manspreading

A woman has sparked a heated debate after claiming a fellow passenger took over part of her plane footwell with his backpack before making her feel like she was the one being rude

Long-haul flights can test even the most patient travellers, but one woman was fuming after claiming a fellow passenger had taken over part of her footwell before acting as though she was the one in the wrong. Sharing her frustration online, the passenger explained she had deliberately booked a window seat in an exit row because it offered extra legroom.

While the seat comes with a few downsides, including having no entertainment screen within easy reach and slightly narrower armrests, she said the extra space usually makes it worthwhile. However, her latest journey didn’t quite go to plan. She claimed the man sitting in the row in front placed his large backpack in the empty space where a window seat would normally be.

Because there is no seat directly in front of her in the exit row, she said the bag ended up taking over part of the legroom she specifically paid for.

To make matters worse, she alleged the passenger kept looking back at her as though she was being rude whenever her legs came close to his belongings.

Alongside a photo of the seating arrangement, she pointed out her own backpack was stored correctly underneath the seat in front of her, while his had been left in the open space beside him.

She wrote: “Not a huge deal… just curious. Other than this guy is making me feel like I’m being an a***hole.

“I’m in the exit row 21 window seat where there is no window seat in the exit row in front of you. I choose this seat at times even though, in exchange for the additional leg room, I’m giving up a screen and have limited seat width due to the arm rests.

“This guy plops his large backpack down directly to the left of him, where the ’20A seat’ would be if there were one. And is constantly looking back at me like I’m being rude, for my legs being near his bag.

“Mine is under the seat directly in front of me. As it should be. I’m tired. I’m annoyed. And to be honest, I just feel like complaining, but not enough to actually say something since it’s only an hour flight. But am I wrong to be this bothered by it?”

The post quickly attracted dozens of comments, with many siding with the woman and arguing the bag should have been kept out of the shared space.

One person said: “Former flight attendant here! This is a safety hazard – the reason bags go under seats is so they don’t go flying.

“He’s directly putting you in danger in case of turbulence. If he won’t move it I’d call the flight attendant over.”

Another user added: “Regardless of etiquette, his bag shouldn’t be there at any time. That’s an emergency exit. I doubt his priority will be finding a place to move his bag in a water exit – it’ll just be the reason everyone rear of the lav drowns.”

Seat swap drama

It comes after a man refused to give up his business class plane seat so a child could sit next to their parent.

He explained how he had specifically booked his seat in advance to ensure he was as comfortable as possible during the flight.

But after a flight attendant noticed a child sitting alone in economy while their parent was in business class, they reportedly made it their mission to reunite the pair.

A woman was left fuming after a fellow passenger encroached on her seat space for more than half of a three-hour flight, sparking a heated debate about airplane etiquette

A woman has sparked a debate after calling out a passenger for ‘manspreading’ during a three-hour flight while he was asleep. Branding his behaviour as ‘inconsiderate’, she revealed how she found herself crammed into a middle seat with barely any legroom, as he repeatedly encroached on her space.

However, a number of Reddit users feel she’s being ‘too harsh’ on the man, arguing he may be completely unaware of his manspreading given that he was asleep. In her post, she wrote: “My mother was a legitimate pre-boarder on a recent flight. I accompanied her to help manage baggage and get her settled. We sat in the bulkhead so she could have more space for her braced knee.

“I sat in the middle seat to provide a buffer and keep her knee protected. The gentleman to my left took up a third of my space for more than half of a three-hour flight.

“He was asleep with headphones and didn’t respond when I tried to wake him up and ask him to move.”

In a pointed message directed at men, she called for greater self-awareness and urged them to “check their ego”, where she stated: “Women go out of their way to make others around them more comfortable and not take up literal and metaphorical space. You absolutely do not need the extra space.”

Responding to her post, one user remarked: “I’ve seen plenty of men and women take more than their fair share of space on a plane. Everyone is capable of being inconsiderate. You are not the main character.”

Another added: “You have the armrest up, lay in your bed.” Another commenter wrote: “Fair to be annoyed by this. Fair to ask, expect him to comply, and feel you shouldn’t have to ask. I’d probably wake him up. But how’s he being egotistical while asleep?”

Elsewhere, a fellow user said: “Girl, if you don’t repeatedly and passive-aggressively start stepping and kicking his foot away.”