Do you have the right to recline your plane seat?

[kenny]

Some people consider it rude so they won't do it to the person behind them.
Others feel the seats are designed to recline so it is okay.

Here's an article about the controversy:
http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/19/8402393-do-you-have-the-right-to-recline-your-seat-on-a-plane

 

[iheartscience]

Yes-if your seat reclines, you have the right to use that function. I used to fly a ton for work and I've actually seen a few passengers say something to the person in front of them for reclining their seat. I never understood the issue-just recline yours and be done with it! And if you need a ton of leg room but can't afford first class or business class, get a seat in the emergency row.

 

[choro72]

I voted yes, but I think it's the polite thing to do to warn the person behind you. I find it interesting that the article says the women are more aggressive about it. I've experienced the opposite, but then Japanese women tend to be more polite than men.

One thing I love about ANA. When it's meal time, they ask each and every reclined person to put up their seat. It's just impossible to eat with the seat reclined in front of you.

ETA, I never get annoyed or experience the discomfort with the seating space. I'm 4'7", and I'm very blessed!

 

[Lottie]

On a flight to New York the man in front of us reclined his seat onto my husbands knees, when we mentioned it he and his wife raised their eyebrows at each other and he moved his seat up marginally so that it wasn't actually crushing my husbands knees any more but he couldn't move them at all. At this point the only way to avoid the "discussion" becoming heated was to move seats, which we did.

Bizzarely we walked past the couple in the middle of a busy New York street - they were arguing. I was glad.

Edited to add that I think its fine to recline but common sense and manners should always apply!

 

[luv2sparkle]

Some planes are worse than others. I have been in some that when the person reclines they are practically in your lap and you can hardly move and others that it didn't change a thing for me. The hard part is remembering which plane and airline that you flew that you were comfortable with the leg room. That and how long the flight is makes a big difference.

One time, in a flight the three people in front of us came on a little drunk and proceeded to drink during the whole flight. They bounced their reclined seats for the whole five hour flight. We couldn't set anything on our tray tables and I found it to be sooo very rude. We didn't say anything because they were so darn obnoxious already, we thought it would just make it worse. Sit still, people!!

 

[chemgirl]

I was taught that its rude to recline your seat and I never used to do it. However, I find more and more people are reclining their seat all the way, so I give up, and recline if the person in front of me does. I'm 6 feet tall and mostly legs so its really uncomfortable when the person in front of me reclines.

I have asked the person not to once, when he didn't understand that the seat was stuck because it was jammed in to my legs. He kept on pushing it back and sort of ramming his body in to it to try and get it to go back further. If he had looked, he would have realized that he was slamming the seat in to me. He was pretty annoyed when I asked him to please stop. I was 18 or 19...the guy had to be at least 40. I think that was the first time I realized that maturity level is relative.

I will tend to recline more often on longer or overnight flights because it seems to be the norm. I will look behind me and make sure I'm not hitting anyone. I also feel pretty guilty about it.

This Molson Canadian add sums it up for me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soa5qhaZ-hI I'll recline, but I feel kinda bad about it.

I HATE it when people stay reclined during meals so I can't put my tray table in the proper position.

Asking the person behind you to sit up straighter so you can recline seems really out of line to me. My view is that you can recline, as long as you pay attention to the person behind you and don't touch them!

 

[Skippy123]

yes but sometimes there is no room; I hate that! I agree in some of the planes the people are practically on your lap. Also, I hate hate hate when little kids kick my seat.

 

[isaku5]

Yes, you do have that right...if the seat reclines; however, nowadays there's so little legroom as it is in Economy, that I NEVER do it. Of course, if I insist I need leg room, I'll book in the Business or First Class sections and suck up the cost.

Even worse than someone reclining on my lap is the fussy toddler who kicks the seat repeatedly even after a parent intervenes.

 

[y2kitty]

By the time you've gotten into the plane with the opportunity to recline you've fought lines to check in, perhaps paid extra to bring luggage with you, been molested by the TSA, herded like cattle to board, and your overhead space has been taken by someone else. Of course people are nasty about reclining their chairs. Its the first thing they have control over while traveling.

 

[packrat]

Not that I ever fly, but as long as the person wasn't basically sitting in my lap I wouldn't have a problem w/it. However..I am a bit of a..not very nice girl shall we say, and if the person was reclined so that I was unable to move and basically in my lap I would assume it an invitation to groom them. Maybe tap out a drum beat on the back/top of their seat. I'd get up and down every five minutes and "oops sorry" when I shove past the seat. I'm a kicker too. If I'm irritated at the expense of your comfort then I kinda think mayhaps there will be a chance I will irritate you for my own amusement.

