Man slammed after making 'obese' passenger pay him over £100 for taking up 'part of plane seat'
A man has sparked a fiery debate online after revealing he forced an 'obese' plane passenger to pay him over £100 for taking up part of his seat.
The row about making his neighbour fork out for allegedly taking up extra room has sparked controversy on social media.
The bloke explained he had purposely booked an aisle seat in a row of two for his five-hour flight to ensure he was as comfy as he could be.
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He said that a 'very obese' man then boarded the plane, who he thought would 'have a tough time fitting in any of the seats'.
Much to his displeasure, the passenger plonked himself down next to him, according to the Reddit post.
It continued: "He sits down and is easily seeping into about 1/3 of my seat. I sit down and am pressed up against him, making me uncomfortable.
"After a minute, I decided to be upfront and tell him: 'Sir, I’m sorry but this situation is not working for me, you’re taking up quite a bit of my seat'."
The man said his fellow flyer 'wasn't rude' but gave him a shrug as if to say there was nothing he could do about it.
The passenger even then scrunched his arms in 'to try and be narrower', but it still wasn't enough for the Reddit user.
He said the man's arms were 'fully hanging over the armrest' despite his efforts to make it more comfortable.
The post said: "I end up stopping a flight attendant and ask her what can be done about the situation. She instantly tells him that he is likely going to need to purchase another seat.
"She goes to the front and comes back saying that there aren’t any open seats on this flight, so there wasn’t a way to move people so he could have two. This causes a very awkward silence."
Now 'embarrassed' by the rows of people gawking at him, the passenger asked if he could stay in his assigned seat.
The Redditor explained: "He mentioned how he can’t wait for a later flight. I felt bad for him but I was also thinking about my own comfort on the long flight — the comfort I paid for.
"The flight attendant tells him that unless someone on the flight agrees to let him take up part of their seat, he’ll need to book another flight.
"The guy seems really flustered by this ultimatum, and here’s where I made my offer.
"I told the guy, 'Look, I’ll put up with this if you give me $150 (£123) - that’s half the cost of this flight and that would compensate me enough for the circumstances'."
He claimed the passenger instantly agreed to his offer, pulled out the cash, paid him - and even told him 'he appreciated it'.
"He wasn’t angry at all, if anything he seemed quite relieved we could work it out privately," the Reddit user said.
"After the flight, the couple behind me glared at me but I ignored them. This leads me to beg the question, AITA?"
The post garnered a mixture of responses - with some backing the man's money move, while others branded him 'cruel'.
One commenter said: "This is ridiculous. You made a scene and embarrassed the man and then made him pay you for a fraction of your seat. You are the epitome of an a**hole."
Another wrote: "The problem here was that this large dude stuck you with being uncomfortable on your flight, right? Well, the $150 didn't make you any less squished in your seat, so it really feels like you just blackmailed this guy for being fat."
On the other side of the coin, one user replied: "You had every right to ask the flight attendant for a solution, and between the man and you, a solution was agreed upon. Everyone else can relax, because it wasn't their seat being overtaken on a flight."
A second added: "He should have bought two seats, this is his fault, in fact he got off well with it. He agreed and you agreed. I am sure if the people behind you were in the same position they would have thought differently."
Others pointed the finger of blame at the airline for 'cramming passengers into smaller and smaller spaces'.
Topics: Travel, Plane Etiquette, Reddit, Social Media
Olivia Burke