Air France Business Class Passenger Cheered For Refusing To Switch Seats For A Family

by Gary Leff on July 31, 2023

“Doctor Sabra,” a Seattle-based pharmacist on TikTok, flew Air France from Seattle to Paris and refused to switch her business class seat so that a family could travel together. “That’s a no from me dawg,” she declared to over 10 million viewers, who were overwhelmingly supportive in the comments.

A gate agent asked her if she’d switch prior to boarding, but the seat they offered her wasn’t appealing (she asked to see the seat map). I wouldn’t have wanted to move from row 1 to row 8, either. She called it ‘first class’ when it was actually business, on a Boeing 787-9 with no first class cabin..

The gate agent called my name before boarding. They were nice and asked me if I was willing to switch seats. I asked to see the alternative on the seat map. It was still first class but all the way in the back. I kindly said that I’d rather keep the seat I selected and she didn’t insist.

Some of you might feel that (1) she should have been indifferent between the seats, and (2) more charitable considering she was upgraded. But it was her seat and her preference at that point. And, it turns out, the kid was 13 so I’m not sure that they really needed to be seated beside a parent? In the end they were accommodated by another passenger.

That’s a no from me dawg 🤣 would you have given up your seat? Also they ended up finding a solution so no, i am not a terrible human being. Also the child was like 13.

♬ original sound – Sunshynelove21

If the mom wanted to sit with her kid, they should have pre-booked this. And they could have considered another flight if there weren’t any seats together. (It’s possible their flight had been cancelled, or they misconnected, and got rebooked but with Seattle as the destination of this flight that seems geographically unlikely even though Delta operates a hub there.)

At a minimum get as good a seat as you can to offer up in trade. Don’t expect someone to give up their seat for one that they’ll view as inferior. And maybe offer them something to do the trade?

Still, if you’re indifferent between seats that are on offer, helping a family is the nice thing to do! It’s even better when you’re offered a superior seat for your trouble. Or $20.

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