Cabin crew member finally settles debate on who gets 'extra' armrest in middle seat

A flight attendant has cleared up the confusion over who gets the 'extra' armrest on a plane, but passengers are sceptical.

When you're flying in a 'three in a row' seating configuration, there are four armrests to consider - one by the window, two sandwiched in the middle, and another by the aisle. It's commonly thought the passenger stuck in the middle seat, having got the short end of the stick, should be compensated with access to both middle armrests.

But a flight attendant has thrown a spanner in the works by claiming each flyer is only entitled to one armrest, with the other simply acting as a barrier.

A traveller shared their surprise on Reddit about an announcement made by a flight attendant during boarding, which aimed to set the record straight on armrest etiquette.

They said: "This was a first for me on my current flight. The flight attendant made an announcement right after boarding to clarify who gets to use which armrest on the flight. To my surprise, he was very emphatic that no person gets two armrests."

The flight attendant insisted that passengers should use the armrest to their right (or to their left if on the other side), leaving the aisle-side armrest free for the service cart and passersby. He was adamant that disputes over armrests wouldn't be tolerated.

Curious if this 'rule' was widely known, the traveller continued: "Feeling sorry for all the folks in middle seats on this flight, although mentioned to my seat mate she was welcome to both armrests. Ever heard anything like this before?"

A baffled respondent chimed in, saying: "That's a no for me. I'm an aisle seater, and that aisle armrest is mine. The middle seat gets his/her two, I get mine on the aisle."

A different user joked: "That's some made-up bull**** by a flight attendant who is tired of bumping people's arms with his cart. If it wasn't intended to support an arm there'd just be a small wall on the aisle (which to be honest I sometimes wish there was). It's the same as people saying you can't recline in E. The seat is made to recline!"

An additional participant argued: "Nah, you give the middle person the armrests. When I do fly economy, I always select an aisle seat in case the person in the middle seat is large. If that's the case, I lift the armrest in the aisle and sit as far over as I can. I hate rubbing arms and legs with someone the entire flight. Nightmare."