When it comes to air travel, everyone has their own seating preferences.

Many passengers favour the window seat, while others opt for the aisle, leaving the middle seat as the least preferred option, particularly when sandwiched between strangers. Airlines typically offer four main cabin classes on planes, with economy being the most affordable and least luxurious, while business and first class are pricier but provide a more comfortable flight experience with added perks.

A traveller who had booked a business class ticket found themselves in an uncomfortable situation when a mother and son from economy concocted a lie to try and swap seats.The passenger took to Reddit to share that they had chosen business class specifically because it guaranteed an empty middle seat.

They noted that the other passenger in the aisle seat was a man in his 40s or 50s, whose wife and son approached them asking if they could swap their economy seats to sit next to him. The Reddit user added: "His wife and son came in, asking me to switch (business for economy) so they could all sit there, then telling me that if I didn't switch with the wife, the son would sit in the middle at least, reasoning that I didn't need an empty seat next to me and claiming the stewardess allowed it.

"Turned out, she said it was possible if the other passenger agreed to which they replied that I was a family, so I would 100% agree."After hearing this obvious lie, the passenger refused to give up their seat, resulting in the son and wife remaining in economy class while the father "spent almost 4 hours muttering passive-aggressive comments."

The Reddit user praised the cabin crew for their professionalism, mentioning that a second stewardess had to intervene when the mother and son "refused to go back to their seats."

The Reddit post has garnered more than 6,400 likes and more than 100 comments. One user pointed out: "Lol he didn't give up his seat for his family, just wanted you to."

Another responded: "It's wild how some people feel entitled to what others paid extra for. Lying about being your family? That's next-level manipulative

"You had every right to your seat and your space. Props to you for standing your ground, and huge respect to the flight attendants for backing you up."

A third commented: "Omg lying abt (about) being ur (your) fam (family) is wild. If they'll fake that, imagine what else they pull daily."

A fourth remarked: "Imagine lying to the crew about being my family to steal my business class seat... then getting mad when I don't agree to the scam. I paid for that space, not to babysit someone else's travel drama."

Another user suggested an alternative solution: "The] wife could have asked the person in her row if they could switch to business so her husband could sit with her and son in economy. Problem solved."