A passenger who sat next to a “tall man” on a long flight took to social media to ask passengers what they would do if they were uncomfortable.
“I can understand how uncomfortable he felt, but I also have relatively broad shoulders, so I was stuck in half of the seat with one armrest for the entire 5-hour flight,” the user wrote.
“I don’t want to embarrass him or cause a scene, but was there anything I could have done for future reference?” the user asked.
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On the Reddit forum “unitedairlines”, users shared their experiences and suggestions.
One passenger said, “This happened to me recently. Sometimes the armrests go down, but otherwise my body would fall onto the seat.”
Reddit users have sparked a debate over what to do if you don’t feel comfortable sitting next to a larger person. (St. Petersburg)
Another person said, “This happened last year and I regretted the entire five-hour flight.I was planning to get off the plane as soon as it landed and talk to the FA (flight attendant) about moving.”
“When I fly economy, I always get a window seat because I can lean back and get away from the big middle seat,” said one person.
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Another user said that one should not blame others, but the problem was with the size of the seats.
One user suggested, “I always take a window seat when flying economy so I can lean back and get away from the big middle seat.” (St. Petersburg)
“Write an email to the airline…the problem is neither of you. It’s that the airline takes us all and gives us nothing,” they said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to United Airlines for comment on this issue.
One user said: “You have to admit it first. Usually the intruder will admit it and apologize.” “If you are unable to change to a different seat, you also have the option of disembarking and changing to a later flight.”
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The same user added, “You can also involve[the flight attendants]to kick the intruder away (especially if the armrests don’t go down).”
One person said, “I may be in the minority, but as long as hygiene is good, I don’t care.” (St. Petersburg)
One user said sitting next to a larger person on a flight is not their biggest concern.
“I may be in the minority, but as long as (the person) has good hygiene, I don’t care,” one person posted.
One user added, “There are certainly ‘better’ and more polite ways, but you’ll end up going to FA in almost every scenario.”
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Alison Cheperdak, founder of Elevate Etiquette in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital in an email that it’s important to be respectful of the passenger next to you, even if it makes you uncomfortable.
“When we have a trusting relationship with someone, we tend to compromise more and show more consideration.”
“It’s important to be aware of your opponent’s space and think about the situation thoughtfully and realistically,” Cheperdak says. “You might be out of luck if the plane is full, but it doesn’t hurt to privately ask the flight attendant if you can change seats before takeoff.”
“It’s best to ask the other person privately, perhaps by getting up from your seat, so as not to embarrass them unnecessarily about your size,” Cheperdak said.
One etiquette expert said any passengers who felt uncomfortable should make friendly small talk and then politely address the space issue. (St. Petersburg)
Rosalinda Randall, a California-based etiquette expert and trainer, told Fox News Digital in an email: “The obvious thing to do is change seats. If the plane is full, you’re going to get stuck.” Ta.
Randall suggested that any passengers who feel uncomfortable should make some friendly small talk and then politely address the space issue.
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“Once you’ve established rapport, bring up the obvious seating dilemma and see how they react,” Randall said of other passengers.
Randall added, “When we have a trusting relationship with someone, we are more likely to compromise and show more consideration.”
