Indian man escorted off flight after demanding seat change from US-based techie

A United States-based software developer has sparked a discussion on in-flight etiquette after refusing to switch seats with an Indian man on a plane. Indian-American techie Saran Shanmugam said he was on a flight when an Indian man approached him and asked him to switch from his aisle seat to the middle seat.An Indian-American techie refused to switch seats on a flight. (Representational image)“Was traveling a Middle Eastern airline. I had chosen the aisle seat as I typically do in advance,” Shanmugam, the Director Of Information Technology at Biophysical Society, said in an X post.(Also read: ‘Why do so many Indians behave so badly when travelling abroad?’: Traveller slams behavior of fellow tours in Vietnam)Indian man escorted off flightShanmugam said that an Indian man approached him and asked him to switch seats so he could sit with his brother. Shanmugam realised that if he switched, he would have to sit in the middle row. He refused to change his seat.On X, the Indian-American techie wrote: “An Indian man asked me to switch seats with his brother who was sitting in the middle seat behind me. I just said no.”The Indian man, however, refused to take no for an answer. He approached a flight attendant and started demanding the seat change. Unfortunately for him, this approach did not work either.According to Shanmugam, the flight attendant walked the man off the plane. He was allowed to return a few minutes later and did not bring up the seat change again.“He approached a male steward and started demanding. The steward walked him off the plane while his entire family watched. Minutes later, he was allowed to come in. Never heard a peep or a glance from him again in my direction. I assumed the airline staff ensured a lifelong undertaking from him,” Shanmugam said.(Also read: Etihad passenger alleges sexual assault drunk flyer on USA-India flight: ‘Was requested not to make matter public’)In the comments section, many weighed in on the incident and the importance of pre-booking seats.“I also always do pre book my seat as I prefer aisle. Once I switched with a mother who wanted to sit with her young kids. I sincerely feel, people need to learn to pre book their seats to avoid any hassle,” wrote X user Hitesh Dahate.“I switch seats only when it’s a really small child or a really old person. The rest can suck it up for a few hours,” another said.