Please complete your profile to unlock commenting and other important features.

Please select your date of birth for special perks on your birthday. Your username will be your unique profile link and will be publicly used in comments.
Narcity Pro

This is a Pro feature.

Time to level up your local game with Narcity Pro.

Pro

$5/month

$40/year

  • Everything in the Free plan
  • Ad-free reading and browsing
  • Unlimited access to all content including AI summaries
  • Directly support our local and national reporting and become a Patron
  • Cancel anytime.
For Pro members only Pro
Summary

An Airline Passenger Refused To Share An Empty Row Of Seats & TikTokers Love How She Said No

"I don’t owe anyone anything and I deserve to be comfortable"

The TikToker in a video about her trip. Right: An empty row of plane seats.

The TikToker in a video about her trip. Right: An empty row of plane seats.

Global Staff Writer

To be asked to swap seats on a plane is bad enough, but nothing sounds worse than being asked to swap seats when you have an entire row to yourself.

Most people would hate to agree to swap seats in that situation, and one TikToker happily declined when a passenger made that exact request.

TikToker @mewhiskers123 posted a video showing herself stretched out over an entire row of seats on a plane, and the video already has over 5.4 million views.

“No one is in my row, and someone asked to take my window seat and I politely declined because I don’t owe anyone anything and I deserve to be comfortable for my 15-hour flight as well,” read the caption over the TikToker's video.

@mewhiskers123

Visit TikTok to discover videos!

People in the comment section praised the TikToker for holding her ground, and many reassured her that she made the right decision.

One person commented, “Ya no, they can buy a window seat u get what u pay for," which received over 54,100 likes.

Another person wrote, “I think it is so weird that people ask for someone else’s seat.”

“No [because] sometimes I think 'it’d be nice to do something nice for someone,' but it’d be even better if I did something nice for myself,” commented another user.

Others chimed in with their own similar experiences.

One person recalled how “some woman asked if her child could have my window seat, and I said no, and she got so mad.”

Another wrote, “this lady took my window seat before I got on, and the flight attendant gave me a whole row.”

“Some lady took my seat, and I was too shy to ask her to move, so I went to the flight attendant and said it’s all full, so they put me in first class,” commented another person.

One person recalled a bizarre experience where someone wanted to swap seats with them so they could have the row to themselves.

“This happened to me one time, and some guy asked me to switch with him so he could sleep... and I was like, no??? I want to sleep too????” the comment reads.

That wasn't the only TikTok video the woman shared from her travels. Prior to seat swap video, she shared another one about the “30-hour travel day,” she had ahead of her flight to New Zealand.

@mewhiskers123

Visit TikTok to discover videos!

With such a long journey ahead of her, the TikToker would have needed the sleep on her flight, making her decision to decline that much more understandable.

It looks like more and more people are joining team “say no” when it comes to being asked to swap seats on a plane.

Explore this list   👀

    • Sameen Chaudhry (she/her) was a Toronto-based Staff Writer for Narcity's Global Desk. She has a Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Toronto, where she majored in political science and philosophy. Before joining Narcity, she wrote for 6ixBuzzTV, covering topics like Toronto's music scene, local real estate stories, and breaking news.

    Statistics Canada is hiring for census jobs that pay up to $131,000 but you need to apply soon

    Application deadlines are approaching for some 2026 census jobs.

    This enchanting small town set on a BC island was named among North America's 'most peaceful'

    Sandy beaches, ancient forests and a cozy town — anyone?. 🌲

    This Ontario gem with waterfront towns and beaches is one of Canada's 'best' spots to live

    It has "large" homes "priced much lower" than major Canadian cities.