AITAH for accepting a free business class upgrade when my wife and kids were sitting in premium economy?
Last week, my wife, our two kids and I flew back from Asia to Europe. It was an 11-hour flight. Both kids are young teenagers who don't need any special attention or care; they're old enough to look after themselves during the flight.
We didn't all travel to Asia together, so I was on a separate booking from my wife and kids. We were all originally booked in premium economy because of the extra legroom. I'm 186 cm (6'1"), so I gladly pay for the extra legroom on long-haul flights.
As an aviation enthusiast, I've also always dreamed of flying business class, but on long intercontinental flights, it's simply ridiculously expensive and something I would never normally pay for myself.
In fact, when checking in for the flight, I was asked if I might be interested in upgrading to business class. The upgrade wasn't free, however. It was more than €1,000 per person, so I obviously declined.
When we were boarding, the gate agent took my boarding pass, crossed out my seat number, and wrote down a different one. She then said, "Upgrade to business."
In hindsight, I suspect the flight was overbooked in premium economy and they needed to move one passenger to business. Since I appeared to be travelling alone as I was on a separate booking from my wife and kids, I suspect I looked like the ideal candidate. And after they had already tried to sell me the upgrade at check-in, I guess they had little choice but to upgrade me for free once they needed to move someone.
Obviously, I accepted the upgrade.
My wife actually seemed excited when she saw me being upgraded. She seemed genuinely happy that I got the opportunity to experience business class. After accepting the upgrade, I immediately asked her if she wanted my upgraded business class seat instead. She said she was fine with her seat and didn't have a problem with me taking the upgrade. If she wanted it, I would have gladly let her change seats with me.
During the flight, I went back several times to check that she and the kids were okay. I also brought them snacks and drinks from the business class cabin, and I offered again during the flight to switch seats with her if she wanted.
As far as I could tell, everything was completely fine. There was no argument, no indication that she was upset, and she never said that she wanted me to sit with her and the kids.
However, now she's angry that I didn't refuse the upgrade in the first place so that I could sit with her and the kids for the entire flight.
I honestly didn't see the problem at the time, and to be honest, I still don't see it right now. I accepted the upgrade, immediately offered it to her, and she declined. I also checked on them throughout the flight and offered to switch seats multiple times.
So, Reddit, AITA for accepting the business class upgrade instead of refusing it so I could sit with my wife and kids for the entire flight?