‘Let them stay with your kids!’: Mother puts a new spin on plane seat swapping debate

A mother has put a new spin on the plane seat swapping debate after she said that she happily took a break from her children when a fellow passenger refused to move on a flight.

“‘If you don’t have a seat next to your kids, should the person that’s sitting next to your children move?’ I can believe this is being asked as a question,” Cindy Arena, an American comedian, said in a Tiktok video.

“No! Let them stay with your kids. This has happened to me.”

She shared details of the incident, in which another flyer’s assigned seat was next to her then four- and six-year-old.

Ms Arena said she made the offer to switch seats with the other woman, but the offer was declined.

“The woman refused to get up. She refused,” said Ms Arena. “And I said ‘OK, no problem, I’m not going to argue.’ And I went to the back of the plane and sat in my assigned seat, because she wouldn’t give hers up.

“It was so peaceful.”

It wasn’t long before the original woman saw the error of her ways.

“Finally the stewardess comes up – because I know she’s coming – because this b**** is sitting next to my kids and there’s nothing fun about that. And she said, ‘she we would like to trade seats with you now’; and I said, ‘Oh no – we need to stay in our assigned seats. Have a good flight!’”

The video quickly went viral, garnering more than 1.6 million views.

Viewers’ reactions were mixed, with some praising Ms Arena’s power play, and others criticising it.

“I love malicious compliance,” wrote one commenter, while another said: “If you want your family to sit together then make certain you book your seats together. It is unfair to expect someone to change seats with you.”