Flightster

Middle Seat Matters

• by Bobby Laurie
• on October 15th, 2010
• 9 Comments

I’ve been doing a lot of traveling on my time off recently. Usually, I’m not one to travel on my time off, I see enough of an airplane during the week that I don’t want to spend my time off on one. However, I’ve been offered some great opportunities in the last few weeks that I couldn’t pass up so traveling was a must.

I have to say: it’s been a while since I’ve traveled as a “regular passenger.” We [flight attendants] sometimes forget what it’s like for passengers, and trust me, I was reminded about the biggest downfall of travel (in my opinion) last week.

The middle seat. It’s horrible. I’m sorry you have to sit there. If I had my way every airline would be two by two seating. We’d be able to eliminate the awkwardness of sitting between two people for five hours and not knowing where to look or fearing falling asleep on someone’s shoulder.

It’s one thing if you know the people on either side of you, because then, who cares. You’re traveling together and sitting together. It works. But if you’re stuck between two people you don’t know it can be a stress filled and annoying situation.

The worst part? The armrest. Airlines don’t put six armrests per row, one for each passengers arms, but instead they only put four. This makes the armrest on either side of the middle seat prime real estate.

Watching an armrest war can be amusing. Quick! The guy on the aisle stood up, put you’re arm there! Yes! One down, one more to go. Oh.. Oh… yep! The guy at the window is showing signs of needing to stand up. Maybe if you pour your drink slowly it’ll make him have to go to the bathroom.. Wait for it.. Wait for it.. “excuse me, can I get out?” YES! Two arm rests!

I believe that proper etiquette would be to allow, from the start, the person the in middle seat, both armrests on their side of them. Hear me out. As it is, they are the most constricted. At the window you have the curvature of the plane to lean into and on the aisle, you have.. well, the aisle (pending no flight attendants are working in it near you). The person the middle seat doesn’t have either. If the arm rests on either side of them are taken, where do their arms go? In their lap probably. At least in the window or aisle you have one armrest to lean on.

I also noticed that the passengers in the middle seat have wandering eyes. They’re looking at your computer screen, the magazine you’re reading, your lunch.. everything! I’m not surprised. Where else can they look? The only thing straight ahead of them is the seat in front of them. How boring is that? Even if you’re in the middle watching TV (which means you’re lucky enough to be flying on an airline that offers it) or working on your laptop, when you look away to focus or think..theres no where to look. At least at the window you can look outside, and from the aisle you can look around the plane.

Sleeping in the middle seat is another obstacle. Waking up with a crick in your neck is almost unavoidable unless the airline you’re flying on has wings on their headrests. I’ve come to find out that the simple feature of bendable wings will save the person in the middle seat from an awkward awakening on someone else’s shoulder. If you don’t have wings.. You can lean forward and sleep on your tray table (but remember my post on airplane cleanliness before doing do), or bend your neck in ways that aren’t human and sleep on your shoulder. I’ve slept many times in a middle seat and each time I’m amazed when I wake up that a) I was able to fall asleep and b) I wasn’t on someone. But, hey, it’s a great way to meet someone, right? (just kidding!)

All said and done, if you’re the passenger seated in the aisle or window keep in mind what it’s like to fly in a middle seat. It’s not fun and very uncomfortable. Be respectful to your fellow traveler and try to make their experience enjoyable as well. The universe may just reward you two-fold.

Bobby Laurie

Bobby Laurie, author of the book Planely Speaking and television travel correspondent, currently works as a Flight Attendant at a low-cost airline and as a freelance journalist. After graduating from the Pennsylvania College of Technology with a degree in Mass Media Communication, Bobby combined his passion for both journalism and travel by writing about the travel industry through his insider knowledge and personal experiences. You can read Bobby's blog about being a flight attendant and the airline industry by visiting UpUpAndAGay.com.