I am a frequent flyer, but at this time in my career, I wasn’t getting frequent upgrades to business class. I prefer the aisle seats, and was settling in for a long flight across the country, when a very annoyed woman informed me that I was sitting in her aisle seat.

I was embarrassed after taking a look at my boarding pass and seeing that I actually had been assigned a middle seat. Middle seats are the worst seats on the plane. You play elbow jockey with not one but two people in your row, and you still have to ask permission from the person in the aisle to use the rest room. It’s a crummy way to take a long flight.

I apologized and took my proper seat. As she sat down, she said something to me like “I bet you wish you were in the aisle seat.” I replied sheepishly that I probably did. She went on to say that she was a frequent flyer and only sits in aisle seats. I mumbled something in semi-polite response, but it was clear she was gloating.

All of a sudden, in what seemed like perfect timing that only happens in a movie, a gate agent magically appeared in our row looking for me. She asked me if I would be interested in an upgrade to business class. With a look of unbridled joy on my face, I responded “Why yes thank you, I would love an upgrade to business class.”

I gathered my gear, pulled my carry on luggage from the bin, and headed up to the front of the plane…but made sure to look back and wink at the woman in the aisle seat.

Update: Wow! 2.8K upvotes. Thanks to all, and this really did happen. The look on her face was priceless…