Airplane Etiquette: Who Gets the Armrest?

I have been traveling a lot lately and find airplane etiquette on my mind. I have questions, lots of questions.

Like:

Who gets the armrest in-between seats?

What about when there are three seats? Two seats?

Heavy people spill over. That’s a given and I emphathize. I am not tiny myself. But should people at least attempt to not spill over if possible?

I have questions…

Let’s start with the armrests. Does the person in the middle seat in a row with three get both center armrests? Should their arms and elbows enter the airspace of the aisle or middle row seats? Personally, I think that it is OK to give the person in the center both armrests but would ask that there is no spill over. I usually sit on the window and, unlike the aisle seat, I can’t lean over because there is a wall right next to the seat. So if the person in the middle spills, I am left with a very small and uncomfortable space.

This happened yesterday on a flight from Chicago to Seattle. The woman in the middle splayed open her legs and put both her elbows on the armrest, entering the airspace of the aisle and window seats in a big way. This was a very long flight. She was larger (which gets to the second point) but not to the point that spillover was necessary. Had she taken care to be a bit more considerate, I bet she would not have spilled over at all.

The last few times I got stuck in the middle seat I had rowmates who believed in a different set of practices. They took the inner armrests for themselves, leaving me squished in the center.

And what about two-seat rows? Who gets the center armrest – the most aggressive person (my experience)? I think it ought to go to the person in the window seat because, again, he or she is up against the wall of the plan.

These examples may make me seem like an airplane wimp, but I try to be polite and get along when it comes to such things. That said, I find myself amazed and in judgment of others who appear to lack consideration. What do you think? Perhaps airlines ought to publish a set of “Good Flyer” suggestions for etiquette in the in-flight magazine.