Some people get really nervous flying. For those of you who take multiple flights every year, this can be quite a strange concept, since flying is statistically the safest mode of travel. Sure, aircraft accidents can seem dramatic when they turn up on the news – and let’s be real, they can be very deadly – but they are newsworthy for one key reason: they are rare.

But there’s no denying that flying for humans is an unnatural concept: we aren’t designed to fly, and it’s a truly incredible feat of engineering that we are able to do so easily and, in many cases, fairly cheaply. Airplanes have revolutionised travel. But they have also instilled, in some, a really paralysing fear. This phobia can be so bad that people how want to travel by air can get therapy for it, and a British airline even has a special programme that supports those who are scared of flying to take their first flights – because doing so opens up so many opportunities, and so much freedom to those who can conquer it.

Of course, many nervous flyers aren’t totally paralysed by stepping on board a plane, but they still have certain requirements and rituals that help them feel safe. They may only fly with certain airlines, for example, or they may prefer to sit in certain seats. This is absolutely okay, and something that they should be supported with if it makes them comfortable. So when the guy in this story was travelling with a friend who preferred to sit at the back of the plane, he and his family booked the seats she requested. But when an upgrade was offered, he used it as an opportunity to teach her a lesson – and get his revenge for her earlier wrongdoings.

Read on to find out what happened.

I made my friend fly economy

A few summers ago, pre-Covid, I (28, male) was travelling with my friend (26, female) by plane. My mother, sister and I were living in Türkiye back then, and my friend was visiting from Russia.

We were booking a ticket so we all could go back to Russia together – my friend would go back home, and my family and I would visit my grandparents for a few weeks.

When we were choosing the seats, we wanted to get middle aisle front four seats (it was a 747 in 3-4-3 configuration for economy), that would allow us all to sit together and give us some extra leg room.

But my friend said, that front of the plane is not safe in the event of a crash, so we should book a seat all the way in the back, next to the toilets.

Let’s see which seats they ended up booking.

After going back and forth, my mother said “let’s get what [my friend] wants for our trip there, and the front one for our trip back,” to which I agreed as it seemed fair.

It was a 3.5 hour flight so sitting in a less-comfortable seat wouldn’t be a problem.

Fast forward to the day of the travel, and we come to the airport extremely early (about four hours before our flight), because my mother is an over-thinker and she didn’t want to miss the flight in case something went wrong at the check in or passport control.

We get to the check in, and the nice lady at the counter says “we have four free seats in the upper deck business class, would you like a free upgrade?” to which we obviously agreed.

But then he remembered his friend’s anxieties.

Then I looked at my friend, who also seemed to be very happy that we were getting upgraded, and I remembered all the times she made me feel like **** growing up – so I said, “oh, sorry. My friend is afraid of flying in the front section of the plane, so we’ll take the upgrade and she would like to keep her seat.”

The check in lady looked a little surprised, but after a short pause she said, “sure, just a second”, gave us our boarding passes and showed us where the VIP lounge is.

My friend was allowed to go to the VIP lounge with us because we were together, and when it was time to board we were called first and she boarded right after us because they were boarding starting from the back rows (convenient).

She got very mad at me and didn’t talk to me for a few days, but we’re on good terms now. We ended up having a talk about all the trauma that she’d caused me throughout my childhood/teen years, apologised and now we talk every day.

Wow – it’s very odd that the friend didn’t just speak up at the check-in desk, but she had insisted on specific seats earlier so perhaps that is understandable.

But the fact she was mad is understandable too – after all, the least he could have done was to turn to her and ask the question.

This was revenge, however, and he certainly did make a point about all the trauma she’d caused him – and it’s great that they’re on good terms now. All’s well that ends well for them, it seems.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a student who was accused to using too many sources, so he decided the next time to use none at all.

Let’s see what folks on Reddit made of this.

This person wondered why they’d even stayed friends after the turbulent childhood.

While others were curious about whether they were really friends at all.

This was absolutely not the way to treat a friend, even a demanding one, and it’s clear that he felt like he was giving her her just desserts in line with the resentment that he was clearly holding over her. Sure, it’s great that they ended up talking it all through, that she apologised for her wrongdoing and he hopefully apologised for his too. Because let’s be clear, if you’re forgiving enough of someone for earlier drama that you remain friends – to the extent that they visit you overseas – you need to not punish them for things that happened years ago. That really isn’t fair.

She must have really felt bad for the trauma she’d caused him in the past to forgive him for this, after all, she was clearly a nervous flyer and was being made to fly in economy all alone. It would have been one thing to reject the upgrade for the whole family (even though they definitely didn’t deserve to be punished and miss out) but to reject the upgrade just for her was definitely a spiteful move.

In the end, it seems like they’ve put all this behind them and moved forward with their friendship. Perhaps this was what they needed to really fix things between themselves. But still, many people would find this unforgivable.