Flights can be stressful even under the best circumstances, and small disputes often escalate quickly when passengers are tired, cramped, and eager to get to their destination. Delays, seat mix-ups, and misunderstandings with airline staff are just a few of the many things that can go wrong in the air. For Osaac Summer, an American Airlines passenger, one such mix-up turned into a viral moment.
The incident began when Summer, who is 6-foot-2, boarded his flight and discovered a child sitting in the $300 aisle seat he had purchased. A video later posted online showed him placing his backpack in the overhead compartment while firmly demanding the return of his seat.
In a TikTok video shared on July 6, 2025, Summer addressed the family directly, telling them: “Stay in your lane and in your seat.”
He made it clear that the matter was not personal but about fairness.
“I don’t care about your daughter, your child and none of that,” he said. “I paid for this one.”
The exchange quickly spread across social media, fueling debate about airplane etiquette and whether passengers should be expected to give up seats for families traveling together. Summer’s response highlighted a common frustration among travelers: when they pay extra for a specific seat, often for comfort or health reasons, it can feel unfair to be displaced.
The situation also underscores how quickly tensions can rise on a crowded flight. What begins as a simple misunderstanding can easily spiral into a confrontation, especially when passengers feel their needs are being dismissed.
In a video Summer uploaded to TikTok but later deleted, he explained that he intentionally reserved an aisle seat to travel more comfortably on the American Airlines flight and had no intention of creating conflict during the flight.
“If you know me, then you know that that wasn’t me going off,” he said, adding, “That wasn’t me crashing out at anything like that.”
He stressed that he was not “the bad guy” in the incident and accused a family of taking his assigned seat without asking. According to Summer, the family attempted to relocate him to either a middle or a window seat, which he declined.
He recounted:
“I get on the plane (and) I’m telling the lady, I’m like, ‘ma’am, I really don’t want to take the seat from you and your child, but next time it would be the best thing to ask before taking a seat.’”
Summer noted he would have willingly given up his spot if the family had approached him beforehand, but instead, he was left struggling to find another aisle seat. He said the flight attendant would not allow him to switch to another open aisle seat, insisting he return to the one originally assigned to him.
“The flight attendant told me, ‘Well yeah you is being a problem,’” he recounted, continuing, “You know, ‘You is being a bad guy.’ So I turned around and said, ‘Ma’am look, since you said all (of) that, just come get my seat because that was unnecessary and just like, rude. That was rude.’”
He added that the situation could have been avoided if the crew had not allowed the family to occupy his seat. Eventually, another traveler gave up their spot so the child could sit, and Summer returned to his aisle seat.
“Moral of the story: just give people their seats back, and flight attendants, just do ya job because if that was somebody in first class, y’all wouldn’t have even let them sit down,” he concluded.