If You’re Going To Be Grumpy, Don’t Pick An Aisle Seat…

A note to passengers who choose the aisle seat: don’t be grumpy when your seatmates ask you to get up so they can use the lavatory or grab something from their bag. It’s uncouth.

Hey Aisle Seat Passengers, Don’t Be Grumpy When Seatmate Has To Use Lavatory!

A passenger flying on United Airlines from Orlando (MCO) to Los Angeles (LAX) shared his frustration with his seatmate for expressing annoyance when he had to go out to use the lavatory two hours into the flight:

Was flying transcontinental this morning, and about 2 hours into the flight, I asked the gentleman seated in the aisle if I could get out to go to the bathroom. The guy wasn’t sleeping and was playing a game on his phone. He begrudgingly got out of his seat, and as I was getting out he decided to ridicule me to his wife (who was sitting in row across from us) that it was rude of me to ask him to get up and he also said that everyone should go to the bathroom before getting on the plane. To the dude in 12C into LAX from Orlando this morning, either don’t be grumpy, or don’t pick an aisle seat.

Yes indeed, either don’t be grumpy or don’t pick an aisle seat. It’s absolutely rude to complain if someone has to get up.

I know some people have XL bladders (like my seatmate from London to LA who never once got up during the 11-hour flight), but most do not and some have to get up often, whether due to medication or simply for drinking a cup of coffee after takeoff. If you choose an aisle seat, you should be very aware of what you have gotten yourself into…people do have to get up and if you have a problem with that, take a window seat next time.

Now someone who knows they have to get up often should take an aisle seat…that’s true as well…but that’s not the point here and the context of this discussion is about a man who got up once during a five-hour flight and was openly ridiculed for doing so.

Being passive-aggressive is so childish, but I can’t deny that I would have been tempted to get up every 15 minutes had some jerk given me lip for using the lavatory two hours into a flight…