The debate over airline seat etiquette continues to rumble, and one passenger has reignited the conversation with his story of “manspreading.”
Last month, a commercial pilot told DailyMail.com that the proper way to sit on an airplane is “neatly,” with your arms and legs in front of you.
But one traveler revealed on Reddit that he broke this rule and spread his “long legs” to get comfortable, insulting his neighbor.
The male passenger, age 26, explained that he was in the middle of two women on a six-hour flight on Spirit Airlines and “about half an hour after takeoff, I noticed my left knee slid out of the way for the sweet relief of the open space. – especially the no man’s land between the seats, at the height of the shared armrest.’
The male passenger, aged 26, explained that he was sitting between two women. “About half an hour after takeoff, I noticed my left knee was going sideways,” he said (stock image)
He continued, “But I wasn’t paying attention to my knee the whole time. I admit it is possible that at one point I was taking up space that rightfully belonged to my neighbor at the window.’
For about two hours, the Redditor said “everything was fine,” but then the situation escalated with the woman in the window seat calling a flight attendant.
The female passenger then asked, “Can you tell him to keep his leg in his own seat?”
To his ‘disgust’, the man said he realized she was talking about him and ‘in deep shame’ he ‘immediately’ withdrew his leg.
As the flight attendant departed, the male passenger said he “began apologizing frantically,” but his neighbor refused to speak to him and pretended not to hear him.
His other neighbor said she had some extra space on her side for him to use, “but then went straight to sleep.”
The man explained that he “went from embarrassed to confused” because he couldn’t understand why the woman in the window seat hadn’t asked him to move his knee instead of calling the cabin crew.
He concluded, “She ignored me for the rest of the flight and I ignored her. I got a good but painful workout of whatever muscle that holds your knees together.”
After posting about his airplane seat debacle, the man was slammed by other Redditors.
Many deemed his actions “selfish” and said he should have booked extra legroom if he knew he was going to be uncomfortable.
Many Redditors found his actions “selfish” and said he should have booked extra legroom if he knew he was going to be uncomfortable
A fellow tall man wrote: “I’m a more average guy at 5’11” and I always get an aisle or business class seat for the extra room.
“The counter lady called the clerk for her protection, but also to shame you into obedience, and rightly so, you should be ashamed of your behavior.”
A female Redditor also sympathized with the women, noting, “I’m a petite woman and men on airplane flights CONSTANTLY shove their knees into my personal space, even if they have enough room to sit with their legs together.”
It’s exhausting to have to think about whether or not I should bother asking them to move, especially since I hate conflict and sometimes they get angry (and then I sit next to an angry person who is much bigger than me for hours on end). ), or make an apology and do it again ten minutes later.
“If you physically can’t fit in your space, I don’t get mad (yes, maybe you should book a bigger seat, but I don’t know about your financial situation or why you have to fly), but if you are able to fit, even if it’s less comfortable, keep your damn body parts to yourself and don’t put me in a position to ask for basic personal space.”
In his post, the male passenger also revealed that he spied on the woman he insulted while she was texting to see if she wrote anything distasteful about him.
This move was also criticized by the Reddit community.
One creator wrote, “Double a hole by portraying yourself as a victim and looking at her phone, then using what you saw spying to try and bolster your flimsy case and make her look bad. It’s none of your business what she was watching or texting.”
While another yelled, “What’s with the espionage?! That’s childish and ridiculous and what she does on her phone is none of your business. You sound like an unsuspecting nightmare.”