until the man came back a few minutes after Nick opted to stay in his seat.

Nick assessed the people who'd sat next to him were the man's grown children, and it seemed like they were more interested in their father not making a scene than sitting next to him for a short flight.

Then it escalates

The man grew more heated, but Nick stood his ground, saying, "I'm sorry. I don't want to switch seats with you. Like, I paid for this seat on this flight. I want to just close my eyes, pop my AirPod in, and be done."

But then, with the flight attendant wanting the man to sit down, he insists that Nick is sitting in his seat. The flight attendant wants to see Nick's boarding pass as proof.

"And the one kid's like, oh, sighs like he knows his dad's about to do this ... making situations worse than they need to be," Nick relays before asking the flight attendant to check the man's boarding pass.

Eventually, the man moves up to his seat, then returns and screams at Nick to get out of his seat, and then shoves another man who stands up and tells him to return to his seat. That leads the flight attendants to snap into action and escort the man off the plane, at which point his aggrieved children follow.

"And then I took the aisle seat because they were gone, and that was the seat I wanted," Nick assessed, advising people to stand their ground and sit in the seats they paid for rather than fielding such requests.

Should I switch seats?

Fodor's fielded this question on its site in the inaugural issues of an advice column from its founder, Eugene Fodor, in January 2024.

"We’ve all been there: you’ve boarded the plane, stowed your carry-on luggage in the overhead bin, pulled out your essentials, tucked them into the seat pocket in front of you, and nestled into your seat when you suddenly hear a sheepish, 'Excuse me,'" he writes to set the scene. "You look up and see the pleading eyes of a fellow passenger asking if it would be alright to switch seats so that they may sit next to their spouse, parent, child, sibling, or friend. For some, this might seem straightforward, but when you consider factors such as what seat you’ll be switching to, the length of your flight, and whether you’ve paid more for your current seat, suddenly, the question becomes more heated."

He advises people to consider which seat they'd be switching to, how much they paid, and how long the flight is. In some situations, it might be a karma-generating favor you do for someone else, but as he remarks, "While switching seats can be a nice gesture, remember that you are not responsible for another passenger’s seating assignment."

The exception is when a small child is somehow separated from a parent in a flight's seating assignments. The article notes, "In 2022, the Department of Transportation issued new guidelines addressing this very issue, encouraging airlines to enact policies that have children seated next to accompanying adults."

@nickfromohio I swear being on a plane is one of my least favorite things because of experiences like this one… just don’t switch seats #fyp #viral #airplane #mean #arguments #airplanes #confrontation #annoying #flightattendant ♬ original sound - RANTS FROM THE SHOWER

What people said

Viewers applauded Nick for standing, or rather, sitting firm.

"Say 'No, because [if] we crash I'd like to be identified correctly," one said.

"It’s rude to ask someone to switch seats to begin with!" someone else opined.

Another offered, "Switching seats should be banned. If you want a specific seat, pay for it."

Finally, one quipped, "I swapped seats once and it was an absolute disaster.... I also lost my job as a pilot."

The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok and Instagram direct message.

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The post ‘The fact that he tapped you and woke you up’: Man gets asked to switch seats on airplane. Things take a dark turn when he refuses appeared first on The Daily Dot.