travel

If you choose this seat on a plane, you're a more selfish human being. Sorry.

If there’s one thing I know about plane travel, it’s that people who sit in the window seat are the worst.

I know because I am one. An unashamed, unapologetic seat hog who not only wants the most space, but who also wants the best view so I can take the perfect Instagram snap:

Nothing annoys me more than specifying upon check-in that a window seat is my only option, only to find that all those luxurious spots are “already allocated”.

I’ll glare across the aisle as I watch someone curl up, rest their head upon the plane walls and take a peaceful, undisturbed nap, whispering ‘that should be me’ under my breath.

It turns out that where a person chooses to sit on a plane can tell you a lot about their personality.

Psychologist Dr Becky Spelman told Telegraph Travel that those who favour the window seat have more ‘selfish’ personalities.

“Passengers who favour the window seat like to be in control, tend to take an ‘every man for themselves’ attitude towards life, and are often more easily irritable,” she said.

“They also like to ‘nest’ and prefer to exist in their own bubble.”

Another psychologist, Jo Hemmings, agreed.

“Champions of the window seat tend to be more selfish,” she said, and are also usually “less anxious” and more seasoned flyers.

They are also more confident and comfortable disturbing others for those inevitable trips to the loo.

By contrast, those who prefer the aisle are usually more considerate of others.

"Aisle passengers are often more sociable and definitely more amenable as people," Hemmings said.

"They are also more likely to be restless flyers and less adept at sleeping on planes."

Whatever your 'plane personality type', there's one thing all flying folk can agree on: no one ever, ever wants to be stuck in the middle seat.

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Top Comments

Kimbo 7 years ago

Well someone has to sit there so it may as well be me ;)


Hobgoblin 7 years ago

Yep, unashamed window seater here too. Yep, it's every man for himself when it comes to seating! I don't think I'm all that selfish though (in any other circumstances anyway) and I will often wait until I'm nearly bursting before I get up to pee, because I really hate disturbing the others. Not a confident flyer (although not super anxious either). Definitely a bit of a nester and the window seat has a wall I can curl into - comfort is a big factor. Mostly though, I just freaking love the view! I fly rarely enough that I'm still fascinated by it