In this world, there are not so many really eternal questions that instantly provoke discussions among their ardent supporters. How did our Earth appear, from which side should we break an egg, which operating system is better - iOS or Android... and should middle seat plane passengers get both armrests?
If you think that the last question is not that important, you have probably never flown in economy class. It's actually damn important! And just recently, the internet split again after this travel influencer shared her own plane etiquette rules.
A travel influencer recently shared some of her 'plane rules of etiquette', sparking massive discussion online
Image credits: Jerry Zhang (not the actual photo)
"If you plan to fly in 2023 please don’t be the people who fill up an entire overhead cabinet with your jackets"
"And please keep them at your seat. It’s an absolute waste of space. They could sit on your lap or most airlines have hooks. Thanks."
Image credits: @hillnpoo
Image credits: @hillnpoo
"Since people were really upset by my last rules of flying, here are 3 of my top favorites"
"Please wait to put your jackets in the overhead until everybody has their luggage off. Please stay in your allotted chair area and don’t spread like this. And if you’re in the middle seat you get both armrests."
Image credits: @hillnpoo
Turns out, there are in fact two poles in opinions on whether the middle seat passenger should have both armrests and the experts are also very divided
Let's start from the very beginning. No, of course, not from the first flight of the Wright brothers, but from the fact that there is a TikTok account, @HillnPoo, run by travel influencers Matt and Hillary, who also document their trips on Instagram. And so, in a recent video, Hillary asked passengers not to be the people who fill up an entire overhead cabinet with their jackets and keep them at their seats - since there are special hooks for clothes.
The video sparked massive discussion and it has already gained more than 260K views as of today, and in the comments, in addition to a frantic argument about where it is more convenient to put a coat on an airplane, there were requests to Hillary to name her three basic rules of "good manners" on an airplane. The kind that she and Matt stick to themselves, and expect the same from others.
The influencers willingly shared these rules - and the resulting video gained twice as many views, with the discussion flaring up with a vengeance. If you want to join the debate, here are these rules. Firstly, there's the rule about coats and overhead cabinets. Secondly, according to the author of the video, one should stay in their allotted chair area, refraining from excessively spreading their legs. And the last but not the least - if you're in the middle seat, you get both armrests.
However, opinions about the last rule, as you probably guessed, differ by about 180 degrees. "The middle seat armrests belong to no one," USA Today quotes airline analyst Timothy O'Neil-Dunne. "It's common space and you better treat it that way." But according to travel expert Rosie Panter, recently quoted by News.com.au, "It's universally accepted that the middle seat passenger has drawn the short straw, so they should get the luxury of both armrests." So who do we trust now?
Also, opinions about armrests were divided among people in the comments. Some are absolutely sure that it is the person in the middle seat who should possess both armrests, but for others, this idea is completely unexpected and in some ways even heretical. Another, in an attempt to substantiate their point of view, even refers to primary sources. No, not the Wright brothers... “I got the middle seat armrest rule from a pilot so it is official,” one commentator proudly claims. And what do you think about this? Especially, of course, if your name is Wilbur or probably Orville... but anyway, feel free to leave your own viewpoint in the comments below.
People in the comments have both viewpoints as well, so one more heated discussion ensued
