When people debate what the best seat on a plane is, it’s usually a battle between the window and aisle seats. The middle seat doesn’t really even get mentioned.
One plane passenger is trying to change people’s minds about that. They argued that the best seat is, in fact, the middle of the row.
One passenger thinks the middle seat on an airplane is superior.
An anonymous airline flier shared some interesting thoughts in the “Unpopular Opinion” forum regarding where you should aim to sit on a plane.
“The middle seat slaps,” they insisted.
“Sitting in the middle seat on an airplane is the best,” they said. “It’s the only seat that gets two armrests, you’re never very far from a window or an aisle, so you can see, and exit the row without too much trouble and you’re never getting bumped by people and carts going by.”
They added, “But also, people normally feel bad for you, and are more deferential. You get better treatment from flight attendants.”
“And they’re often cheaper seats,” they concluded. “So the middle seat is the place to be in my opinion.”
Fellow travelers strongly disagreed with the passenger’s middle-seat love.
“I used to think the same,” one person shared. “Then I got stuck between people who wanted to fight me for my armrests … I think it has more to do with who you are sitting with rather than where you are sitting.”
“Until you don’t get the armrests, the window shade is down and the person in the aisle is sleeping,” another added. “I’ve never gotten bumped by people or carts when in the aisle. But you enjoy your middle seat.”
A third person chimed in, “The aisle seat and window seat both also get two armrests? Unless you mean they let you have the armrests, which I can assure you is not always the case. The middle is also not cheaper (at least not (on) any of the flights I’ve been on). You don’t get better treatment.”
The general consensus among travelers is that the middle seat is the worst.
Reddit commenters weren’t the only ones who felt like the middle seat was a bad option on flights.
NBC News cited a 3M survey that found, “A majority of Americans would rather get stuck in traffic (56 percent), go on a blind date (56 percent) or go to the dentist (54 percent) than sit in the middle seat on a full flight.”
Many people even said they would be willing to wait for the next available flight if it meant they didn’t have to have the middle seat.
Clearly, this passenger was in the minority with their “unpopular opinion.”
It doesn’t seem like middle seats are actually cheaper.
Unsurprisingly, there aren’t a lot of statistics out there about middle seats — no doubt because they are so often overlooked. However, there is no evidence to suggest that middle seats cost less than other seats on a plane. In fact, given how airlines are seeking to make as much money as possible, the opposite is probably true.
As it turns out, choosing a middle seat could actually cost you.
According to NerdWallet“Airlines are playing the same game. They want to show the lowest fares possible on search results, then upsell you during checkout. This drip-pricing tactic is a pain for passengers. Charging for seat selection is one way airlines try to make a buck at the last minute.”
So, instead of saving money by sitting in the middle, requesting any specific seat could see you paying more money than if you’d just left it up to fate.
While everyone has their own personal preferences, and this person is surely not the only one who likes the middle seat, it does seem that the overwhelming majority disagree, and there are no real benefits to it.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.
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