Another plane one!

[Imale]

Just wondering what the opinion is here. Not a biggie but thought I'd throw it out here as I'm curious...hopefully won't be as controversial as a reclining thread 😅

We're flying as family (me, dh, 2 teen dc). 3 hour flight. Seats selected, check in online day before, digital boarding passes sent, all good. Booked 3 in a row and one aisle seat across the aisle in same row.

Get to airport (and we are there in good time - 3 hours before), go to desk to check in luggage and the agent hands us printed boarding passes. No mention of any seat change. My fault here that I didn't check the seats on new bps, but I didn't think of it as we'd already checked in online and had preselected seats ages ago.

So go to board plane and I look at seats on boarding passes and I realise they're not the seats we booked. We now have window and middle one behind the other. I'm pretty pissed off as I always book aisle due to a knee issue and needing to stretch my leg out. But cabin crew tell me its a full flight and nothing they can do.

So people come and sit in the 2 aisle seats and we realise they are a couple! We explain what happened and ask if they'd like to swap and sit together and they say no, they intentionally booked 2 aisle seats. So admittedly at this point we're not exactly delighted with our neighbours but their perogative.

Anyway, I have window, dh middle and teen dc both in front. The husband who is a big guy sits next to dh. He starts manspreading and also not giving dh the armrest. I always understood plane etiquette was that whoever gets screwed over with the middle seat at least gets the armrests.

So dh tells the guy to close his legs and let him use the armrest. The guy says that dh can't have it all. At which point dh told him that the rule is that the middle seat gets to use the armrest and is this the first time he has flown? Guy does grumpily concede inner armrest to DH for rest of flight.

Was Dh being unreasonable demanding the use of armrests as middle seat person? Especially given that they knew we had somehow been moved and they had intentionally kept both aisle seats?
Isn't that the plane rule? I know i always give the middle seater first dibs on armrest.

I’m not claiming to know him, just giving my perspective on how it came across.

The poor oppressed adult man who had to sit in a cushioned seat with no arm rest for 3 whole hours!! You’re joking aren’t you?

Next time someone does something i vaguely don’t like, i will be quoting the New Zealand Herald as my source. The guy on the train with his music audible from his headphones won’t know what’s hit him. And really tall people at concerts. They’re getting told the NZ Herald says they are to fuck right off to the back.

Thank you.

Many times I get given paper bps when I drop luggage. Some airports in less developed countries won't even accept digital bps and you have to change at the counter (VERY annoying when you don't have luggage to check in).

The airline we flew are old fashioned full service and don't charge for regular seat selection, checked bags or meals so at least we didn't pay.

As an aside, I’m twitching over your spelling of prerogative.

Many other sources that describe this rule if you're interested 😉

Nope, the NZ Herald is all the authority I need 🙄

I wonder if everyone dismissing the middle seat arm rest issue normally travels with their family? I used to fly very frequently and almost always on my own, fly less now but still 10-20 flights a year. And I always found among single travellers/those travelling for work there was an acceptance that the middle seat got the arm rest. It’s less of an issue if you are travelling with others, so maybe never came on people’s radar if they usually travel with family and friends. Just like my brother in law cutting off the nose of the Brie - sometimes you aren’t aware of the “correct” manners if it isn’t something you have to deal with often?

Wheres your empathy?
Adult men, women, we all suffer, it might be you next time. Its about justice

Excellent. You're welcome!

Well, I've educated many people here about the middle seat rule and you've educated me about a misspelling! And who said mumsnet is a waste of time?!

Exactly. People on their own in the middle seat have drawn the shortest straw possible.

YANBU re the manspreading and middle seat armrests.

YABU to be less than impressed or consider it selfish that the couple refused to give up their two aisle seats though.

I don't understand why you didn't query the new boarding passes at check in? Had you paid for your seat selection?

Book premier class next time if it is such a big issue.

Ooh, little fact I forgot to add about the lovely couple.

As soon as plane landed and seat belt sign went off, the couple grabbed their stuff and sent super fast down the aisle (we were sat towards the back).

Also against etiquette - you wait your turn as plane disembark row by row!! The (unwritten) rule is you don't rush down the aisle to get off sooner ( they weren't rushing for a connection or emergency- the only excuse - as we saw them hanging around chatting with friends as we deplaned ourselves.

So many rules broken!!!

Not paid, airline doesn't charge for regulsr seats. Didn't think about it as we had checked in online and selected sears months ago. Flying from developing country and quite common for their systems not to handle digital bps so wasn't surprised.

Thanks 🤣

So many rules broken

Passengers "knowing the rules" when they actually didn't has occasionally led to conflict with crew in the past and has sometimes led to an offload...

Ooooooh, veiled victim blaming

We weren't the one racing down the aisle 🤣

So they don’t tend to move you seats unkess they changed planes. Something has gone wrong on your side I think.

The other people aren’t selfish to not move.
It isn’t their fault the airline ‘moved you’
They didn't screw you over.
There is no middle seat rule except maybe if everyone is squished in the no one gets the armrest to be polite.

You are pissed because either you made a mistake or something happened. You didn’t address it u til you say down and got angry at people who weren’t the problem and then decide to remain angry when they didn’t bend over backwards.

You sounds entitled, unwilling to take responsibility and unaware.

Do you work for an airline? 😂

How do you know they don’t also have a knee or hip issue so also requested an aisle seat on that basis?

No

Welcome.