(Two) Seats on a Plane

Most people have heard about the controversy surrounding the policy of certain airlines that requires people of a certain size to purchase two seats. Not being of the Twiggy variety myself I felt an immediate aversion to this policy and of course sympathy for folks who would certainly be humiliated if they were put in that position.

Even though I am not a Twiggy I can still fit into an airplane seat without forcing my neighbor(s) to come in close personal contact with the sides of my thighs. Same goes for my husband. There have been numerous occasions when the same could not be said of the person sitting next to me, not always because they could not fit in the seat. There are other types of passengers who sit with their legs far apart or sideways that result in the same unwelcome thigh-rubbing experience. 

Maybe it is just me. I am not a fan of close personal contact with strangers for extended periods of time. That being said, my gut reaction to the two seat policy underwent a change on a recent four hour plus flight. 

We were seated in the aisle and center seats. The flight was full so we expected someone to fill the window seat and were prepared to get out quickly. It was a bit of a mess because since the flight was full there was not enough room in the overhead bins for all the carry-on luggage. Between taking care of that issue and seating a full flight the airline personnel had their hands full. 

We took note of each person coming down the aisle, wondering which one would stop at row 29. When the last of the passengers came down the aisle we held our breath, wondering if there was one empty seat on the full flight and it was in our row. Not because we minded sharing, but because it was a red-eye flight and we had planned on sleeping. It would have been more comfortable to do so if we were the only two in the row, but we were prepared for the outcome.

Well, we thought we were. One of the last people to come down the aisle was a rather large older woman. She stopped at our aisle and pointed to the seat as she announced loudly, "That's my seat!", giving us a look that implied we should have waited for her to be seated before we sat down. We looked at each other and knew we, or at least I, were toast. Now, I was assigned the aisle seat and my husband the center, but he does not like to be sandwiched in so I volunteered to switch. Lucky me. Or maybe lucky him.

We stood in the aisle while she got settled. The first thing she did was lift up the arm rest between our seats. I figured it would be easier for her to settle in her seat since I've done that myself. Nope. She lifted the arm rest because she could not fit in the seat with it down. In fact, she could not fit in the seat period. She needed about a third of my seat as well. I looked at my husband and I wanted to cry. He whispered not to worry because he would scoot over and besides, we're happily married so we didn't mind the thigh action.

So I sat in the other 2/3rds of my seat and scrunched up to my husband. Even so, I was extremely uncomfortable with her thigh so mushed up next to mine. And for the next four plus hours. Things went downhill very quickly. Before we left the gate she had shifted to lean on her side, so now I was treated to not only her thigh but part of her posterior end. Which took up even more of my seat. She didn't seem aware in any way that she was squishing me out of my seat.

For the next four hours she alternated between positions, and I was treated to a variety of fun times. Close personal contact with her posterior end, her arm on my thigh, her elbow in my side. All interspersed with some sort of loud grunting noises and fits of violent hacking coughs. My favorite position was when she leaned her head against the seat in front of her to sleep and slowly fell my way until I had to nudge her. This particular position in her rotation was the greatest source of amusement to the tall gentleman who was the only saving grace on the flight. He kept me from jumping out of the plane because he would make funny faces at her various antics.

My poor husband was smushed so far into the left side of his seat that he kept getting hit by passers-by. Needless to say, sleep was impossible. To make matters worse, the ceiling air of the seat in front of me was set to full blast and aimed squarely at my face. I was freezing and my eyes were dry. I did have a sweater but I had stuffed it down between my body and hers. It somehow made me feel better. And freezing to death seemed the lessor of two evils.

Not once did she say a word. Not a single I'm sorry or apologetic glance. Two hours in I became brave enough to gently shove her when she was practically hanging over my lap.

Nothing. She just shifted.

So, do I think people of a certain size should have to purchase two seats? After what I think was the worst flight of my life, I would have to say yes. Maybe not for short flights, but definitely long ones. I paid for my seat and I have the right to use it. All of it.

Next time I find myself in that situation I am going to ask that person to reimburse me for the portion of my seat they used. Hey, it's only fair.

Okay, maybe not. But I can think about it ....