Orlando to Vegas last night, on Spirit, with a 6 month old baby.

We get to our row, I get the middle seat, wife gets to aisle. In the window seat is legitimately a homeless man. Looks like it, smells like it, acts like it. Five hour flight. Cool.

He’s leaning against the window, half on his seat, half on my seat. I say “excuse me” and he slides back onto his seat and looks at me like I just took the One Ring from him. He turns and faces the window and doesn’t look at me again.

While everyone is boarding, he makes three separate phone calls, but they’re all identical: he says “hi, I have a hotel reservation. I was supposed to check in tomorrow, but I missed my flight. I paid for the week, can I still check in today? ….. Ok, I just want to make sure I’m good.” Three times, like five minutes apart.

Right as we’re about to takeoff, the flight attendant comes over and asks me to tap this guy on the shoulder. I do, mentally preparing for this guy to snap and murder me. Here’s the miracle.

The flight attendant says, “Sir, there is an empty seat on the exit row next to a member of your party.” I rejoice, we are saved. But I forgot we were on Spirit. The flight attendant says “but it will be a $50 upgrade. Would you like to do that?”

I immediately start deciding if I should pay this guy’s $50 upgrade fee so I don’t have to sit next to/smell him for the next five hours. But he says yes! She tells him they’ll make the switch when we get in the air because we’re about to takeoff. He calls his friend and tells him to send him $50 on cashapp. Ten minutes later, the flight attendant comes, charges his card, and he moves.

So, not only did we get the empty seat next to us so we could spread out and my wife could sleep, this random homeless looking dude made it possible by paying $50 bucks. Best money I’ve ever not spent.

TL;DR - homeless looking dude sitting next to me on the flight was offered a chance to upgrade to an exit row for $50 and he did it, so we got extra room.

I can’t wait to hear your reverses.