mobanmarketACROSS AMERICA — Holiday travel is picking up. Help us settle a debate: Who has rights to the parking space for your elbows? We’re asking for Flightmares, Patch’s exclusive flight etiquette column, which appears monthly.
In rows with two seats, the shared armrest is available to both passengers. Do you claim it or negotiate it? Are people assigned to undesirable middle seats entitled to both? They’re the most cramped, after all. Aisle-seat passengers get a little more leg room and window-seat passengers can lean against the side of the plane. Is this, too, subject to negotiation?
Flight attendants tell you what to do in the case of an emergency, but not what to do with your arms. During the pandemic, several airlines left middle seats empty to allow for social distancing, making the point moot. Now, with airlines cutting flights and crowding fewer planes with more passengers, the debate has come up again.
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Help us settle this: Who gets the middle armrests? Fill out the form below, and then come back to Patch to see if you agree. And don’t fret — we don’t collect email addresses.
About Flightmares
Flightmares is an exclusive Patch feature on flight etiquette — and readers provide the answers. It will appear monthly on Patch. If you have a topic you’d like for us to consider, email beth.dalbey@patch.com with “Flightmares” as the subject line.
Find out what's happening in Across Americawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
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