A WOMAN went viral on social media after an alleged plane disagreement between her and another passenger over a reclining seat.
A travel blogger based in Philadelphia sparked a heated discussion on the internet when she mentioned that a family of five tried to fit into four seats on a Virgin Transatlantic flight.
This resulted in a flight attendant asking the mother to pull her seat up to accommodate them.
Known on social media as Mari on the Map, she shared that the family requested her to put her sleeping son’s seat back upright to accommodate everyone in the row.
“She had a child well over lap age on her lap (mid flight, seatbelt sign off),” she wrote on Threads.
“I declined. The woman complained and called over a flight attendant. The attendant then requested that I adjust his seat so the family behind us could have additional space,” Mari added.
“I refused again. I did not want to wake my son up, and that family shouldn’t be squeezing 5 people into 4 seats.”
She then said that the flight attendant gave her “a bit of a hard time, then dropped it and left.”
“The family behind continued to complain about us for over an hour, eventually giving up,” she said.
“I personally think if my seat reclines, I have the right to recline it.”
According to Virgin Atlantic’s website, if a child is under two, they do not necessarily need a seat and can travel on laps.
Those 2 years old and over, however, need their own seat.
“So when I posted this, I was not expecting much of a reaction at all,” Mari told The U.S. Sun.
“When I first posted it, I was engaging in conversation with the people who were responding. But as it snowballed, and as people started to get hostile, and in some cases, violent, I had to stop.”
In a separate post on Instagram, Mari claimed that the child sitting on his parent’s lap “was at least 6.”
“Your behavior doesn’t need to be corrected. The people behind you, who had too many people for the number of seats, needed to correct their behavior by purchasing the correct amount of seats,” commented one Threads user.
“As a flight attendant, 5 people in a 4 seat row is a NO, for OBVIOUS safety reasons. Also you have the right to recline your seat. Period,” another posted.
Although some comments supported her, others called the mom “selfish.”
“Some people are willing to make small sacrifices for the benefit of others. You clearly aren’t one of them,” wrote one user.
“I think you were being willfully petty. You could’ve lifted the arm rest and let your kid lie down on you,” commented another.
“I wish people would relearn kindness.”
After the post garnered thousands of comments, likes, and views, Mari posted on Instagram to clear the air.
“Honestly, this debate? It’s not about me or even reclining anymore.
It’s about how miserable flying has become,” she wrote in a post.
“Tiny seats. No space. No comfort. And passengers blaming each other instead of asking why airlines put us in this position in the first place.”
Virgin Atlantic did not immediately respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
“It was just something that gave me pause and made me think about, and I wanted to see what other people thought too.”
