She Pointed Her Feet at the Ceiling To Survive 12 Hours in Economy — Did This Flight ‘Hack’ Cross The Line?

A San Diego Pilates instructor posted a clip of how she attempted to make it through a 10-hour coach flight back from Paris. She’s in a window seat with both legs straight up the wall above the window, toes pointed at the ceiling. The on-screen text deadpans: “When 10+ hours in economy starts to feel like 10+ hours in economy,” with a caption begging, “Give me your hacks? my tailbone can’t take this.”

The flight is actually 12 hours. She didn’t have compression socks, so she says she elevated her legs to stretch and help with lymphatic drainage. Fortunatly she was seated next to her husband, not a random stranger. She claims a flight attendant commented that the stretch looked like a good idea.

@mckaileyfast

give me your hacks? my tailbone can’t take this

♬ original sound – McKailey

At a minimum I think you need to:

  • Stay inside your footprint. If your legs, feet, or gear spill into someone else’s personal space, or into the aisle where crews and other passengers have to move, you’re making your comfort someone else’s problem. That’s not o.k., they deserve to be comfortable too.

  • Not make direct contact with shared surfaces where people eat. Feet on bulkheads and cabin walls are already pushing it. Feet on armrests, tray tables or another passenger’s space should be off-limits.

  • Keep it short. A brief, discreet stretch is one thing. Spending half the flight upside-down because it plays well on TikTok is another.

Let’s be fair. If you’re flying long haul coach you need to ‘make it work’. But make it work needs to be within the bounds of odor and disruption. Here she appears to have kept her legs in her own space, if she was bothering anyone it’s her husband and, well, he married her. So I don’t know, what do you think? Can I get a ruling on this one?

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Eh, just another attention-seeker. If she was “that” fabulous, she wouldn’t be in coach for a 12-hour flight

  2. “Socks are on, it’s fine if she stays in her space. Hard to fathom the objections.”
    “I think it sounds like a great idea.”
    In a world with Karma, you’d get the seat next to this idiot.

  3. @1990 — “Didn’t you hear? Congress just based a bill legalizing doing whatever you please on planes if you’re rich!”

  4. Since she was next to her husband, I don’t find this all that disruptive. Rude, sure. I would hope that she would wipe down her area once done, and if so, fine. As someone who also lives west coast and everything is 12+ hours away, and who has spine issues, I get it. At least she had socks on and it wasn’t like she put her feet on the back of the seat in front of her.

  5. I was a flight attendant for 41 years. If someone on my flight did this I would tell them to take their feet off the wall

  6. This passenger with the feet on the ceiling was a cute and slim young white lady with dainty white socks. But think if it was a person whose body was bulging out of its spandex shorts, with hairy legs and size 13 bare feet. Repulsive, right? That is why it can’t be OK for anybody to stick their feet up in the air.

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