'AITA for fighting a couple trying to cut the line at airport customer service?' 'They had a kid.'

"AITA for fighting a couple trying to cut the line at airport customer service?"

I (21F) just had my 6:45 AM flight cancelled. When we got the news our flight had been cancelled, I sprinted across the airport to customer service so I could have the best chance at being booked on the next soonest flight.

Transavia employees made a specific line for the customers on our flight, and I then waited in until 9:30 AM for a representative to even show up. Right as I’m next in line a couple and their son (I’m guessing around 5 years old) ask if they could go in front of me because they have a kid.

I got pretty frustrated, because I have been waiting for nearly 3 hours at this point. Flights were booking up by the minute because the airport is smaller and routes are limited, so in my mind letting them cut was not only annoying, but also risking my ability to get home on the same day.

Their kid was sleeping in his stroller, so it wasn’t like they needed to get the tickets handled so they could calm him down either. I’ve babysat and been a nanny to plenty of kids, so I can empathize with managing tough situations with them around.

I think if it was something like “We have to go change his diaper, do you mind if we go ahead so we can clean him faster?” I would have been more understanding. However, in this scenario the couple was simply using his existence as justification.

While I go back and forth on the idea of having kids of my own someday, I have always felt parents make the choice to have kids, and with that, they should willingly take on any challenges that come with it.

I know that lots of children behavior like crying on a plane is out of their control, but I guess in this situation it felt like they were purposefully inconveniencing others due to their lifestyle choice.

After spending maybe 10-15 seconds arguing over this matter, the mother then turns to the other traveller behind me and starts talking in French about my attitude (we were previously speaking in English), which made me even more upset because I am fluent in French and felt like she was just being rude at that point, so I told her in French that I understood everything she said.

Finally, she just walked ahead of me, and I didn’t feel like making a scene at that point. The flight the airline rebooked me on ended up being 5 days later (crazy), so I had to pay an additional around $200 to get a flight home today or pay for 4 nights of a hotel since the airline would only pay for 1.

At the end of the day, I know it’s just a couple of minutes wasted to let them in front of me, so maybe I am the ahole here. At the same time, I don’t feel like the couple was entirely justified for cutting a line of 50+ people. So, AITA?

Here's what people had to say about this one:

Emissary_007 said:

NTA. You were much nicer than I was, I would have went up to the customer service desk and told them she cut in line. Cutting in line is just rude and entitled. So what if you have a small child?

That child was asleep and she wasn’t alone. If the child was restless then send them off with the other parent. The only circumstance I would allow to cut in front of me is multiple, rowdy kids and one parent. You’re not the rude one, she was.

prevknamy said:

NTA. I confronted an elderly woman who cut right in front of me at the snack counter at the airport, so much lower stakes. She tried several techniques - confusion, then saying she’s old, then rationalizing, then just turned her back and stood in front of me.

I kept talking, ramping up to a full blown scene and she finally left. I’ve never regretted it. The only thing you did wrong is you let them succeed.

Ok_Homework_7621 said:

NTA. Saying this as a parent, they don't have to go change the kid, it's not a two-person task unless they're both completely incompetent, one goes, the other one waits. Even if one has a disability, the person with the disability can then wait while the other one takes care of the kid. Problem solved.

LTK622 said:

NTA. I’d be angry too. Many people are desperate after a flight gets cancelled, and nobody knows who is most deserving or most desperate. Traveling as two adults with one child doesn’t necessarily make that family more deserving or more desperate than you.

Viva_Veracity1906 said:

NTA, and I would have stepped in front and not let her gone ahead. Getting first dibs on a standby is a hill I’m willing to die on. No means no. Commit to matching audacity levels, different aholes need different responses.

catgirl-doglover said:

NTA, but can't believe you let her just walk ahead of you! She asked, you said "No" - end of story. There was no need for her to go before you. Personally, I would have said "Excuse me - but you are cutting in line" as I went ahead of her.

Of course, I have pulled someone out of a bathroom stall at a concert when I was next in line and the person snuck in the exit and zipped to the stall as it became available. Waiting sucks but if I have to wait, you have to wait as well.