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Photo credit: Plane Armrest Divider
I am clearly no fan of any middle seat. I avoid them at all costs and will never EVER accept a C+ middle seat “upgrade”. I primarily choose aisle seats and when in coach, since I am not a tiny person, lift the aisle arm rest so I can slide a bit towards the aisle and give the middle person 100% of the arm rest. After all, if you are sorry enough to get stuck in the middle seat, you should get all the space I can possibly give you.
But I am sure some folks are not as “space kind” as I try to be – that is, they pretend they are in a spacious 1st class seat even when back in coach. The video from the “Plane Armrest Divider” is hilarious (and yet so sad and kinda B film-ish). There have been other contraptions, to prevent seat recline for example, that have had mixed reviews.
For me, I just “give up” on doing anything productive when in coach. I do not get my laptop out and just watch movies on the IFE or on my phone or maybe read some info on my phone since that is just about all the space will allow without bothering others.
What do you think. Is this contraption a fix for middle seat issues? Are you willing to choose or “upgrade” to a middle seat? Let us know in the comments below! – René
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
René de Lambert is a contributing writer for EyeoftheFlyer.com - He is an avid Delta and SkyTeam flyer who has held Delta’s top Diamond Medallion status for many years and flown millions of miles.
I always sit in the window and I always let the the middle person have the entire armrest.
I don’t tolerate any encroachment over the armrest though. First 2-3 I’ll casually move my arm so that it gently pushes theirs back to the boundary of the armrest. This is usually all it takes. If it doesn’t work I will say something.
I would like the divider to go all the way up to the top of the seat. I usually just give the person in the middle the armrests because their seat sucks even more than my aisle or window seat. Coach and (non)Comfort minus are awful no matter where you sit.
I agree with Rene – frequent fliers do not belong in a middle seat, unless you are desperate to get home, and it’s the only seat available. I would always take a later flight to avoid a middle seat, if it made sense.
That said, I am usually a window seat guy myself (though on international long-hauls, I would certainly pick the aisle just for lavatory convenience), and I always tend to edge over towards the window and give the middle seat the majority of the armrest. Tough to do on planes where the width is only ~17″, but much easier when width is 18-18.5″ (those CS-100s can’t get here fast enough ;)).
Something like these dividers would just make things worse – what if it’s a relatively small woman in the middle, and a bigger man on one or both of the ends? All three should get their respective space, BUT I usually see less arm-checking in that scenario, for obvious reasons.
On a flight this week the Lead FA announced, “Middle seat passengers raiase your hands. OK, I see you. I have a gift for you: The arm rests are yours. If you’re in a window or aisle seat please remove your elbows from those arm rests. They belong to the passenger in the middle. Middle seat passengers enjoy your gift.”
I’m always wary of creating conflict on the plane… No, it makes you seem like a jerk, but not as much of a jerk as using a device to limit seat reclining. You don’t pay extra for an arm rest or a wider arm rest… However, seat reclining is sold as a feature so customers should be allowed to use it. If you spend more money for C+, you should be able to use the additional features. The airlines should be ultimately responsible for their passenger comfort and issues caused by rogue passengers. Now if we could only get airlines to listen!
the above announcement was wowow.. I do not like the Middle C- and tell seat mates “you know the rule right”?? they say NO = the middle get both armrests and they are shocked// even if i’m on aisle or window and say the same thing!! for the middle seat person
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I like this idea, my wife thinks would make you look like a jerk but if I can keep from annoying my seatmate…
I always sit in the window and I always let the the middle person have the entire armrest.
I don’t tolerate any encroachment over the armrest though. First 2-3 I’ll casually move my arm so that it gently pushes theirs back to the boundary of the armrest. This is usually all it takes. If it doesn’t work I will say something.
I would like the divider to go all the way up to the top of the seat. I usually just give the person in the middle the armrests because their seat sucks even more than my aisle or window seat. Coach and (non)Comfort minus are awful no matter where you sit.
I agree with Rene – frequent fliers do not belong in a middle seat, unless you are desperate to get home, and it’s the only seat available. I would always take a later flight to avoid a middle seat, if it made sense.
That said, I am usually a window seat guy myself (though on international long-hauls, I would certainly pick the aisle just for lavatory convenience), and I always tend to edge over towards the window and give the middle seat the majority of the armrest. Tough to do on planes where the width is only ~17″, but much easier when width is 18-18.5″ (those CS-100s can’t get here fast enough ;)).
Something like these dividers would just make things worse – what if it’s a relatively small woman in the middle, and a bigger man on one or both of the ends? All three should get their respective space, BUT I usually see less arm-checking in that scenario, for obvious reasons.
I summary – let the pax continue to sort it out!
On a flight this week the Lead FA announced, “Middle seat passengers raiase your hands. OK, I see you. I have a gift for you: The arm rests are yours. If you’re in a window or aisle seat please remove your elbows from those arm rests. They belong to the passenger in the middle. Middle seat passengers enjoy your gift.”
Brilliant!
I’m always wary of creating conflict on the plane… No, it makes you seem like a jerk, but not as much of a jerk as using a device to limit seat reclining. You don’t pay extra for an arm rest or a wider arm rest… However, seat reclining is sold as a feature so customers should be allowed to use it. If you spend more money for C+, you should be able to use the additional features. The airlines should be ultimately responsible for their passenger comfort and issues caused by rogue passengers. Now if we could only get airlines to listen!
the above announcement was wowow.. I do not like the Middle C- and tell seat mates “you know the rule right”?? they say NO = the middle get both armrests and they are shocked// even if i’m on aisle or window and say the same thing!! for the middle seat person