Everyone knows there is one seat on every airplane that nobody pre-books and those who are dealt it, dread it - the middle seat.
It can make even the shortest flights uncomfortable, which is why nobody in their right mind would actively choose to sit there.
Aside from being squashed between two strangers, you also can’t see the view properly, and you can’t get to the loo easily.
Not forgetting that you also have to somehow contort your legs into an impossible position when the person in the window seat wants to stretch theirs.
Then there’s the awkward conversation when you need the bathroom and you have to ask the person on the aisle to please excuse you.. twice.
And, if you’re really unlucky, you might even end up with one, or two of your fellow passengers using you as their personal pillow - which is the worst!
But if you’re flying and haven’t reserved a seat, a middle seat could well be in your future.
Having said all this, there is one huge unexpected plus side to drawing the short seating straw, and it’s to do with the armrest situation.
While a Twitter poll carried out by Rich Eisen Show showed the majority of people think the person in the middle seat does not get to use both armrests, this is not the case.
According to dealchecker's Travel Expert, Rosie Panter, the etiquette should be to allow them to have both armrests - it’s only fair when they’re compromising in so many other areas.
She told Cosmopolitan : "It's universally accepted that the middle seat passenger has drawn the short straw, so they should get the luxury of both armrests. Why you ask?
"The aisle seat passenger has the freedom to stretch their legs and get up and down as and when they please, while the window seat passenger has the luxury of looking out of the window, or curling up to rest their head on the side of the plane to enjoy some shut-eye, without the risk of passengers needing to clamber over them while they sleep.
"However, the middle passenger is limited by both space and places to rest their head.
“Therefore, the two-armrest debate should be an established plane rule."
We’re sure that people travelling to their destination in the middle seat would call that case closed, but the other passengers may have something to say about that.
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