I was on a international flight recently that spanned about 11 hours in the day and the person in front kept putting thier chair back.
Now I know people want to relax but i’m using the screen in the chair and i’m hoping the inflight meal will at least be passable enough to digest.
So on a long haul flight that happens in the day would you put your chair back?
Would you keep trying to put it back every hour (i havent moved chairs). even though you have been asked not to?
- now by the cabin crew btw
They paid for a seat, they can use it as they wish within its designed and permitted capabilities. You don’t know what time zone they’ve come from or where they’re going, when they sleep is their business. You don’t know what back/ physical issues they may have. If you don’t want to sit behind a reclining seat that upsets your delicate sensibilities don’t buy a ticket that sits you behind a reclining seat that upsets your delicate sensibilities. Who the hell do you think you are to dictate what others should do because you don’t like your own life choices.
The problem is not the reclining seats, it’s that we are now packed like cattle.
Complaining about someone using a seat as designed feels entitled to me. Sorry. I’ve always so confused how some people consider it encroaching. Sure it’s all shared space, but that means you are sharing it with others. Reclining inherently uses that chairs fair space.
I always keep mine back, except during meals and when it’s not allowed. It’s better for my back this way.
Some basic etiquette: Recline carefully - there are people with stuff behind you.
Doesn’t bother me if they recline - on an Airbus the seat base pivots so you get more knee room.
Related things that do annoy me - people dropping the seat back with a lot of force (why not recline gently so the person behind can adjust their stuff?), and people kicking the back of my seat.
A 12 hour flight is often going to involve a change in timezone, so I usually get some sleep, and for that I want my seat reclined … plus keeping in one position for that amount of time is uncomfortable for my joints and backside.
It’s always funny to me when people complain about others restricting their slouching on a flight. The way j get around this is to get up every 30-45 minutes and stretch, take a little jaunt around the aisles and if I’m not grossed out by the first peep at the lavatory, take care of business, since I’m sipping on water the entire flight to combat jet lag. I must be in a hidden third category that doesn’t care too much about reclining my seat. If others recline, that’s okay because they’ll quickly learn that every half hour or so, they’re gonna have to push that seat upwards so I can get in and out. And if they don’t, they can explain why to the attendant I’ll be grabbing shortly.
most chairs allow the tray to be upright while the seat is reclined. if the seat wasn’t meant to be reclined, it wouldn’t be able to be reclined. demanding that someone else not perform an action that is permitted to them because you feel that is it is more convenient to you is…well… I’ll let you figure that one out
its really uncomftable fro 11 hours if they do that
🤷 I’ve been on longer flights many times and never had an issue with it.
but we do live in a capitalist society, so perhaps you could pay them to not make use of their own chairs. Yes, I am drinking and am bring a smart ass.
Then pay for a better seat.
This really is the answer
Put your seat back, you’ll get more room.
Reclining seats don’t work that way. My knees are still the same place, my lap is still the same place, the tray is still the same place. All of them are infringed upon, even if I pay the entitlement back on the next poor soul, until the person in the non-reclining seat in the last row is screwed
That has not been my experience at all. In fact could you explain how the person in front of you inconveniences you by reclining their seat?
The only thing I can think of is when someone reclines with a bump and it makes a noise.
Personally I see it like …. As a bigger guy, I can easily shove my way through a crowd so I’m not delayed demanding that I not perform that action because it is more convenient for you not to be pushed to the ground is … well … yes, I do feel like it is a good analogy. In both cases an entitled person is physically infringing on close personal space to cause pain and make someone else less comfortable, and potentially damage their devices. The difference is that one of these actions has entitled people thinking it’s ok
During cabin service which usually is the beginning and end of the flight, I’ll have it up. But it’s reclined while I’m watching the screen or sleeping. Person behind me can adjust, much like I adjust.
It’s a part of the plane. We all know the seat pitch is tight. We all know that the recline feature is there. If it bothers you, book the emergency row, fly first class, or don’t fly.
The way I look at it, it’s a shared resource. You are just as “entitled” to the space as the person behind you.
If I need the space, I will try and use it. But, I will move back slowly, and stop if I meet any resistance. There is nothing worse than having someone slam their seat back into your laptop (or worse, onto your knees…)
That’s a fair approach, and I was recently on a plane with someone who was all legs and over 6’ (Denmark, wow) and I would have negotiated the situation in that case - but I’d argue they should get priority on the bulkheads or emergency row with nobody in front.
But we don’t get priority on seats that fit. We used to but now airlines upcharge everything. Even if you can afford paying extra fees, they go fast: I have rarely seen them available.
FYI - on many planes the bulkhead isn’t even beneficial for tall people. The thing is it’s a flat wall. Even though there’s more room overall, there may be no place for feet/legs. Normal seats are much closer together, but there can be more room for your feet under the seat in front
So, just like you adjust to more room and comfort, the person behind you should adjust to less room, less comfort for your entitlement? Do you really see them the same?
