I got a first-class bed for an economy-class price – but I felt the glares of fellow travellers

September 2, 2026 — 5:00amQ: On a long-haul flight, I scored every economy traveller’s dream: an empty four-seat row in the middle of an otherwise busy flight. The family across the aisle (three people in three seats) complained that I should have to give up half of my booty to them. I pretended to be asleep to avoid conflict. Am I a selfish arse, or was I permitted to enjoy the spoils of the plane-seat lottery? R. G., Wollongong, NSW Photo: Illustration by Simon LetchA: Ha. I can just see you lying there, all smug and rugged up, stretched out over four seats, wondering why you’re not as comfortable as you hoped you would be, then remembering that the armrests flip up. And I can just see that family of three, sitting across the aisle, throwing glare-daggers of loathing your way and, maybe, the occasional forced-out fart, too. But even they know they have no claim to your middle-row seats.The aisle is a vast ocean that cannot easily be crossed – even a stray finger poking out towards you could be lopped off by a fast-moving snack trolley. But I’m curious: while you were wallowing in your luxuriously sprawled-out, smug-rugged, pretend sleep, did you actually take a proper peek at that family? Did they have a small, needy child with them, weeping from exhaustion, trying to sleep on a makeshift pillow of empty UHT milk portions? Did you think for a second of offering at least one of your seats to alleviate their burden in some way?From our partners