I don’t know whose idea was it to decide on having a middle seat in the aircraft. Whoever did that should spend his afterlife in the middle seat for eternity. Anyone who has ever traveled in the economy section knows the suffering of the middle seat passenger. I feel like I am inside a sandwich, if I happen to be stuck in one. If you are between two obese guys you can literally feel crushed with no room to breathe. There is a fight for the arm rest and the leg space. One time, a big guy next to me would not leave an inch for me for arm rest. When I am in the window seat, I can look outside and find a relief from the packed claustrophobia of the aircraft. The aisle seat gives me a sense of having an escape route to the exit if something goes wrong. Or, the very least I can walk a couple of times to stretch my aging legs.
An empty middle seat is another story altogether. The delight of the passengers with any empty middle seat cannot be hidden. If the seat remains empty a few minutes prior to gate closing, the passengers are praying to the good lord that their wish comes true. If the seat is empty between two family members or friends, it is a wonderful opportunity and makes for an enjoyable journey. Couples can be seen taking turns resting their heads on each other laps, something they may not have done in a while! Friends can play cards and share the extra leg room- a luxury in the cattle class.
However, an empty middle seat between unrelated parties can turn into a border dispute between two passengers. I had the pleasure of this experience recently thanks to the airline which is weird in the way it charges for and allocates the seats. My co-passenger, in a not too subtle way started using the middle seat charger port for his phone and then placed his water bottle and blanket there. Clearly, he was planning a full scale occupation. Before, he could do that, I asked him point blank if he was planning to take over the middle seat. He replied sheepishly that his charger port was not working. I was quick to point out that charging is not permitted at the time of take off. After that, we kind of established a line of control in the center and passed the journey uneventfully. During the next flight, the middle seat was again empty! This time, the guy on the other side stretched his long legs right into the middle seat section. I gave a side eye and proceeded to lift the arm rest on my side- like a warning shot in a border skirmish between two nations. I know that arm rest has to be down during take-off but I needed to make a point. He retreated his legs a little. I put the arm-rest down and placed a water bottle on the seat and he proceeded to do the same. My left leg now moved to the center seat territory to claim the leg room. The guy knew that he cannot occupy the no man’s land by himself. The line of control was established and the journey passed peacefully without further maneuvers.
I wish the congress passes a legislation banning the middle seat. If not, then there should be a bill of rights for the middle seat passenger and a seat sharing agreement to prevent mid-air battles in the event the seat happens to be empty!
Be Well! 