swag

Who does the underseat space belong to? We here all know that it's storage/foot space for the person behind. But how is the space divided between the people in that row?

Is the space divided where the armrest is? Or does the physical seat support serve as the divider?

Here's what I'm talking about. AA 737 as seen from the aisle (D) seat.



The seat support bracket is several inches off from the armrest. If my carry-on fills the space between the brackets, is it ok if I stretch my leg so that my foot is to the right of the seat bracket, but still in front of me and to extending past the where the armrest is? Or does that space belong to the middle-seat passenger?

Does it matter that the other bracket is similarly un-aligned, so by the brackets, the E pax has 1/3 of the space, and space missing from the D seat legroom is gained by the F pax?

coolcoil

I am not aware if the "rules" are specifically published anywhere, but my own interpretation of etiquette is that the space lines up with the armrests so that each gets the same. Also, if the placement of the seat supports breaks up your space and makes it hard to get your bag under the seat, then tough luck. It doesn't give you the right to have your bag impose on your seatmate's space.

Just my 2 cents, and I stipulate that there are reasonable people who may disagree with me.

AtlanticX

Personally, I always end up with a misaligned bracket, it seems. I follow the arm-rest rule that coolcoil suggests. (and bag goes to aisle/window side, never to the middle side!)

So, yes, although I do try to not kick someone else's belongings. And, in the spirit of fairness: middle seat arms get prime dibs on the armrest!

arlflyer

Hate this soooooo much in F. It always happens like this - I get window seat with small dedicated foot area. Very important DYKWIA shows up next to me with full-size rollaboard and huge rolling briefcase. Shoves the latter under the middle area that's supposedly shared, but takes up all the area on my side of the line drawn by the armrest divider. And that's before he then takes his Starbucks cup, iPad, Iphone, newspaper, headphones, jacket, BP, etc. and strews them all over the entire shared armrest area. I swear this happens 2/3 of the time I am in F and I am not exaggerating.

coolcoil

We will have to disagree on this one. I think that this is a particular burden to people in the window seat who have significant limits on their movement. IME, those middle seaters who claim the armrests often go too far and spread their elbows into neighboring territory, particularly if they fall asleep.

fwoomp

I'm a bit surprised by the responses--I've always been guided by the misaligned supports, myself. I always figured that how much space you ended up with was just something you had to put up with in your particular seat, much like the shortcomings of aisle vs. middle vs. window.

Also, FWIW, I generally get the short end of the stick with under the seat space.

ijgordon

It seems perfectly reasonable to politely ask if its okay to use the space on the far side of the misaligned support but under the seat directly in front for your leg. and make sure you don't inadvertently spread your legs out too much.

If your seatmate has a problem with that, that's when things can get fun...

The DYKWIA issue in First class is a bit more challenging...

Tizzette

I agree. People would be kicking each other's feet when shifting positions if they don't have use the seat bracket as a barrier.

LondonIce

As someone who usually flys window in F, I can confirm your description is absolutely perfect. I am having flashbacks to several flights I took last year.

Depending on how obnoxious they are about it, my response is to rest my foot on their bag. It is shared space, after all!

mvoight

My personal feeling is I am entitled to the space from the middle of the armrest. So, I should be free to put my foot there. And, if you put something there without asking, my foot will still be there.

arlflyer

I see you are also DCA-based as well. I think our area is home to a particularly self-entitled breed of DYKWIA, which makes matters worse.

hbtr

Part of the problem is that on the 738 (and I think other aircraft as well) the seat support in front of the aisle seat lines up almost with the middle of the seat. The resulting space between the seat support and the aisle is very small - much smaller than the space in front of the window seat. My bag fits just fine in the "small" space in front of a window seat, at least on a 738, but the space in front of the aisle seat can fit only a very small bag. So for the aisle passenger even a modest sized briefcase or computer bag can only fit in that middle space (I try to adhere to the "one bag under the seat" request).

When I am in an aisle and I use that "middle" space I put the bag in sideways to minimize the "encroachment" on the window seat person's space (it goes a little past the exact middle but not past the armrest). The bag sticks out a bit, I'm always afraid that a FA will complain but so far that hasn't happened.

I had one flight where the F window passenger used the whole middle space for his bag, leaving the space in front of him for his feet and no room anywhere for my bag.

Tizzette

When the under seat space is severely restricted, it would be only fair to put your under seat bag in the overhead, the same as you do when you sit in bulkhead.

george 3

The best way to handle this is to have a pleasant discussion with your neighbor during the intitial perception of encroachment instead of stewing over it the entire flight and then tweeting/FT posting during/later or asking the FA to intervene without trying to resolve it one to one first. For all you know, the person you are accusing of being a DYKWIA is probably looking at the scowl on your face (without knowing why) and thinking, boy what a DYKWIA!

BTW boys and girls, this thread has appeared before and the MODS have shut them down when the points made became arguments.

LaserSailor

George, you are violating the Prime Directive of Engineering

Human interaction to resolve a problem is uncomfortable and inefficient, and a hedge for writing clear instructions.