Securing a ride to the airport can be a stressful part of travel.
Rideshares and cabs can be expensive.
Also, depending on the distance, not all friends and loved ones are easy to ask this favor of.
Sometimes a person has to beg for a lift.
That’s why it’s usually best to plan the ride in advance.
Redditor ScheduleMurky1300 wanted to discuss their experience and get some feedback, so naturally, they came to the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subreddit.
They asked:
“AITA for refusing to drive my wealthy friend on a 3.5-hour round trip to the airport at 3 am?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“A long-time friend of mine woke me up at 3 am with a phone call asking me to get up and drive them to an airport that is an hour and forty-five minutes from my house so they could make a 6 am flight.”
“I said no, went back to sleep, and woke up later that morning to a text from another friend saying my friend was very angry at me for refusing.”
“Some context to this scenario is that my friend had bought me a generous gift about a week before for my birthday when I visited them in their home state, worth roughly 600 dollars, which I appreciated greatly, and they felt slighted that I still refused their request.”
“My issue with this is that my friend is a wealthy person who could easily afford an Uber to the airport, but expected me to wake up in the middle of my sleep, get dressed, and make the 3.5-hour round trip instead.”
“Granted, I had nothing to do the next day; however, I don’t think it is reasonable to expect me to wake up in the middle of the night to make such a long drive on absolutely zero notice and then hold a grudge against me for not doing so.”
“The only reason I answered the phone call was that I thought there might be an emergency (in which case I definitely would have gotten up and helped), but I would not consider this an emergency at all.”
“They had plenty of time to order an Uber and make it to the airport, and they also had no good reason besides wanting to go home sooner to buy such an early flight.”
“If they had asked me the day before to stay up and bring them, I would have done it, but given the circumstances, I don’t think it’s fair to expect me to wake up and make such a long trip.”
“Some people I know agree with me, some don’t.”
“What do you all think?”
The OP was left to wonder:
“So… AITA?”
Redditors shared their thoughts on this matter and weighed in on some options to the question:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Redditors declared that OP was NOT the A**hole.
“NTA. This is the kind of thing you arrange in advance, not at the last minute, in the middle of the night.” ~ Ravneclaw_Jess
“Gifts worth $600 doesn’t mean you’re their personal driver. NTA.” ~ Sassy-Me86
“We live 15 minutes–at most–from a small regional airport.”
“Every time my husband travels, he ASKS me well in advance if I can take him to the airport; he doesn’t just assume.”
“He says things like, ‘I’ll have to be there at 5:30 a.m. I can take an Uber if you don’t want to get up that early.'”
“‘Of course, I always take him to the airport (and give him the ‘look’ while saying ‘The dog already has me up because she wants her breakfast.’)”
“Notice he always asks.”
“Same with the return flight. ‘The plane arrives at 10:30 p.m. I can get an Uber.'”
“My reply is, ‘I’m up because I’m reading Reddit.'”
“The entitlement of some people.”
“That person is not a friend.”
“They were trying to buy your servitude.” ~ APiqued
“I lived about 10 minutes from the airport.”
“What would happen with me is that usually my niece would need to take a flight, so she would drive to my house, and I would take her to the airport and leave her car at my house.”
“Then I would pick her up and bring her back to my house to get her car.”
“That way, I wasn’t driving 2 hours getting her to the airport, and she didn’t have to pay to park for a week at the airport.”
“I did this for my nephew once as well.” ~ UnicornFarts1111
“NTA. Their failure to plan is not your responsibility.”
“They called you at 3 AM and just expected you to get up for their convenience?”
“Super entitled.” ~ DependentSouthern933
“NTA. Poor planning on their part does not necessitate an emergency on yours.”
“If they’re the sort of person who keeps score like that, they’re not your friend.”
“I’d send that gift they thought entitled them to you doing their bidding in the middle of the night like a servant right back to them.” ~ Emfuser
“What did I just read?”
“You have a ‘friend’ who thinks it’s ok to call you at 3 am with no notice and demand an airport run?”
“First off, I only do the drive to the airport that far away if someone is coming in for a funeral or emergency.”
“Everyone else can arrange their transportation, since there is a closer airport, although it has higher fares. NTA.”
“Even if this guy is poor, he needs to make arrangements ahead of time.”
“Plus, he could have driven his own car and left it in their garage at the airport.” ~ National_Pension_110
“NTA. If they needed a ride to the airport, your friend should have asked you before the day of the flight.”
