Should you give up your seat on the train if you've booked it and someone asks?
The complainant says
I booked a forward-facing window seat on a busy three-hour train journey, two weeks in advance, because I get motion sick facing backwards. A woman got on with her teenage son and asked me to swap to a seat further down the carriage so they could sit together.
The other seat was backwards-facing and in the middle. I explained about the motion sickness and politely said no. She said I was being unkind and several people looked at me.
The other side says the other passenger, as the complainant tells it
She says she booked late because of a family emergency and just wanted to sit with her son. She thinks most people would swap to help a parent.
Jury discussion (5 comments)
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Her son is a teenager, not a toddler. He can survive three hours a few rows away.
You booked it, you need it for a medical reason, you said no politely. Nothing to see here.
Honestly I'd swap if it was like for like. Backwards middle seat is not like for like.
Like for like is the golden rule of seat swaps.
A family emergency changes the vibe a bit, but still, not at the cost of you being sick.