WestJet has come under fire for its apparent lack of legroom in economy flight seats.
This is because of a viral video by TikToker Amanda Rae (@amanda_rae.13). In the clip, which has amassed 847,800 views, she films her parents sitting in WestJet economy seats, preparing for take-off. The only problem is that her father is so tall, he is virtually crammed into the seat, with his legs skewed to the side because of the lack of legroom.
Behind the camera, Rae asks, “Dad, can you straighten up your legs there?” Her mother quickly replies that this is “impossible,” while her father adds that it’s “impossible” to straighten his knees to the front.
Rae then asks her mom about her own legs, to which she replies, “Yeah, well, I’m gonna be sharing my leg space with him.”
“You’ll have to pay for the other leg,” she quips. While the video was lighthearted in tone, the TikToker was a little more sombre in the video description, as she tagged WestJet and urged them to “do better.”
“My poor dad,” she remarked. “The seats should at least fit normal-sized humans. Shout out to Yamy who was THE BEST flight attendant and did everything she could to make the flight more comfortable.”
@amanda_rae.13 @WestJet ♬ original sound – amanda_rae.13
What did commenters think?
Commenters were divided on the issue. Some were concerned about safety, with one commenter asking, “How are you supposed to put your head between your legs for emergency landings?”
A second queried, “Is there a point where medically this is dangerous?”
While a third wrote, “There needs to be some federal regulations on how much room should be allowed! I can’t see how this is safe.”
Other commenters implied that this was the result of purchasing economy-class tickets. “It’s like buying the lowest priced product in a store and then expecting it will be identical to the highest priced product- and getting upset when they’re not the same,” a fourth commenter theorised. “You get what you pay for now.”
In response to this, Rae simply replied, “Not identical. Just normal human-sized and safe.”
She also mentions in the comments that her father is 6’3.
Rae didn’t immediately respond to The Mary Sue’s request for comment via TikTok comment and email. WestJet didn’t immediately respond to The Mary Sue’s request for comment via email.
Woman shares trick to help stop manspreading on planes
When it comes to a lack of legroom on planes, the aircraft aren’t always the ones at fault. Much of the time, a lack of legroom is due to ‘manspreading,’—a type of sitting that is especially popular among men on public transport.
While manspreading is a prolific issue on planes, TikTok creator Hannah Cormier (@hannahcormierr) shared her easy trick to combat it. In the 6-second clip, she shows herself between two men who are invading her personal space by manspreading.
On-screen text reads “I found a defensive position for manspreading,” as the creator puts her method into action.
Corimer then proceeded to angle her leg widely into a kind of criss-cross position. This leaves her knee on top of her husband’s leg, while the bottom of her foot touches the other passenger’s knee. In response to this, the other passenger moved into a different, fairer position.
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