A New York real estate agency resorted to slapping the hand of his seatmate after he repeatedly tried to open the window shade…in the row in front of him. He was seated one row behind. But while this particular matter may not be controversial, who has control of the airplane window shade when it 50-50 between seats?
Man Slaps Passenger Who Kept Opening His Airplane Window Shade – Who has Control?
A viral Tik Tok video features New York real estate agent Eric Goldie “just plane fed up” with his seatmate seated behind him. Twice he slaps the hand of the passenger behind him, who appeared to reach up beyond his seat in order to open Goldie’s window shade.
@ericgoldie Replying to @girlinbeta Literally on my flight this morning. #flight #flying #ettiquette #travel #traveling #holidaytravel #happynewyear #hny #jokes #2023
In the caption of his video, Goldie asks, “To be clear – I said multiple times not to reach their hand on my window. Should I have maybe caressed it?”
I tend to think his friend was sitting behind him and this was just a cleverly-staged joke, much like cooking a steak in the airplane lavatory was.
> Read More: Man Grills Steak In Delta Air Lines Lavatory…Plus A Personal Confession
Nevertheless, I think this case presents an interesting question.
What Happens When The Window Seat Is 50-50 Between Seats?
In this case, it seems clear to me that Goldie has a claim to control the window shade. It appears it is fully within his seating area when his seat is reclined and mostly in his area when upright. He even addresses that point:
@ericgoldie Replying to @sandy_kale To be clear – I said multiple times not to reach their hand on my window. Should I have maybe caressed it? #flight #flying #travel #traveling #holidaytravel #traveltips #2023 #2022 #greenscreen #greenscreenvideo
But what about those cases when the window is evenly-divided? What about in the cases where the window is behind your seat when upright but in front of your seat when the seat is reclined?
In those 50-50 cases, I tend to think that compromise is necessary, hopefully collegial, via discussion. Yes, you actually might have to speak to your seatmate!
In those cases where the window is behind your seat when upright and in front of your seat when reclined, I tend to think control will depend upon the current position of the seat
This matters because I can see this happening to me. Most people, for reasons that perplex me, tend to like their window shades shut on daytime flights. I prefer them open.
CONCLUSION
I recommend avoiding physical contact with anyone on an airplane and just alerting the flight attendant if your seatmate is messing with your window shade. Nevertheless, the situation does become more tricky when a window is in between two seats. In cases like that, compromise is necessary…a far better solution than slapping.
How would you handle a seatmate who reached up and opened your window shade? How would you handle a split window between rows?
Guilty! Guilty as charged!! Oh well, it wasn’t my finest hour, I must so admit….
Damn, that title is some serious click-bait.
Adding “the hand of a” would make it much more aligned with the content.
But then, clickbait gotta clickbait…
To me it is quite obvious why most everyone wants the window shade shut all the time–because people are addicted to their phones, and they can see the screen better the darker it is. And just like a drug addict, being deprived of the phone screen for even a few minutes is enough to bring out their aggressiveness.
I find it rather sad that so many experience life thru a tiny screen, when there is an entire world to see right outside the window. Try it next flight–the views from 35,000 feet are magnificent, no matter where in this world your are flying.
Maybe some people just want to sleep.
It’s never 50:50. That is because of the thickness of the seat. If the rear passenger sees 50%, then the forward passenger sees less than 50%.
Duck tape is perfect for this situation.
I will never understand why so many people desire to sit in darkness in the middle of the day. My window is always open.
X2
I agree, gorgeous views out of the windows, and natural light. We are already severely Vitamin D deficient as a population.
For me, I just hate not knowing where I am in relation to the ground
that too:)
I think curiosity is diminishing. The people here replying to Jerry would likely feel that flying over the Sahara (or whatever) and not looking down at it would be unthinkable. Still, watching the Scooby-Doo movie sounds more interesting to some. No, I don’t understand that.
A number of people on a morning flight might have flown in overnight and connected onto that flight; having flown overnight they will probably be on a different time zone and may be tired and want to sleep.
And the article discusses which window seat passenger has control – but what about when the aisle and middle folk want to sleep but the person in the window wants to look at the clouds?
100%.
Dialogue, consideration and respect for others is key.
I like to look out the window, if I’m sitting there. But sometimes the sun’s position can make it REALLY hot to be near the window. This is often when the sun reflects off the wing and into the window. This has happened to me often enough that I try to choose seats on the other side of the plane, away from the sun, when I can.
My window shade is UP. unless there’s inflight entertainment screen
I just had the same thing happen on a flight today – the guy in the row in front of me reached back 2x to shut a window in my row (it was a business class seat with 3 windows, 2 of which I had open). The entitlement people have never ceases to amaze me. I’ve been used to the aisle passenger trying to close the window, but someone from another row is a whole different level.
Just keep the damn shade closed. Because nobody wants the Sun hitting them smack in the eyes just so you can admire the clouds. Be fricken considerate
If that’s not the case then do whatever the heck you want.
As a long time F/A, this is a situation that I’ve had to deal with for many years. I’ve had passengers ask me to ask the people across from them to lower their shade because the sun is shining in their eyes or they’re trying to sleep in a premium cabin. Try saying that you have a pair of shades in your amenity kit NICELY and you’re still a B***H that day according to them. I’ve had passengers ask me to please ask the person across the aisle or even right next to them to please open the shade so they can see out because they feel claustrophobic. It’s a da**ed if you do, da**ed if you don’t for the F/A. No matter the outcome, it’s always the F/As fault. I’ve been blamed for shades up, shades down, too hot, too cold, too much rain, too much snow, too much wind, not catered enough, dry ice dissipated before we even took off so ice cream melted quickly, bathroom toilet plugged up by someone else, WiFi stopped working inflight, the one movie you wanted to watch is not working properly………on and on and on. Customer service is not easy and especially not easy to do it well. You learn not to take it personally.
For some of us, having the window shade open is for more than just admiring the clouds. It’s because we have a boatload (planeload?) of anxiety, and need to see what is going on out there. You never know when some type of monster may be out on the wing tearing up an engine or something (just ask William Shatner). So it’s either see out of the plane or freak the F out. Spose I could take more meds before the flight, but already at max dose, so . . . what, close the shade or don’t fly???
Here’s a solution. Buy a window seat and stop complaining. Why should someone else enjoy their flight less because of your issues?