A flight attendant's comments about armrests has sparked a debate about who gets to use which armrests on a flight, and what some perceived as "common knowledge" is apparently not that common. A passenger explained that on a recent flight, the flight attendant told passengers that "every person is supposed to use the armrest on their right (and the left for the other side) and keep the armrest on the aisle clear for carts and people walking down the plane."
On Reddit, the airline passenger also said the flight attendant told all passengers that "no armrest drama would be tolerated."
The Redditor felt bad for all the passengers sitting in middle seats, since the flight attendant made it clear that no one should have two armrests. However, the passenger noted that they personally told the passenger in the middle seat next to them that they could use both of the armrests.
Many Redditors weighed in, with some saying that they thought it was "standard" for those in the aisle seats to use the aisle armrests, which would then allow those in the middle seat to get two armrests.
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Others pointed out that the aisle armrest is not a real armrest — because it's supposed to go up after takeoff.
"Why do we need rules like this? If I’m on the aisle and get bumped it’s my bad," one Redditor wrote.
But another person pointed out that some passengers in the aisle seats blame flight attendants when they get bumped into.
Still, many agreed that because the middle seat is clearly the worst, the passengers sitting there should automatically be entitled to two armrests to sort of make up for the bad seating arrangement.
"I always assumed the middle seat got both armrests because let’s be honest, the middle seat SUCKS," one Redditor wrote.
Another person agreed. To them, the question of who gets which armrest is pretty straightforward: "Window gets an armrest and a wall. Middle gets two armrests. Aisle gets an armrest and a little bit of extra leg. We’re not animals! We live in a society!"
Another Redditor pointed out that they "hate rubbing arms and legs with someone the entire flight," so if they're in the aisle seat, they let the person in the middle seat have two armrests and sometimes, "lift the armrest in the aisle and sit as far over as I can."
Some people said that if they're in the aisle seat, they'll share one of the armrests with the person in the middle seat, meaning that one person can use the front of the armrest and the other passenger can use the other half of it.
But to other Redditors, this approach is too complicated and uncomfortable. Another option is to select the window seat, hide in that corner and stay there.
"That’s why I always go window and take a nap with noise canceling headphones. Also I don’t have to get up every 10 minutes because someone has to go to the bathroom again," one Redditor wrote, adding that this approach leads to "less drama."
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