Arm Rest Etiquette Question

May 14, 2010

in Flying Hell Commentary

What’s the proper etiquette in sharing an arm rest? I’m a tall person and will not hog an arm rest if I’m sitting next to anyone. However, I do not get that same respect. Someone will sit next to me and stretch their arms out on the arm rests. I’m not a passive person but I can’t just act like a jerk and not care who I make uncomfortable like most travelers do.

{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

Tony May 14, 2010 at 4:59 pm

Dunno about any hard and fast rules, but personally? In a 3-by-3 seating arrangement, I'd suggest letting the person in the middle seat have both armrests, because 1) their seat assignment sucks enough as it is and 2) the window and aisle seats have enough advantages to compensate.

No idea what to do in an arrangement when you have a bunch of seats in the middle (like on the 777) and thus multiple middle seats, though.

Reply

Love It! May 16, 2010 at 12:07 pm

I prefer to have the armrest be a boundary. I'm not someone who likes being touched so I put my arm on the inside of the armrest and hope/pray the other person won't use it as a levy to poke me In the ribs.

Reply

Sabrina May 18, 2010 at 6:07 am

I'd say that the arm rest on your left or whichever one has the controls on it is the one you use. The ONLY person who has 2 is the person on the aisle.

Reply

MM May 19, 2010 at 11:58 pm

I guess the reason people don't do the same thing as you is because they all have different ideas about what's proper.

I tend to agree though that the person in the middle gets first go at the arm rests, because they got a really raw deal sitting there.

I've had a big guy sit down next to me, in his aisle seat, and tell me 'you're gonna have to give me some space here'. The only thing possibly interpretable as an invasion of his privacy was my arm on the arm rest. Of course I didn't move.

Reply

Craiger June 3, 2010 at 6:30 am

I always follow the rule that the person in the middle seat should have access to both armrests since this is usually considered the most undersireable seat. The window seat allows someone the feeling of more room because of the window plus they can lean their head against the bulkhead and the aisle seat allows someone the freedom to get up at anytime plus they have the ability to stretch out their legs.

Reply

ps June 3, 2010 at 2:58 pm

The person with the window seat should cut you some slack. The aisle person has to deal with aisle traffic, including the waddlers.

Reply

Leave a Comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *




Previous post:

Next post: