Plane Passenger Asks Mom Flying With Son To Swap Seat—Her Reply Says It All

A Chicago woman has been praised after her refusal to swap airline seats mid-flight has gained viral attention.

Angelique Dunklin, 54, from downtown Chicago, was flying with her 15-year-old son from O’Hare International Airport to London Heathrow, with a layover in Atlanta.

It was during the first leg of the journey, from Illinois to Georgia, that the incident occurred. In a post that has since garnered more than 17,000 likes and thousands of responses on Threads, Dunklin shared the moment a fellow passenger asked her to switch seats so she could sit with her daughter.

“The passenger was standing in our row and asked before I even started to get settled,” she told Newsweek. “She immediately started with ‘Hey could you switch seats with my daughter so we could sit together’ … I said ‘no thank you’ and she continued ‘oh well she also has a middle sit a few rows back in the exit row… you could have more room.'”

Dunklin said no to the switch, adding: “No, I paid for these seats to sit together for our trip and we need to make our connection.”

The woman then asked what time their connecting flight was, prompting Dunklin to shut the conversation down with another firm: “No ma’am we are together and not switching seats.”

Looking back, she reflected on the inappropriateness of the request: “In hindsight she was asking my 15-year-old son to go and sit in an exit row, which I don’t even think is legally allowed. I said no in every way possible and my frustration came from her not taking no for an answer and the entitlement,” she said.

In a 2024 poll conducted by YouGov, 1,152 adults were asked about in-flight etiquette. Of these, 51 percent of people said it was acceptable to ask to switch seats, while 26 percent said it was not.

“She had already had her mind made up that whomever was in her row would switch with her daughter and that didn’t go as planned and I could tell and she kept trying to find different avenues to try and persuade one of us to switch,” Dunklin said.

Ultimately, the woman backed down, finally leaving and refusing to look or speak to them for the rest of the flight.

Dunklin, who frequently shares her life online, said that posting about the encounter felt natural. “Threads has been a wonderful place of community and connection for me,” she said. “For this trip to London, most of the things we are doing and seeing were all from input from my online community so for me.. it’s normal to share parts of my life and journey online which I’ve been doing for over 10 years now. So this travel mishap was normal for me to share.”

In thousands of responses, people shared their reactions to the flight argument. “Someone did that to me last time. She wanted my window seat. I told her to move she wouldn’t so I sat on her lap,” said one commenter on Threads.

While another wrote: “Her entitlement is insane.”

“Most of the reactions are kind and thoughtful and of course there are a few online trolls and negative nellies who say that this is a fabricated story or too long to get to the point but here’s the thing… story and connection brings me joy,” Dunklin said. “I am soon to be 55 and the online space is where I’ve found my people.. so I’ll keep sharing regardless of what types of feedback or responses I get.”