Passenger refuses to give up seat for ‘ridiculous’ elderly couple on 12-hour flight

The last year or so has been anything but quiet when it comes to in-flight drama.

From Tiffany Gomas' 'not real' rant finally being cleared up, to the 'Instagram famous' woman boasting about her so-called celebrity status, it feels like in-air tantrums became a whole new topic of conversation.

But now, attention has been turned to a much milder confrontation that put one man in a very uncomfortable position.

When the unnamed passenger (let's call him Joe for ease) booked a 12-hour long-haul flight from New Zealand to Los Angeles, he paid an additional cost for extra legroom due to his height.

Joe noted that his name was explicitly displayed above his reserved seat where he found an elderly couple sitting.

He politely addressed the misunderstanding, showed them his ticket and explained how he paid extra. In turn, they suggested he sit in their seats 10 rows back.

They went on to tell him that "[the leg room's] not that bad" back there.

That's when a flight attendant intervened as Joe was holding up the line. When the situation was explained, the staff member told the couple they had not paid for those seats and had to move.

In response, they asked to be upgraded – but it was a full flight.

"I got some stink eyes from other people on the flight," Joe wrote on the popular Reddit thread, adding: "I paid for the extra leg room and I need it."

It didn't take long for fellow Redditors to chime in with their opinions, with one user calling the couple "ridiculous."

"Lol people giving you dirty looks like you harassed this older couple for your health," one person wrote.

Another added: "Honestly it wouldn’t matter if you were 4’0 - they were your seats."

A third person said: "Seriously, what kind of person decides to take someone else's seat on a plane? I understand if there's an empty seat once you've taken off, but this kind of thing takes a special kind of entitlement."

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