About my flight neighbour?

[ReasonablyIntelligent]

Just boarded an 8 hour, overnight flight.
I'm flying solo and on the aisle seat.

I get to my row and find a strange man in my seat, the seat next to him (middle seat) is empty.
He initially tries (quite aggressively) to deny that the aisle seat is mine, but eventually relents and moves over to his spot.
He takes both blankets and both pillows with him.

I get seated and then ask if he could kindly pass my pillow and blanket (both stashed about his person). He denies having either and demands that I check my seat because I'm "clearly not looking properly".
Whilst I perform a polite seat sweep (God knows why, I can see the fucking pillow) he slides my pillow behind his back and then drops the blanket to the floor and kicks it under his seat .

Having no idea why I've offended Strange Man, I decide to juts play dumb and ask an air steward for a new set. No bother, though they're super busy so I'll imagine they'll forget for better things to do.

Strange Man has now proceeded to man spread in such a way that my shoulder is at an odd angle from my seat and my legs are skew whiff.

I am not a ballsy person. In fact, I have a fairly strong social anxiety.

There are no other seats on the plane.

AIBU to silently seeth, or am I being a right wet blanket?

Ah, so my ex is travelling home tonight!

What a prick.

Is this another way that men show they can put women in their place? What is frightening is they know that no one is going to stop them.

Whenever someone manspreads me I just lean full on them - they hate it and soon move. Passive agression is your friend, little things like accidentally spilling water on him, not letting him sleep, getting up to get your bag and letting it catch him on its way down - if he kicks off and lands that fucking plane so be it - he'll be arrested and you won't have to deal with him anymore.

Don't let people take the piss.

If you can't tell him to shift, grab the sick bag and make a huge show of heaving/moaning.......... and start chatting about how nervous you are about flying and will probably be doing this the whole way, you apologise in advance for disturbing him

he is doing his best to push you out so he can use your seat, too.
go and speak to a flight attendant, dont wait.

Speak into your wrist and say ‘target acquired’ then loosely describe him

Brilliant! You can then also narrate into your wrist equipment his every move. 'Target has just discreetly dropped the stolen blanket onto the floor and kicked it under his seat, he is denying all knowledge of its existence.'

'Target has exceeded his boundary area for the 84th time in 60 minutes.'

'Target has ordered an alcoholic beverage (insert name). Target took a 5 second drink from can.

The absolute joy you can wring from this over the 8 hours is infinite. I'd also ask for his contact detail before you get off! 😂

What a nasty bloke. Make sure you stand up for yourself. Don’t worry for a moment about his reactions, as he doesn’t care about yours. He’d never do this to another man. Never

Stand up for yourself, OP. Talk to the stewards.

People like this behave like this because they are allowed to.

Hope the OP has gone quiet because she’s being moved.

Agreed with others. Don't let it slide, you'll dwell on it forever!

Go and speak to the flight attendants.

The first post was at 9.25pm so up in the sky by now unless they boarded super super early or had a delay in taxiing.
So probably has no data to be able to post anything.

Omg awful

Hope when you get to read this you've managed to get some sleep. Sounds horrid x

Afraid not helpful right now, OP, but having faced similar travel fuckwittery, I'm half inclined to carry about my person a well-thumbed copy of this book (courtesy of Ebay).

Displaying it on your seat tray might just act as a warning deterrent?

Please come back later when you’ve landed OP and let us know what happened!

The first post was at 9.25pm so up in the sky by now unless they boarded super super early or had a delay in taxiing

Yeah, the real-time advice being doled out will be massively useful to the OP after she lands.

Gosh, I do hope that his space invasion doesn't cause your coca cola, or some other very sugary drink, to spill all over him, quel dommage!

I sat beside a man on a four hour flight who took his shoes and socks off, then proceeded to man spread - taking up half on my leg room. I kept having to nudge him so I could sit straight.

Why are people so bloody selfish.

I have form for sitting next to the worst people on long haul flights.
It started with a man who got paralytic and flirted with me (tried to) which caused a massive row with his wife sitting in the row in front when I was about 16! Then there was the hippie flying back from SINGAPORE who did the whole flight cross legged in lotus position thingy and hadn’t washed for weeks. Then the young girl who opened her coke and sprayed it everywhere over me and I did the flight sticky, and the woman who was flying home to her drug dealer sister funeral and made me look after her 2 kids (who were 2 and 4). Oh and don’t get me started on the air Zimbabwe flight with the woman with a chicken who I sat next to for an hour! And actual chicken! No advice but god I fee your pain! When I’m a rich lottery winner I’m only going by private jet.

We are going to have to wait til the 8hour flight is over, aren't we?

Oh if only hullygully was here.

If he encroaches on your seat/area ask him - not politely - did he pay for this seat & to keep to his own space that he's paid for. Just keep repeating the same things to him if he doesn't move, loudly enough for others to hear.
If you didn't grow up absorbing "the look" at your mother's knee, here's a quick tutorial. Stoney face, dead eyes very slightly narrowed, head pushed ever so slightly forward. It's the don't mistake me for some pushover if you like breathing look.
Hope your flight goes well.

Why are people saying she should ask to be moved when she clearly said There are no other seats on the plane.