A TikTok creator is weighing in on the debate over plane etiquette in the most hilarious way.
Traveler @not.cristinayang, who’s Asian-American, shared how she saved a stranger from an unfair seat swap during a four- to five-hour flight from Hawaii to Seattle. Read her story below.
She began her story by saying that she had a window seat in premium economy.
She noted that back then, premium economy had unlimited drinks and snacks.
Next to her in the middle seat was another Asian woman (Japanese, she assumed). And next to the woman, in the aisle seat, was another person.
Now, the aisle-seat person was traveling with a friend. However, the friend was sitting several rows back in 26, and she wanted to switch seats with the Japanese woman.
The back-row woman basically asked the Japanese lady to downgrade her seat.
The Japanese lady (who was “really soft-spoken,” the TikToker noted) said, “Okay.”
And now, the part where she saved the other Asian lady. As the latter rose to give up her seat, the TikToker said a loud, emphatic ‘No!’
However, the woman from the back row argued, saying that her window seat at the back was so much better than the Japanese lady’s middle seat.
But she argued right back, saying, “Except for the fact that we are traveling together. Hello? We’re both Asian, of course, we know each other. And 26 is not premium economy...it’s like you can smell the toilet back there. No!”
The Japanese lady was already half standing up and looking uncertain, so she said to her, “Sit down, Connie!” (She just called her that, not knowing what her real name was.)
And “Connie” sat down.
The woman from 26 got a little mad and said she didn’t believe they were traveling together.
So the TikToker turned to “Connie” and spoke to her in Cantonese, which is “totally the wrong language for her,” she said. And “Connie” hilariously responded in Japanese.
The woman from 26 was still standing there. So the TikToker said to her, “Well we’re gonna continue to talk about you in our language. So why don’t you go back to row 26, where you belong, OK?”
Before she ended her video, the TikToker said, “Because if you wanted to sit next to your friend you should have booked a ticket next to her, not 20 rows behind.”
