I sympathize with the Chareidim because I would feel similarly to sitting with a Muslim. But if they want to ensure that they will sit only next to another man and/or have a pleasant flight, they need to a) buy the whole row of seats (my personal preference in this case) b)book their actual seats WITH the other man/men if that is still possible to do that anymore or c) do nothing and understand it is beyond their control. I understand they asked politely to switch seats, so I am not sure what the brouhaha that ensued was about.
I have not been on a plane in a VERY long time (and I mean decades), but I have sat next to annoying ill-behaved children, people who snored, and women who talked non-stop as I tried to read or sleep. Sometimes we just have to suck it up and recognize we cannot always get what we want. Or, we have to make arrangements in advance that work for us in a more appropriate way.
I wonder if the media would have made the same issue had it been Muslims making the same request and delaying a plane.