 

[ame]

If you recline your seat into my space, you better expect me to be INSANELY obnoxious to you the entire duration of your reclining time. I will make your rest absolute HELL assuming you can get any. Ill pull on your seat by leaning on my tray table will all 200 of my pounds, Ill kick my knees into it and need to reach down often to pick things up from my bag making my face be RIGHT in yours where you can smell my death breath. Ill have my music so loud teh whole plane can hear it even with headphones on. And when I vomit, which I tend to do on all of my flights despite all attempts not to, I won't be as sorry if a little hits you.

My husband has been stuck in his seat on an 8 hour flight before because the douchebag in front of him popped a xanax and passed out reclined, That sticks 3-5 other people who are beside and behind you in their seats til YOU are damn good and ready to sit back up. They either need to take the reclining option away, or only allow it to go back like a degree so that it doesn't interfere with anyone behind the person. I need to be able to use my table and move.

 

[stephbolt]

I rarely recline my seat on a flight. I can't sleep on a plane anyway and don't feel like I am any more comfortable reclined. I don't mind if others recline their seats as long as they are not crushing me. I always seem to get stuck behind the kicking kids though, and that I do mind quite a bit!

 

[kama_s]

What??? Are you guys being real?? I PAID for my seat - my ENTIRE seat and ALL of it's functionalities. I get it is hard for taller folks - my husband is 6'5 and he has a difficult time fitting in his seat. Only then is a polite conversation warranted. What is up with people being jerks to the person reclining their seat???

Only exception: during meal/snack time. All seats should be back in upright and ensure the person behind has finished eating/drinking before you recline it again.

 

[kama_s]

If you recline your seat into my space, you better expect me to be INSANELY obnoxious to you the entire duration of your reclining time. I will make your rest absolute HELL assuming you can get any. Ill pull on your seat by leaning on my tray table will all 200 of my pounds, Ill kick my knees into it and need to reach down often to pick things up from my bag making my face be RIGHT in yours where you can smell my death breath. Ill have my music so loud teh whole plane can hear it even with headphones on. And when I vomit, which I tend to do on all of my flights despite all attempts not to, I won't be as sorry if a little hits you.

You're a real peach to travel with.

 

[princesss]

What??? Are you guys being real?? I PAID for my seat - my ENTIRE seat and ALL of it's functionalities. I get it is hard for taller folks - my husband is 6'5 and he has a difficult time fitting in his seat. Only then is a polite conversation warranted. What is up with people being jerks to the person reclining their seat???

Only exception: during meal/snack time. All seats should be back in upright and ensure the person behind has finished eating/drinking before you recline it again.

Agreed. I've been the moron that forgot to sit back up at meal time, and all the person behind me had to do was ask and I pulled my chair back up. When I wanted to get back to sleep, I looked behind me to make sure her food had been cleared and reclined again so I could sleep. I definitely couldn't have survived the trips to and from NZ without reclining so I could get some rest!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I think this thread is the equivalent to the Friday-Tiffany thread of lore. Awesome.

cheers--Sharon

 

[packrat]

I just think the person sitting behind you paid also, and they shouldn't have to be crushed, or uncomfortable or unable to move. I kinda figure if it's fair for you to recline completely back so that I'm stuck-and I have to pee a lot so that might be a problem, then it's fair to assume the person behind you at some point would like to move around. I have good manners. I wouldn't mess w/someone sitting in front of me just to be a knob. However, if the person in front of me is acting a knob, then my inner knobness will come out and I will be forced to forget my manners, much the same as the person in front of me did. People should just be considerate of others..it's not hard.

ETA if it's not interfering w/anyone, nobody's legs are losing circulation and the person behind can sit/move comfortably, maybe cross their leg if they want, read w/out having to use the reclining person's forehead as a desk, then no, it's not a big deal to recline your seat. I'd never play w/your hair if you weren't sitting in my lap, Kama!

 

[ImperfectGirl]

What??? Are you guys being real?? I PAID for my seat - my ENTIRE seat and ALL of it's functionalities. I get it is hard for taller folks - my husband is 6'5 and he has a difficult time fitting in his seat. Only then is a polite conversation warranted. What is up with people being jerks to the person reclining their seat???

Only exception: during meal/snack time. All seats should be back in upright and ensure the person behind has finished eating/drinking before you recline it again.

Big fat ditto

 

[MissStepcut]

I'm not 6'5" but I do have a 35" inseam. If someone tries to recline their seat on me, I will push back so I am not crushed. If it's possible for me to stop you from reclining just by holding my knees where they were instead of moving out of your way, I guess I feel entitled to the space.


So I guess no, I don't think you have a right to recline on me.

 

[kama_s]

I just think the person sitting behind you paid also, and they shouldn't have to be crushed, or uncomfortable or unable to move. I kinda figure if it's fair for you to recline completely back so that I'm stuck-and I have to pee a lot so that might be a problem, then it's fair to assume the person behind you at some point would like to move around. I have good manners. I wouldn't mess w/someone sitting in front of me just to be a knob. However, if the person in front of me is acting a knob, then my inner knobness will come out and I will be forced to forget my manners, much the same as the person in front of me did. People should just be considerate of others..it's not hard.

