Flight passenger 'guilted' into swapping plane seats over baby sparking debate

An airline traveler said he or she recently encountered a seat swapper on a flight - and claimed a family "guilted" the person into switching seats.

"Checked in early, got my seat by the window. And I really like seeing snow out from the window plane," the user wrote. 

"And [at] the last minute, I was pulled aside by the attendant."

The flyer initially refused, but then "walked past a family with a baby only a few months old. And I just thought, what if that family had a similar situation? Maybe the parents are obnoxious but the child is innocent."

Reddit users took to the comments section to discuss the swapping encounter.

"Next time that happens, ask for a voucher or some sort of compensation," suggested one user.

Joked another user, "Sure, I'll switch. Bump me up to first class."

Another user said, "Never cave. I'd sit there and enjoy every bit of attitude from them."

People also commented on the notion of blaming "families" for seat changes - with other parents chiming in.

"My family was flying together and purchased seats long in advance so we could sit together. Fast-forward to check-in, and our seats were all over the place, which doesn't work when you are flying with a 4-year-old. Not all of us [in] these issues are [at] fault," shared a flyer.

Yet another parent added, "I always reserve well in advance and select seats together, but there have still been times Delta has separated me from my kids. Cancellations, equipment changes, missed connections, you name it."

A user added, "I have a small child and when we travel I pay to reserve seats together. It's not that hard."

Gary Leff, a Texas-based travel industry expert and author of the blog "View From the Wing," told Fox News Digital that passengers should plan ahead for their desired seats.

"Sometimes they book late, and there's little available. Or a flight gets canceled, they're put on a new flight, and they need help staying together," said Leff.

In those cases, he said, it may not be reasonable to expect other passengers to inconvenience themselves to help. 

"A toddler wanting a window makes sense. The child might even melt down without it!  But the baby isn't going to have a strong window preference," said Leff.

He added, "it sounds like the parents were using status as parents to get what they preferred."

Leff suggested passengers looking to trade seats consider bargaining with fellow passengers. 

"You're far better off looking to trade seats by offering something just as good - or better - than asking someone to give up what they prefer and get something worse in return," said Leff.