Could this clever invention be the solution to armrest battles between passengers on planes?
If one traveller is already using the top level of the two-storey armrest, the other just swings their arm underneath
ARMREST battles are a daily battle on aeroplanes, as thousands of passengers attempt to take control of the middle ground.
But it turns out there is actually a simple solution to the problem.
A company called has created a two-story armrest, so that both passengers get space for their elbows.
The Paperclip Armrest adds a second deck to the armrest, doubling the surface available.
A gap between the top level of the armrest and the backrest then makes way for the bottom arm that is using the lower level.
If one person is already using the top level, the other just swings their arm underneath.
The armrest isn’t fool proof, as the person on the top level has to position their arm further forward than is typically comfortable.
But it is considerably better than the current solution, where only one person can use the rest.
The battle for the shared space can get so heated that fights break out on aircraft – in February, two lawyers became viral sensations, when footage emerged of them embroiled in a heated argument over an armrest during a Monarch flight to Malaga.
According to behaviour expert Judi James, it is a war the will never end until a proper solution is built into planes, because the battle for space is inbuilt into us as human beings.
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She told Sun Online: “Space is something that humans and animals fight wars over – it’s the most inflammatory thing.
“Armrests are always going to be a problem because it’s shared space with a stranger that you can’t halve equally – the airline is asking you to share something that you can’t share.
“Most people aren’t even thinking about their share though, they’re going for total domination and submission of everyone else around them.”
