Traveller sparks debate after photographing ‘manspreading’ passenger on plane

The woman shared a picture of the fellow passenger 'manspreading' during a long flight. Photo / 123rf

A traveller sparked a global debate about plane etiquette after outing a fellow passenger for ‘manspreading’ on a flight.

Emily Kauai posted a photo on a group in Reddit called “Wellthatsucks” showing her legs beside the legs of an unidentified man sitting on a plane.

“This was how my entire four hour flight went today. I am a 5′8″ female,” she wrote in the caption.

In the picture, the man’s knees are clearly spread wide, leaning past the line of her seat, while her legs are tightly pulled together to make room.

“A couple of times I mentioned it to him, and he would move over... but his legs would casually return to where they rested during his movie,” Kauai added.

The issue evidently hit a nerve with the audience and more than 1,000 people commented their opinion on the issue. Some supported the man, suggesting he had longer legs while others claimed she had a right to be mad.

Those who believed the male passenger was wrong said his behaviour was “rude” and “inconsiderate”.

“This photo makes me angry on OPs [original poster’s] behalf. People should have some basic self-awareness and courtesy,” one user wrote.

“People like this suck. I would have said something…” another stated.

This was how my entire 4 hour flight went today. I am a 5’8” female. from Wellthatsucks

Some tall travellers waded into the debate and said ‘manspreading’ wasn’t always a choice.

“I do this 10x worse than most people due to being 6′8,” confessed one commenter.

“A lot of people think it’s so disrespectful to do stuff like this, or to be tall in a movie theatre and whatnot, but oftentimes we don’t have a choice,” another explained. “I’m not exactly well-off and I can’t just go buying comfort+ or whatever every time I have a flight.”

However, many said flight attendants were often good about moving taller people to an aisle seat or exit row.

“I always request the boarding attendants if they could shift my seat to emergency seats and they often do so,” wrote one person.

“I’m 6′4″, I have to sit in the aisle seat, handicap seats, or emergency row only,” another said.

The issue, according to some people, wasn’t the man but the airlines, which have cut down legroom too much.

One said government should introduce regulations to combat the issue.

“If we had a regulation stating ‘aircraft seats must have X inches of leg room’, we would not have to be picked like sardines in a can,” they said.

“It’s horrible what the airlines have done to the seats. No room, no recline, and no comfort,” another wrote.

On August 3, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US asked for passenger feedback about seat sizes. It received more than 26,000 comments.

This was part of research into whether new regulatory standards are required, not for comfort, but safety in the event of an evacuation.