Plane etiquette debate: Who gets to claim the spare seat on a flight?

What to expect on Emirates’ 17-hour Auckland to Dubai flight, from entertainment options to passenger etiquette.
OPINION
Stephanie Holmes boards a 17-hour flight from Auckland to Dubai, but the extra long flight time is the least of her concerns.
Plane etiquette debates rage across the internet and social media almost every day.
It’s acceptable to take your shoes off, but how about your socks? Can you rest said un-socked feet on the armrest of the seat in front of you? Is it wrong to drape your long hair over the seat-back TV of the person behind you? Should your toddler roam the aisles unaccompanied? Does the person in the middle seat get both armrests?
On this 17-hour flight from Auckland to Dubai with Emirates – one of the world’s longest direct routes – there was a whole new issue to contend with. Read on for my review.
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Flight number: EK449
From: Auckland
To: Dubai
Visas and requirements: I was only transiting through Dubai and wasn’t leaving the airport, so no visa was required. If you’re there for a lengthier stopover, NZ passport holders can visit Dubai without pre-applying for a visa – a 30-day visit visa will be stamped in your passport on arrival.
Departure airport experience: The new international terminal drop-off area is still a work in progress, but it’s an impressive start – my Uber dropped me off in the designated zone and it was a short walk to the terminal. The AT Hop Card vending machine in the carpark is a nice touch for tourists arriving into the country … although I didn’t see any information about buses to the city. Hopefully it’s well signposted elsewhere.
Inside the terminal, the Emirates counters were queue-free. As a Silver tier member with Emirates’ frequent flyer programme, Skywards, I received express lane access through passport control and security. With the updated security rules meaning laptops and liquids no longer need to be taken out of bags for screening, I was through to departures within 10 minutes of getting out of the Uber.
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Seat: 65C, an aisle seat in the Economy Class cabin, which is 3-4-3 configuration. Seats have a pitch of 32-34 inches, and a width of 18 inches (compared to 18.5 in Business and 23 in First). My seat was right next to the toilet, which has its pluses and minuses – on the positive, I could easily see when the toilet was vacant and quickly hop up whenever I needed to use it. The negative is the noise and disturbance of people entering and exiting throughout the flight. With earplugs in and eyemask on, it wasn’t an issue.
The flight was exceptionally full, but I was in one of very few rows with a spare seat between me and my neighbour. The unwritten rule in this situation is that the woman in the window seat and I would mutually respect this gift and draw an imaginary line down the middle of the seat to both have a little more room.
But it seemed she was only familiar with the concept of personal space in the context of her own. She spent the whole flight curled up on the two seats – sometimes with her feet wedged up against my armrest, other times with her head mere millimetres from my legs.
Outrageous. But, thanks to my stiff upper lip English upbringing, I was too polite to say anything and instead silently seethed for most of the flight. The fantasies of ‘accidentally’ spilling my water on her while she slept kept me entertained though.
Crew: Emirates crew are always a multi-national bunch, and this flight was no different – there were representatives from 16 countries, who spoke 10 different languages.
They were friendly and helpful, yet also strictly abided by the captain’s instructions.
After take off we quickly entered turbulence, and – no doubt because of the recent incident on Singapore Airlines, where passengers and crew suffered serious injuries due to severe turbulence – this wasn’t taken lightly. Seat belt signs were switched on, crew were instructed to take their seats, and no food or drink service was available.
This stayed in place for the first 2.5 hours of the flight. Obviously it was the absolute correct call from a safety perspective but it was an uncomfortable start to a lengthy flight – parents having to keep their children from going to the bathroom, and not so much as a sip of water for those who didn’t bring their own.
Food and drink: By the time the crew were finally able to resume service, I was about ready to chew off my own fingers, so it really didn’t matter to me what I ate, but the dinner of salmon with couscous and peas was tasty, albeit a little cold by the time it made it to me.
Snacks were available throughout the flight, and cabin crew regularly roamed the aisles with trays of water and juice.
In the morning, breakfast was a choice of scrambled eggs or cheese omelette. I had the former – the texture was sloppy yet the taste was good.
Entertainment: Emirates’ ICE system is one of the best inflight entertainment systems in the world, with an extensive collection of movies, TV shows, audio selections, and live TV, so there’s no chance of being bored, even on a 17-hour journey. I flicked through at the start of the flight and found 53 movies and TV episodes I was interested in watching. I added them all to my playlist so I could quickly find them again.
Arrival airport experience: For such an international hub, I’m always surprised at how smooth it is to transit through Dubai – queues move quickly and there’s a sense of peace amid the hustle and bustle. As a Silver Skywards member, I had complimentary access to the Emirates Business Class lounge.
Parts of it are undergoing renovations at the moment, but there were still plenty of seating options, and high-quality food and drink on offer. There was no wait to use the showers, and it was an absolute luxury to be able to freshen up after 17 hours cooped up in Economy.
The best bit: Being able to get a comfortable eight hours sleep, despite the best attempts of my rude seat neighbour.
The worst bit: My rude seat neighbour.
Final verdict: Seventeen hours is a long time in the air, but the A380 aircraft, Emirates’ service and entertainment system all make it as comfortable as it possibly could be.
Stephanie Holmes has worked at the New Zealand Herald since 2016, specialising in Travel and, more recently, Lifestyle and Entertainment, with her entire journalism career dedicated to these subjects.