People Are Divided Over Who Gets To Use The Middle Armrests On Planes

What happens after you die? Why are we here? And should the person sitting in the middle seat on a plane get to use both armrests?

These are the big questions that keep us up at night.

The latter question has been put to a poll on Twitter by sports journalist, Rich Eisen, and the results reflect the troubling lack of consensus on this issue.

More than 106,000 people have voted on the poll, which asks: "Does the person sitting in the middle seat on airplane get both armrests?"

A slim majority of 53 per cent voted for 'no way', while 47 per cent of people went with 'definitely'.

The question now then - what the fuck is wrong with people?

Why on earth - or 35,000 feet above earth - should the person in the aisle and the person in the window seat get to lay claim to a central armrest?

The person in the window seat gets to look out at the majestic landscape beneath and already has one armrest, the person in the aisle seat gets blessed leg room, easy toilet access and already has one armrest - why the shit should they be entitled to nick one of the armrests off the poor sod sandwiched between the aisle and window bastards?

Gratisography/Pexels

This view is shared by comedian Jim Jeffries, who said: "When you're on an airplane, there's a thing called 'plane etiquette', and it goes like this. Window gets an armrest and a wall. Middle gets two armrests. Aisle gets an armrest and a little bit of extra legroom. We're not animals. We live in a society."

Letting the middle person have both armrests really is the least we can do. After all, they are invariably people who are flying economy and feel they can't afford to fork out an extra £7 to choose a better seat. Is it so hard for the rich pricks who can comfortably splash out on the £7 seat selection option not at least allow the middle guy armrest access?

The prevailing counterargument seems to be that everyone should use the armrest to their right or left, depending on which side of the plane they're on. However, this is clearly both ridiculous and unfair.

As such, the result of this poll is truly staggering

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I was this shocked by a marginal victor in a major vote.

Topics: Interesting, Twitter, Community

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey