Copyright newsweek
A woman sitting in the dreaded middle seat on a recent flight received an unexpected offer from the man next to her. Few Americans genuinely enjoy travelling. A poll of 1,000 U.S. adults recently conducted by the website Passport Photo Online found 92 percent of respondents considered travel in general to be stressful. When it came to air travel, respondents ranked boarding their plane as the most stressful part, with 27.3 percent of those polled ranking it as the worst element of their trip. Boarding certainly proved to be a stressful experience for Tanisha Long, during a recent trip from Atlanta to Pittsburgh with United Airlines that included a layover in Chicago. “I almost missed my flight,” Long said. “I made it when the gates were closing and they were trying to seat standby passengers. It was a bit hectic.” By then, Long had already resigned herself to a less than ideal situation onboard: she was stuck in the dreaded middle seat between two other passengers. “I saw I had the middle seat but the plane was full and there was no way to change it in the United app” she said. “I was running late to my plane so by the time I was getting seated I had already made peace with the situation. It’s not my favorite seat but there wasn’t much I could do.” Tales of the dreaded middle seat are a source of much angst online. One woman went viral after realizing she was set to spend an entire 15-hour flight on a budget airline stuck in the middle seat. Another man on a busy flight meanwhile sparked fury after sharing what the woman sat in the window seat next to him did. Long’s story is a little different to most though. As she prepared to sit down, she noticed she would be sitting with a man either side of her. She wasn’t the only one to notice that though. The man sitting in the aisle seat next to her did too and he has a suggestion. “As soon as I sat down and put my bag away, he politely leaned over and asked if I would like to move to the aisle seat because he knew that women are not always comfortable sitting between two men,” Long said. She was understandably surprised. “I was caught off guard because it was really a rare and kind gesture and I don’t think anyone has every acknowledged that it is uncomfortable sometimes sitting between men as a woman,” Long said. “Sometimes there’s space issues. Leg spreading. It’s uncomfortable when you have to squeeze by to use the restroom and I’m really self-conscious about it.” Tanisha Long shared her flight story. Long was really grateful at his offer and happily accepted. “We chatted for a bit and then just did our own thing the rest of the flight,” she said. “Great person.” With so many negative stories about nightmare flight experiences and clashes with fellow passengers online, Long thought it would make a refreshing change to share something more positive. So she took to Threads, posting under the handle tanishaevonne, to share what happened. “I had a middle seat for my flight today and the man in the aisle seat next to me offered to switch me,” she said. “He said he understands how women can sometimes feel uncomfortable sitting between two men. I hope that he has the best life.” The post went viral, earning over 130,000 likes and more than 1,600 reposts. One user commented: “Situational awareness is not very common these days. It’s refreshing to hear that he was plugged in.” Another wrote: “It’s really great when a man shows he understands it means his mom raised him good . God bless him.” Long said she shared the story to “balance out” some of the negativity in the world. “I hope that it helps people consider being kind to a stranger if given the opportunity,” she said. “I also hope that it gives people a bit of a reminder that there are good people still.”
