Airline Declares Both Armrests are for the Middle Seat Passenger

Airline Declares Both Armrests are for the Middle Seat Passenger

I would venture to say that one of the most discussed things in the realm of airplane etiquette (aka jetiquette) is the never-ending question of whether the person in the middle seat gets both armrests.  Jetstar has now declared that it believes both armrests do in fact belong to the passenger in the middle seat.

While the airline will not enforce any specific rule about who gets the armrest, it made the declaration in a press release.  In the press release, Jetstar said, “Jetstar now declares that passengers seated in the middle seat shall be able to use both armrests.”

So do passengers who take Jetstar agree with the airlines declaration?  Well, it seems not.  In fact, a recent study by the airline found that one-third of travelers in the Jetstar network say their seatmate taking up both armrests is the most annoying behavior.  It topped the second rated quirk of fellow passengers who speak loudly.  In third place was passengers that snore.  That means passengers would rather have somebody speaking loudly or snoring then take up both the armrests.  So it seems this debate is far from settled.  The survey polled 30,000 travelers from around Jetstar’s networking, including parts of Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

So what do you think?  I am of the personal belief that the person in the middle should be afforded more space on the armrest.  But I don’t believe their arms should go into the space of the person in the middle or aisle.  That being said, I’ve noticed people regularly invade people’s space even if they’re in the aisle or window seat.  In a row of three, the best answer might be to get the aisle seat and avoid the question altogether.