A flight passenger has shared his response to a woman whom he says was "rude" to him during their flight, with internet users sharing their reactions to his quick wit.
Reddit user u/FlacidPasta, who wishes to remain anonymous, shared his awkward experience with the woman sitting beside him when he was flying from Atlanta to New Orleans. The flyer said that the female passenger beside him was complaining about the amount of space he was taking up as a large, muscular man.
"It honestly just slipped out," he told Newsweek, describing his response to the woman.
Passengers cramped together in seats on a flight. A man wrote how he shut down a moaning woman on a plane, and the post has gone viral.Passengers cramped together in seats on a flight. A man wrote how he shut down a moaning woman on a plane, and the post has gone viral.Yury Karamanenko/Getty ImagesIn his viral post, which has received more than 27,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments, is titled "Real proud of my comeback to an airplane Karen." The man said that he was flying in the middle seat in economy class and, about five minutes after take off, his fellow passenger started to act "restless" and was "squirming, sighing, rolling her eyes, and scoffing."
"It was clear it was because I was using the armrest between us," the poster said. "I tried to making as much space as possible for her but, given my size and seat, I couldn't really do much.
"Then she snapped at me, going off about how 'nobody is impressed by your muscles, you take up way too much space, no one wants to deal with sitting next to meatheads like you', blah blah blah.
"So I interrupted her little rant and very politely but and very loudly replied with, 'Miss, why don't you simmer down. This is a short flight. And if there's one thing no one wants to deal with, it's a crying child on an airplane,'" the poster added.
He said that the "window seat and folks across the aisle burst out laughing."
Etiquette expert Diane Gottsman told Newsweek about her thoughts on the interaction between the two passengers. "Flying is stressful, and seat space is tight," she said.
"It seems as if the stressed woman was making a spectacle of her annoyance. The middle seat is the most uncomfortable, and this gentleman, who admittedly says he is large in stature, according to his own explanation, addressed her in a polite manner.
"The only issue I would address would be that he keep his cool while the woman spin out. There are a variety of uncomfortable situations; middle seats, and babies who can't help crying because their ears are popping; and moms or dads who are desperately trying to handle the situation. Babies can't help their behavior, but adults can," Gottsman said.
"The etiquette of the middle-seat armrest is, as a courtesy because of the inconvenience, the middle seat should be able to select their favorite armrest. It's not an airline policy. It's simply good manners, but if the middle person notices the aisle seat using the armrest, they should rest their arm in the opposite direction. This is not enough to get in an airplane argument over."
Millions of Americans take flights across the country every year, with many ending up sharing their aisle with strangers for their journey. Statista reports that, in 2023, more than 819 million passengers traveled within the US.
Reddit users took to the comments section of the post to share their thoughts.
"Apparently she doesn't understand airplane protocol. Window seat gets the window, aisle seat gets aisle and 1 armrest, and center seat gets both inner armrests," said u/ Square-Side-6713.
"Such a beautiful way to put someone in their place," u/FewReplacement9531 commented.
Meanwhile, u/High_cool_teacher wrote: "The unwritten rule is middle seat gets the armrests."
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