A mother has ignited outrage after revealing that her husband lied about booking economy seats for her and their toddler on a long-haul flight, while he enjoys the luxury of business class provided by his company.
The woman shared her frustration on the British parenting site Mumsnet, explaining that her husband’s work had paid for his business class ticket. She had only agreed to accompany him on the trip if she and their two-year-old son could fly in premium economy. However, she discovered six weeks before the flight that he had actually booked them the cheapest economy tickets available, with no options for seat reservations or upgrades.
She wrote: “Flying long-haul on Friday – a 14-hour flight. DH (Dear Husband) is going for a week’s work and wanted me & DS (Dear Son, 2) to go and tag along on a holiday. I only agreed to go if DS & I flew premium economy as it’s a long way, and I’ll be on my own with a toddler while DH is in business class (work paid for his ticket). DH said fine, no problem, had lots of points to use. Booked the flights. Told me he had booked premium. Six weeks later I discover he’d lied and basically booked the cheapest economy tickets available (no seat reservation option/upgrade option).”
Upon realizing the situation, she tried to change their seats, but premium economy was fully booked on one leg of the journey and prohibitively expensive on the other. She expressed her anger towards her husband, calling him selfish and thoughtless.
“I tried ringing the airline but premium economy was fully booked one way and the other way there was space but at a cost of £2k so I said no. I didn’t think much of it, just that at check-in I would be able to choose seats – at no point has there been an option to select seats/pay to select seats except at the time of booking.”
She added: “Anyway, I’ve tried to check in three days before and I can only check in at the airport. DS and I have been allocated seats in the middle and aisle. We are next to each other which is great but not ideal. I would have wanted window/middle or two seats from the middle bank of the plane (got an inflatable footrest with the hope DS can sleep as it’s a night flight but now can’t use as we are stuck with middle and aisle seats).”
Her post quickly garnered support and outrage from other users. Many expressed horror at her husband’s actions and questioned the state of their marriage. One user responded: “He sounds horrendous.” Another said: “No way I’d be going. You’re assuming too much OP and you’re going to be seething with him. Tell him you’re staying at home and hope he has a nice trip. Seriously, if you go you’ll be far too cross to enjoy yourself and it’ll tell him he can get away with this.”
Others suggested more drastic measures, such as swapping seats halfway through the flight or not going on the trip at all. One commenter said: “Err why are we just glossing over his massive lie? I wouldn’t be going.”
The mother’s dilemma has sparked a heated discussion about honesty, respect, and shared responsibilities within a marriage. As more people weighed in, the consensus seemed clear: such behavior was unacceptable, and the woman’s frustration was entirely justified.