Seat squatting on flight in New Year riles up passengers: 'Couldn't believe' it

The "seat squatter" trend may have dominated travel experiences in 2024 — but it doesn't seem to be going away any time soon in this New Year of 2025. 

Travelers continue to reveal their "seat-squatting" encounters on social media as commenters chime in and debate the hot issue.

An experience shared on Reddit in the "r/delta" forum with the caption, "Seat squatter caught and rude entire flight," has continued to spark discussion.

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The term "seat squatters" has been used to refer to those who rob the seats that were selected and paid for by other travelers.

Discussing a flight from Cancún, Mexico, to Los Angeles, California, the traveler posted, "I couldn’t even believe my eyes after seeing all the seat squatter posts."

The person added, "We’re finally boarding and this couple about our age (late 20s/early 30s) is in our row, which can’t be right because we’re [in] the middle and aisle [seats]. I tell them they’re in my seat … and they oddly start fumbling around and mentioning they have a dog with them."

The user said she responded that she was allergic to dogs — and that she paid for the seats.

"They both start fumbling around more and [the] female, who was originally in the window seat [that] I presume they did actually book, and [the] male who was sitting in my seat, both get out of the row so the female and dog can go to the window seat behind us," she added.

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The man, for his part, then moved to the window seat in her row, she said. 

He placed his arm over the armrest, applying pressure to her arm — which prompted her to switch seats with her fiancé in the row, she said.

"Once we finally get off the plane … my fiancé tells me this guy silently fought with him over the armrest the same way he did with me for the entire flight," she wrote in her post.

"I cannot rationalize how or why this man did this when we did absolutely nothing to him other than ask to sit in our own seats," the poster added in her story.

Reddit users took to the comment section to assess the situation and share their own experiences with "seat squatters."

"It’s only happened to me once, thankfully. But my rule of thumb is that I’ll be polite on the initial interaction in case it’s a legitimate unintentional mistake [that] they’re sitting in my seat. In that case, they’ll get up and move and there’s no harm, no foul," said one.

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Another added, "Omg, it sounds like you were flying with a bunch of bratty teenagers."

"I doubt people that are already OK with breaking the rules are going to be great people, unfortunately," commented yet another user.

Some users debated the notion of which passenger gets the armrests in the middle seat.

"The ‘middle seat gets both armrests' thing is entirely an online knowledge thing. Yes, it's courteous & makes sense if you think about it, but the average [person who] flies once/twice per year … likely doesn't know or think about it," commented one user.

Another stated, "Everyone knows the middle seat gets both arm rests."

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"The middle person does not in fact get both arm rests," another user said. "That’s a made-up rule and you can’t get mad at someone who doesn’t follow that."

Gary Leff, a Texas-based travel industry expert and author of the blog "View From the Wing," told Fox News Digital that the person holding the seat assignment on their boarding pass is entitled to that seat.

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"[Flyers] may not be able to get what they want from the airline when reserving seats, or the airline may want a fee for the seats they want and the passenger doesn't want to pay — so they'll try their luck on board," said Leff.

Leff suggested that instead of stealing seats, flyers can try asking others directly to swap seats with them.

California-based etiquette expert Rosalinda Randall told Fox News Digital that "it is never OK to seat-squat once on board. Eventually, the passenger with that seat assignment will claim it."

Randall said when dealing with a seat squatter, it is best to address the situation calmly and in good faith.

"If the seat squatter refuses to move, do not engage; do not recruit other passengers to rally," she said.

Rather, "immediately request assistance from the flight attendant."