Window shopping #26
Bagels in a hotel, Southwest’s disappointing policy shift, and the in-flight epidemic of people who can’t say “no"
This is Window Shopping, a weekly mini-letter from Window Seat—your stylish scroll through what’s new and noteworthy in the world of travel. Each issue blends timely headlines, personal favorites, and design-forward hotels to keep your wanderlust well-fed.
Finally, a hotel collab that’s not fashion… The Fifth Avenue Hotel (one of my favorite more recent local openings) announced an upcoming partnership with Apollo Bagels that launches September 3rd. I like this idea a lot; hotels teaming up with local food brands make the city feel more accessible, and for visitors it’s the perfect way to try Apollo without adding yet another stop to an already stacked itinerary.
In one of my first newsletters, I praised Southwest for its inclusive Customer of Size policy, going so far as to say they were “leading the charge.” If a passenger couldn’t comfortably fit in one seat, Southwest would accommodate them with an extra one for free (or provide a refund easily at the gate). It was compassionate and genuinely customer-first.
That’s why I’m so disappointed to hear of the airline’s recent policy change. Starting next year, plus-size passengers will be required to purchase a second seat up front, and refunds are no longer guaranteed. They’ll only be issued if three conditions are met: 1) the flight has empty seats at departure, 2) both seats are in the same fare class, and 3) the refund request is submitted within 90 days. It’s a major shift away from compassion toward cost, and one that makes air travel more inaccessible for the people who need inclusivity most.
I saw a TikTok the other day that turned out to be my own personal rage bait. Here’s how it went: A passenger had sat down in her aisle seat after boarding a flight. A woman approached her row and hesitated, so the passenger gestured to the open window seat next to her and asked, “Oh, is this your seat?” The woman responded coyly, “Yes, but it doesn’t really matter where I sit.” The passenger was confused by this, but the man who had been sitting in the middle seat in their row took that to mean that the woman wanted to swap seats, so he quickly jumped into the window seat and offered her the middle. The passenger addressed her again, asking, “Sorry, do you want to switch seats?” The woman nodded. When the passenger asked which seat she wanted instead, the woman pointed to the aisle seat the passenger was occupying.
Reader, I could not believe what happened next.
The passenger willingly stood up and moved from her chosen aisle seat to the middle seat to accommodate this random woman’s whim. Why? No idea! Admittedly, I was so triggered I violently flicked past the video as if I’d just witnessed a hate crime. But not before catching her admitting how upset she was about it, despite saying absolutely nothing in the moment.
I fear we’ve reached epidemic-level status in this country of airplane passengers who are unable to say “no” or advocate for themselves or their own comfort. Those who simmer in silence while their seatmate’s leg creeps further into their footwell, others who fold themselves into origami in the middle seat while both their armrests are stolen, or those who meekly agree to shut the shade on the window seat they paid extra to be able to look out of. And if we’re being honest, all of us have probably been those people at one point or another.
In all my scrolling, I’ve only come across one singular video where someone stood up for themselves, asking that someone stop touching their leg with their bare foot. One!!! The rest is just a sea of people complaining to the Internet about their horror stories after the fact, rather than doing anything to help themselves in the moment. Have we all collectively forgotten how to advocate for ourselves in shared spaces? Or have we become so conflict-averse that we’d actually rather sit in misery for hours than risk any kind of awkward interaction?
Planes can be tense places. You’re trapped in a tiny metal tube in the sky, after all. And then there can be social pressure—I’ve bowed under it a time or two myself. Would you believe me if I told you that I, of all people, once closed my window shade for a complete stranger on an afternoon flight? (Big mistake. I’ll never again sacrifice one of my greatest joys—looking out the window—just so someone I’ll never see again can work on a laptop screen without any glare.) I get that no one wants to risk causing a scene in such a confined space. But there’s a big difference between being confrontational and calmly stating your needs. Or just, you know, refusing to give up the seat you paid for.
So until people learn how to behave on airplanes—feet COVERED, armrest etiquette respected, window shades at the discretion of whoever booked the window, and seat priority belonging to the person who reserved it (I’m apalled to be typing any of this out to be quite honest)—my wish for the world is this: may the chronic people-pleasers of the skies reclaim their basic right to be comfortable in the seat they bought. With their rightful armrests. In their own footwell space. And for the love of god, may none of you ever have to see a bare foot on a plane again.
Yoruya — Kurashiki, Japan
Yoruya is situated in Kurashiki, a historic canal town in Okayama Prefecture, about 90 minutes by train from Osaka. The hotel itself is housed in a 110-year-old kimono merchant’s home, redesigned with pared-back, contemporary interiors that highlight local craftsmen. The food is a real standout here: you can expect a nightly kaiseki-style dinner inspired by Japan’s 72 micro-seasons. It’s the kind of hotel that reminds me of why I love when hospitality leans into a true sense of place.
Tori Simokov is a Travel Writer and Graphic Designer/Strategist based in New York. To get in touch, email tori@v1projects.com. Want more? Check out Instagram, TikTok, or shop her curated favorites.
The amount of times people assumed I'd just shimmy right out of my prized aisle seat for them is insane!! No thank you!!!
I was recently on a long haul flight and booked and paid for my aisle seat. A large group of people boarded after me and a young woman in the group had the middle seat next to me, someone else in the group asked me if I would switch seats with her boyfriend so they could sit together. They made it look like it was an aisle seat that I was swapping for, but only after I started to gather my things did it become clear it was a middle seat. I said no to the trade and the whole family started berating me and holding up boarding for everyone else on the plane. I stood my ground and when they finally got out of the aisle, several women who walked past me loudly commended me for not giving in.
Someone in one of the seats next to the boyfriend agreed to switch and take the middle seat next to me and half way through the flight the boyfriend came by and tossed a $20 bill at him as a thanks for switching.
The whole thing was very strange, if they needed to sit together, they should have booked seats together. Their group was also large, so they could have shifted among themselves to accommodate 2 teenagers sitting together. They loudly complained about me for the duration of the flight, but I will not be shamed for other people's poor planning.