Travel anxiety is a real struggle for many people.

Imagine being afraid to fly, but sitting in a window seat is one of your coping mechanisms. Would you be willing to sit in an aisle seat if that was all that was available, or would you fight for a window seat?

This woman was on a short flight when she received an unexpected upgrade to first class.

Due to past trauma, she needed to sit by the window to manage her nerves and nausea while flying.

But another upgraded passenger took her window seat, so things got uncomfortable fast.

Read the full story below to find what happened next.

AITA for asking for the window seat?

Earlier this week, I (40F) was on a flight from LA to San Francisco.

I boarded the flight and was comfortably settled into my window seat in premium economy.

Then, I got a notification that my seat had been upgraded to first class.

Seat 4F, another window seat.

This woman immediately went to the first class section of the plane.

I gathered my stuff and got up to move.

I was trying to work quickly because I assumed it was an overbooked flight and someone had been given my original seat.

As I made my way to the front, there was another guy who had been upgraded from coach.

The flight attendant (35F or so) told us to take any open seat.

The man took her seat, so she explained why she needed to have the window seat.

The guy (65M or so), who had been upgraded from an aisle seat, took the window seat.

I asked the flight attendant, in what I thought was a quiet voice, if I could have my assigned window seat. I explained that I’m a very nervous flyer and prone to nausea if I’m not next to a window.

She said no because they were “about to close the door.”

Apparently, she was scared of flying since she was young.

For context, I don’t mean to be high maintenance, but I witnessed a small plane crash as a kid and I’ve been scared of flying ever since.

I work with a therapist on how to deal with it, since I need to travel a couple times per month for my job.

My coping method is Xanax + a window seat.

When I’m scared, my stomach churns. I don’t love it, but it’s what happens.

The man got up and gave back her seat, but made some snarky comments.

The guy in the window seat overhears and gets up to give me the seat.

But instead of doing it with kindness, he rolls his eyes and loudly sneers. “I’ve never heard of anyone throwing up because they’re not in a window seat.”

At this point I’m super embarrassed, and don’t want to sit next to this guy. So I said, “Oh, this is clearly going to be a thing. Can I just have my original seat back?”

What happened still bothers her until now, and she’s wondering if she was in the wrong.

Luckily, the seat was still open, so I sat back down next to the window.

I truly didn’t care about not sitting in first class. It’s a short flight.

The interaction has been bothering me for days though. Was I the jerk? Am I an entitled person in the eyes of the other passengers?

Was it the guy? Or the flight attendant for not just asking us to sit in our assigned seats?

She chose a window seat in economy over an aisle seat in first class. She’s definitely not entitled!

Let’s find out what others have to say about this on Reddit.

You made the right call, says this person.

This user is siding with her.

Short and simple.

This person has the same problem and shares their petty idea.

Finally, this person blames the flight attendant.

Sometimes, peace of mind is worth more than any upgrade.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.