‘Seat squatter’ travel trend takes social media by storm, has flyers trying their luck

UNDATED (WKRC) – The “seat squatter” travel trend has taken social media by storm and has flyers trying their luck.

According to The New York Post, “seat squatters” is a term that has been trending on social media with other passengers calling out those who take seats that are assigned to others.

Travel industry expert Gary Leff, the author of the “View From the Wing” blog, spoke with Fox News Digital and said the seat on your boarding pass is yours to sit in, per the publication.

“(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,” Leff told Fox News.

According to The Post, a Redditor posted to the “r/delta” subreddit with the caption, “My First Class Seat Squatter.”

She wrote that an attendant informed her that she was able to upgrade to first class due to one of the other passengers on the flight not showing up, per the publication.

“I noticed a woman in the seat. I figured the computer was wrong and the person originally booked for the seat had made the flight. I approached the attendant just to double-check, and she confirmed that 3A was now assigned to me,” the Redditor wrote, according to The Post.

“This lady had just seen an open seat in first class and figured she’d see if she could get away with sitting there,” the Redditor claimed, per the publication.

Another Redditor took to the “r/unitedairlines” subreddit, writing about their run-in with a “seat squatter.”

“So midway through my flight, a swarm of FAs (flight attendants) approached the woman in the seat across from me. She had apparently snuck into the seat a few hours in, and [the] main FA had only just realized it,” the Redditor recalled, per The Post.

One commenters said they would be “ashamed to be caught for something like this in the confined space of a plane on a long trip,” while another said the thought of being confronted gave them “anxiety,” per the publication.

According to The Post, in a separate post to the “r/americanairlines” subreddit, one Redditor claimed to witness a squatter get away with staying in a seat.

When speaking to Fox News, Leff advised that passengers should try asking for another seat instead of attempting to “squat” in others, the publication reported.

“Have a compelling reason that will resonate with the person you’re asking, and have something decent to offer in return so it isn’t as much of a hardship for the person to give you what you want,” Leff told Fox News, per The Post. “You need decent trade bait! Don’t offer a middle seat in the back in exchange for an extra legroom aisle.”