Is it just me or does this come off as entitled and rude?
I bring it up 'cos you’re forcing your choices onto the person behind you… But you’ve probably got the decency to ask first or some polite way to deal with?
If it bothers you [pay about five times as much].
That’s a very grounded and reasonable take.
In this particular case I did pay extra for a decent seat (work paid i added some extra)
It’s like $10 extra for the row with no one in front of you.
Depends on the airline, and that’s definitely not first class which was the proposal.
You don’t need to fly first class though, you don’t even need to fly business
You might look at airline fees again. I’ve typically seen $50 or more. Even worse, since airlines now charge for everything, if I want both legroom and for my family to sit together, there are times when it would double my ticket price
That’s a bit rough. What airlines are charging >$50?
Lowest fair available:
Lowest fair available where you can select a seat with extra leg room:
And that $459 USD difference is only an 8 hour flight. For an 11 hour flight you can expect that to be greater.
PSA for anyone using a laptop during flights, the tray tables do not change angle or height when the person in front of you puts their seat all the way back. I almost had someone break my laptop screen a few years ago because the top of my screen got caught under the exposed edges where my tray table would fold up into, as the seat back came angling down towards my tray table. I was quick enough to be able to pull my laptop towards me and remove the screen before the full force was applied to the screen housing.
Yep same thing happened to me. I don’t know how I managed the quick reflexes after 17hrs London to Perth, but I guess not wanting my laptop to break trumps jet lag.
Flights are for sleeping, friend. I personally don’t see any benefit from reclining my seat so I don’t, but you should understand: reclined IS the default.
I put the seat back every single time I am on a flight. I have back issues and I get back pain if I sit upright like that for too long. If the flight attendants are asking to not put a seat back because the person behind me, then I’m going to ask for a new seat because sitting upright for 11 hours is absolute agony.
Sorry to the tall folks and whatnot, but I’m not flying somewhere just to be stuck in bed for 2 days unable to move because of back pain.
I’m a tall person and, when I can’t get extra leg room, I don’t have an issue with the person in front of me reclining their seat. I do the same if the flight is longer than maybe 2 or 3 hours for the same reason, it’s more comfortable and I can stretch my body in different ways so I’m actually able to walk off the plane.
Yeah, I mean I do feel kind of bad because I’ve flown long enough to see how much smaller the space has gotten. But physical pain overrides any guilt I feel and I will recline the seat.
If the cabin crew tells you not to put your seat back, then don’t put your seat back
You don’t want to be kicked out mid-flight
The crew didn’t ask him not to, OP asked him not to
I’m actually guilty of skipping to the end of the post, but it looks like maybe you didn’t make it that far.
The point still stands though: if one does not want to be ejected from the plane, one ought to listen to the directions of the cabin crew.
I assume his “now” is a typo for “not”. But obviously that’s just an assumption
I never put my seat back. I think they should take that feature out of airplane seats entirely.
Agreed, each person should have their own space that no other passenger can alter. If you want to recline it should be within your own space. For example the seat butt should slide forward, or you should get an angled pillow to put behind your back. Or alternatively all seats should be reclined 100% of the time and you should get an up-slanted pillow for your back so you can sit upright.
However it’s done, everyone should have the exact same amount of space that no one else can alter
all seats should be reclined 100% of the time and you should get an up-slanted pillow for your back so you can sit upright.
Replace ‘extra pillow’ with ‘chair back that can be raised’ and guess what, you’ve got the current situation.
Except that would alter the space of the person behind you
i dont mind it for night flights - the entire plane goes back so you dont notice the difference
More and more airlines actually are, especially on shorter flights. And the price still is going up!
If I want to recline I’m reclining. My comfort shouldn’t be impeded because it might inconvenience the person in back of me.
With the same attitude the person behind you can rightfully kick off and demand you sit back up, because why should THEIR comfort be impeded by your inconvenience of not being able to lay back?
The space that my seat back occupies is not their space, that is mine.
No, it’s not. Your space ends at the backrest of your seat.
And as far as it reclines
In that case your ass is then my space, as far as my foot occupies it.
Ok, Boomer.
No boomer just someone that’s gonna use the features they paid for. If you don’t like the possibility of someone reclining buy a cabin seat with better seat pitch
People will read this name and then the content of the comment and still take it seriously and that’s why we as a species are doomed to fail
Is the name supposed to mean something to most people?
Usually godless communists would not be pro free market capitalism
Just because you were born later than the rest of them, doesn’t mean you don’t belong in the “I got mine, fuck everyone else” group.
I do wonder if they’re trolling, because their attitude could apply equally to the person behind them on a flight.
“My comfort shouldn’t be impeded because it might inconvenience the person in front of me.”
I have no reason to believe they aren’t being honest about their selfishness.
I’m 6’4" (193cm). The seat in front of me reclining means my knees are pressed into the seat back, and that’s uncomfortable for both of us. I don’t want to do that to anyone else so I never put my seat back.
