Passenger Says She Was Told to ‘Respect My Elders’ by Fellow Traveler Who Demanded She Check Her Carry-On

Is a traveler in the wrong for not checking in any of their carry-ons while flying by air?

That question was put up for debate on Reddit by a 26-year-old woman who says she dealt with a “Karen” when she did not check in one of her three bags while traveling “with a well-known airline in the US.”

According to the woman, who expressed her dismay on Saturday, Jan. 25 in a post on the “AmITheJerk” subreddit, the issue began after the airline announced they would check bags for free.

The woman said she was traveling with her purse, a bag with all her “electronics for the flight” and her suitcase “that was meant to be a carry-on full of clothes as I did not want to wait at the carousel to pick anything up.”

Most U.S. airlines typically allow passengers to take a carry-on bag and one personal item on a plane.

While she did not specify the size of her items, the Reddit user said that her suitcase was the only one that had to go in the overhead bin and “everything else could fit under my seat.”

Before she could get onboard, however, she claimed that a person she identified as a “Karen” approached her and “demanded” she checked in her bags as it was free.

“I told her politely that I would not be checking my bag. That is when she into a demanding tone saying that I must check my bag and that I should respect my elders,” the woman wrote.

“That is when I told her that if she cares so much she should check her bag and mind her own business,” she continued.

After asking if she’s the “jerk” for refusing to check in any of her bags, the comment section became filled with mixed opinions.

Those who agreed with the woman said that the “Karen” did not have a reason to confront her. “NTJ She needs to worry about herself and her bag. If yours is a problem, the gate agent or a flight attendant will let you know,” one person wrote.

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“I’d have said, do you work for the airline? When she says no then I’d have told her to zip it,” shared another.

Many other commenters expressed that both of the travelers were in the wrong — each for different reasons.

“NTJ for what you said the Karen but you are TJ for carrying 3 items onboard when the limit is 2,” one comment read, while another wrote, “Everyone is the jerk. You have too many bags and she should mind her own business.”