Travel Stories
That Glorious, Empty Middle Seat on a Flight
Having space on an airplane is a luxury that we all wish to have
During a chilly March in 2018, I stood at my gate in Seattle’s airport, about to board my flight to Frankfurt.
Close by, a gaggle of my fellow passengers were clumped together in a large group, necks craned towards the entrance of our gate, eyes alert as they waited for our boarding groups to be called.
“Group A,” the airport staff said on the loudspeaker. Many passengers rushed forward, relief etched on their faces.
“Group B.” The clump of people got significantly smaller.
“Group C.”
Okay, cool. I started walking forward, but paused as others in my boarding group rushed to form a haphazard line in front of our gate, its shape not unlike a twitching snake just about to shed its skin.
Three tense minutes passed until I got to the gate’s entrance, during which I heard someone say “will this line just hurry up already?” An airport attendant took my ticket, swiped it under a barcode, and held it up without looking to see if I had a grasp on it. “Next, please, let’s go, let’s go.”
“Thank you,” I breathed and breezed on down the jet bridge to the plane.
As my feet shuffled onto the plane, my eyes landed on two flight attendants, greeting all the passengers.
Thinking about the impatience I heard people express in the ticketing line, I wondered how many stony faces the flight attendants had already seen.
“Good morning!” I told them.
After they responded with a smile, I stepped past. My heavy backpack tugged on my shoulders as I walked down the center aisle. My suitcase was clutched in front of me, my arms already aching from its twenty-five pounds.
After several minutes, I got to my seat, 19D. It was an aisle seat, decisively chosen, so I could stand during the flight without having to ask others to stand as well.
As I plopped down on the seat, I noticed the rest of my row was vacant.
As more and more people stepped onto the plane, the seats started to fill up. One person asked me to stand so she could take the window seat.
As she got comfortable in her seat and opened the window, I glanced at the empty middle seat between us. I then looked up at the passengers still in the aisle.
There were three people walking down the aisle who hadn’t sat down yet.
Breathing shallowly, I waited.
The first person walked by me.
The second person sat down in a seat three rows ahead of me.
The third and final person walked towards my row. They took step after step after step as I sat praying, hoping. Each second that ticked by was an eternity. Their footsteps brought them next to me. Please, no. Then they took another step, passing me, to their seat several rows behind me.
Exhaling a breath I didn’t know I was holding, I looked at the middle seat next to me, still vacant. I grinned from ear to ear, triumphant in victory over a battle that I deserved no credit for winning.
An empty middle seat.
I glanced at the lady in the window seat as she looked in my direction. We looked down at the empty middle seat and smirked at each other. We stretched out, luxuriously draping our arms over the middle armrests, already more relaxed and comfortable.
What a wonderful way to fly.
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I’m an engineer and freelance writer. I’ve worked remotely for five years and have traveled worldwide as a digital nomad. And guess what? If you want to get in touch about writing or travel, my email is: [email protected]
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