‘Look where he decided to sit’
He just wanted to recline in peace.
Washington-based chef Anthony Thomas was baffled by his fellow traveler’s decision to seize the seat directly behind him on a nearly empty Southwest flight despite dozens of options available.
“Imagine having the luxury of boarding a flight with only two passengers on it,” Thomas wrote on X, sharing a selfie with the man sitting directly behind him on the open flight.
“Of all the seats on the flight, look where he decided to sit.”
Two other passengers are seen nicely spaced across at least 10 rows behind Thomas.
It’s not clear how long Thomas’ flight was or if the man, or he, eventually moved to take advantage of the extra space.
Southwest Airlines has an open seat policy for its passengers, according to its website.
Travelers flying with the airline could pick any open seat available once they board their aircraft in their group number — making the man’s choice of seat on the nearly empty flight even more strange.
The post, which has been viewed over 35 million times since being posted on Tuesday, sparked the age-old debate about airplane etiquette and personal space in his comment section.
“That’s the same dude that won’t skip the 30 empty urinals to snuggle up and try to talk while it’s business time,” one user commented.
“I would’ve moved, honestly. Dude is weird and I wouldn’t want him behind me just for that reason,” wrote another.
“Same thing happens in the gym. There will be 25 empty treadmills but someone always seems to get the one next to me. What the hell??” another X user explained.
While many believed the man’s behavior was odd, given how empty the plane was, others were not so quick to take Thomas’ side.
“I pick my seat when I book the flight. If it happens to be an empty flight and I’m right behind you it ain’t going to change the fact that that’s the seat I wanted. Besides it’s a damned if you do damned if you don’t world these days anyways,” one user wrote.
“I’m sorry but if I board an empty flight im not sitting by myself either.. thats creepy,” explained another.
“Guy’s probably scared of flying instead of being super creep just ask him to sit in same row maybe you will make a friend,” another chimed.
Though Thomas’s encounter may seem bizarre, it’s far from some of the worst air travelers have endured when taking to the sky.
Earlier this week, footage emerged from a Southwest flight from Oakland to Hawaii of two passengers duking it out in the air.
In the video of the midair exchange, one man was captured unleashing a series of punches, landing about seven in his fellow passenger’s face before other travelers and crew pulled him away.
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