‘I swapped seats for a child on a plane as another passenger refused – it’s their loss’

Airplane passenger Tyson Clifton was left with more than he bargained for when he swapped his ‘super exciting’ window seat to help a couple with a newborn baby – much to the frustration of other onlookers

Travellers can mutually agree that being stuck in a confined space thousands of miles in the air with a bunch of strangers is no easy task. Not to mention, you may also be gifted with the delightful screams of a newborn baby throughout the entirety of your flight.

Additional leg room or the breath-taking views of a window seat can sometimes soften the blow when you’re sat next to noisy traveller. However, sometimes these benefits just don’t go far enough. This was the case for one passenger named Tyson Clifton – who gave up his window seat for a father and a child when a passenger refused to move.

On the surface this seemed like a noble gesture, but in reality he changed seats for completely selfish reasons.

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Taking to TikTok to share his in-flight experience, the man’s clip has been viewed a whopping 3 million times to date.

Tyson’s decision to swap seats came after he was sat beside a new mum on his flight from Vancouver to Toronto.

As a seeming gesture of good will, he gave up his own seat to allow the woman’s partner and newborn to sit beside her – after another nearby passenger refused to.

This resulted in him losing his precious window seat, which initially left him disappointed, but the final outcome was worth it.

He explained in the video: “So, about a year ago I was on a flight from Vancouver to Toronto and I booked my seat ahead of time, so I had a window seat – I was super excited about it.

“A woman comes down the aisle and she’s in the middle seat – she sits down in the middle between us.

“She leans over to the woman in the aisle seat and goes, ‘Hey, my husband’s coming with our newborn, would you mind switching seats, so we can sit together and he can help me take care of the baby?'”

“[The passenger] said, ‘No, my daughter’s over there’.

“And then she turns to me – I heard the conversation, so I said, ‘Yeah, absolutely, I’d love to, where am I going?'”

He continued: “They told me that I had a middle seat towards the back of the plane – one of the worst seats there – but I’m like, ‘Whatever’.

“I go back there and the woman beside me in my new seat – an old woman – she was just pitiful and she hated life.

“So, the flight attendant says, ‘Hey, you’re a great guy all your drinks on this flight are on me’.

“I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s not necessary’ and this old woman pipes up, and she’s like, ‘What about me? What about my free drink?’

“And the flight attendant said, ‘He just gave up a window seat right at the front of the plane to be here sitting next to you, so the young family could be together – I wish there were more guys like this in this world he’s such a great guy, sir your drinks are on me’.

“And then I got rum and cokes the entire flight.”

After recounting the seemingly heroic move, the man admitted the real reason behind moving was to avoid a noisy neighbour on the plane.

“I just didn’t want to have to sit next to a screaming child,” he joked.

Rushing to the comment section, fellow TikTokers were keen to share their thoughts on the ordeal, which ultimately created a mixed bag of responses amongst travellers.

One person wrote: “That’s awesome, but I’m not moving seats for anyone. Sorry not sorry.

“Everyone has the same access to book and change seats. Plan accordingly.”

A second agreed: “The ‘young family’ should have booked sooner and paid more for a window seat.”

A third questioned: “Why didn’t they book seats together when they bought tickets? I wouldn’t move from a window seat to a middle seat.”

“People forget it’s literally public transport just in the sky lol,” another added.

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