“It is ridiculous to think that anyone would happily jump out of bed and drive 3.5 hours at 3 am with no warning.”
“Like, the audacity of the request is shocking to me.”
“WTAF is wrong with your friend?”
“Are they just a disorganized mess of a human with no planning skills?”
“Because no. Hard no. NTA.” ~ Mysterious_Peas
“NTA. If your friend can afford a $600 gift, then they can afford an Uber at 3 am.”
“The Uber driver is standing by for the work and will be paid for it.” ~ blondeheartedgoddess
“NTA, I don’t think I can add anything to what’s already been said.”
“Just wanted to make sure you are fully aware you’re not the AH in this absurd situation.” ~ Dangerous_Cow_7372
“NTA. I agree with you about emergencies, which this was not.”
“I’m assuming this trip was planned.”
“Why didn’t she ask you earlier?”
“There’s Uber or an airport shuttle.”
“Does she not drive?”
“Economy parking isn’t that expensive.”
“Her gift is irrelevant because it was a gift.”
“She should have told you about the strings attached.” ~ Edcrfvh
“NTA. Is this for real?”
“I can’t imagine asking someone to drive me to the airport at that time, even with advance notice – except obviously a partner, child, or parent, but generally they wouldn’t ask.”
“Unless a person is broke and only takes an airplane because there is a sudden death or illness, they can afford to hire a car service and should do so.” ~ Jujulabee
“NTA. They probably wouldn’t even have made the flight anyway unless you jumped out of bed immediately, and they lived like five minutes from you.” ~ Electrical_Emu8386
“NTA. That’s a huge ask and something that’s arranged well in advance, so both parties can go to bed at an appropriate time.”
“It’s not your fault that your friend got a bug up their a** and decided to buy tickets at midnight for a flight leaving at six in the morning.”
“It’s not up to you to solve a problem that they created.”
“The fact that they gave you an expensive gift is completely irrelevant.”
“Your job status is also irrelevant.”
“I don’t have a job, and I would have said no as well.”
“Your friend is rude.” ~ jenorama_CA
“NTA. They had an option – an Uber, on airport parking, or off-site parking, and it sounds like they can afford any of these.” ~ Suz9006
“Why is nobody talking about how unsafe it is to wake someone up and expect them to drive 3.5 hours?”
“Fatigue is the biggest cause of car accidents.”
“You shouldn’t even be driving if you’re not well rested, which I highly doubt you would be if you’re suddenly woken up at 3:00. NTA.” ~ burf12345
“Absolutely NTA.”
“This was an entitled demand from someone who doesn’t qualify for the description of ‘friend.'”
“No one reasonable would wake you up for such a thing, and they can clearly afford to pay for transport.” ~ IllustriousBowler259
“NTA. They’re very entitled.”
“In the future, put your phone on AND, so your sleep isn’t interrupted for selfish nonsense like this.” ~ ApprehensiveBook4214
“NTA, poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.”
“Also, people with whom I’ve had transactional friendships like this are no longer my friends.”
“I would never expect my friend to do something for me at the drop of a hat because I gave them a gift, and my (wonderful, healthy friendship) friends feel the same way.” ~ Eccentric-Taco
“Not sure, my close buddies would do something like this just to be an a**.”
“Then the drive would be a friendly argument, and we would probably call our other friends at pre 6 am just to cause sh*t.”
“Afterwards, I would have exemptions from paying for golf, drinks, or lunch.”
“Now, if this is not a lifelong friend that you have literally grown up together for 40+ years.”
“Then NTA.” ~ Firm_Drink734
“NTA. An expensive gift doesn’t mean they’re entitled to your time.”
“If your driving them was arranged beforehand, it would be ok.”
“But your friend had other options (like an Uber) and still expected you to say yes at the last minute when there was no emergency.”
“They are just looking to you for convenience.” ~ Bunni572
“NTA. If they need to make a 6 am flight when they live so far from the airport and don’t want to use a taxi/Uber/car service, then they should book a hotel room near or at the airport.”
“Easiest solution for everyone.” ~ Leap70
Reddit is loud and clear with you, OP.
This is an outrageous request on your friend’s part.
Who calls someone last-minute for a ride to the airport, in the middle of the night?
This is poor planning on your friend’s part.
Sleep well.