Packie, i have to ask, how often do you fly? If the person infront of you reclines, then you recline your seat. Simple as that. And you can still get in and out of your seat. You're squished, not stuck.

Really, though, it sounds like people are being inconvenienced by the lack of space. The anger is being displaced to the person reclining their seat when really this is an issue that should be taken up with the big guys running these tightly packed aircrafts.

 

[MissStepcut]

I just think the person sitting behind you paid also, and they shouldn't have to be crushed, or uncomfortable or unable to move. I kinda figure if it's fair for you to recline completely back so that I'm stuck-and I have to pee a lot so that might be a problem, then it's fair to assume the person behind you at some point would like to move around. I have good manners. I wouldn't mess w/someone sitting in front of me just to be a knob. However, if the person in front of me is acting a knob, then my inner knobness will come out and I will be forced to forget my manners, much the same as the person in front of me did. People should just be considerate of others..it's not hard.

Packie, i have to ask, how often do you fly? If the person infront of you reclines, then you recline your seat. Simple as that. And you can still get in and out of your seat. You're squished, not stuck.

Really, though, it sounds like people are being inconvenienced by the lack of space. The anger is being displaced to the person reclining their seat when really this is an issue that should be taken up with the big guys running these tightly packed aircrafts.

I disagree. This doesn't change where my thigh bone reaches to. I will still be as crushed as if I hadn't reclined.

 

[packrat]

Ehhh Kama, ya caught me. the last time I flew was..2003. That was my third time. So if one person reclines then everyone does or has to to get room? One of the airlines it was really tight-Southwest I think? I was weighed a lot less then and it was like trying to maneuver past people in the old theater rows when I'd get up to use the restroom..it sucked. I figure it would only be worse if someone was leaning back.

 

[kama_s]

Packie, i have to ask, how often do you fly? If the person infront of you reclines, then you recline your seat. Simple as that. And you can still get in and out of your seat. You're squished, not stuck.

Really, though, it sounds like people are being inconvenienced by the lack of space. The anger is being displaced to the person reclining their seat when really this is an issue that should be taken up with the big guys running these tightly packed aircrafts.

I disagree. This doesn't change where my thigh bone reaches to. I will still be as crushed as if I hadn't reclined.

If you read my previous post, you will see that I mentioned that my husband has the same issue and initiates a polite conversation requesting the person in front of him to reduce the recline angle so they can both reach a happy middle ground. But that space is not your right, and if you have an issue with that you have to take it up with the airline and not the person sitting in front of you.

The person in front of you could have had the guy in front of him recline. And with you forcing him not to recline his seat, he will definitely be stuck between a rock and a hard place. And he probably paid the same you did - so what gives?

 

[kenny]

Everything about the flying experience has been getting steadily worse for years.
Yes, it's the money-grubbing airline's fault for packing in too many seats into the tin can.
It's no wonder things like this are flaring up and passengers are hostile.

I wonder how bad it will be in 10 or 20 years.
They'll probably put us to sleep with gas and use a forklift to pile us up like peanuts in a can.

 

[kama_s]

Ehhh Kama, ya caught me. the last time I flew was..2003. That was my third time. So if one person reclines then everyone does or has to to get room? One of the airlines it was really tight-Southwest I think? I was weighed a lot less then and it was like trying to maneuver past people in the old theater rows when I'd get up to use the restroom..it sucked. I figure it would only be worse if someone was leaning back.

In shorter flights (<4 hours), I only recline if the person in front of me reclines - just so I can get additional room. Flights greater than 4 hours, all bets are off. Everyone reclines.

Space is definitely tight, but it's not as though the person in front is a jerk for using a functionality that came with his paid ticket. And space is progressively getting worse by the year. I've been flying since I was born (my first flight alone was at age 3 MONTHS!), and it's a whole other ball game to travel now than it used to be. I love travelling, but hate flights.

 

[kama_s]

Everything about the flying experience has been getting steadily worse for years.
Yes, it's the money-grubbing airline's fault for packing in too many seats into the tin can.
It's no wonder things like this are flaring up and passengers are hostile.

I wonder how bad it will be in 10 or 20 years.
They'll probably put us to sleep with gas and use a forklift to pile us up like peanuts in a can.

Not really. Most airlines function at a loss. People want low fares and that comes with a price. The turnover for airline businesses is so high, new airlines going belly up or bankrupt. Not sure what the solution is, but I can't simply point fingers at airlines. It's far more complicated than that.

 

[packrat]

I've never flown for extended periods of time. Once to AZ, once to FL but not straight thru, and once to Las Vegas.

 

[wakingdreams53]

I fly quite frequently. I wordlessly check before reclining to make sure I'm not inconveniencing anyone and very rarely would I go all the way back. Just enough not to be rigidly upright in my seat for 3 hours.
What does bug me is when they ask you to put your seat back and the person in front of you thinks they're better than everyone else and the flight attendant doesn't notice them. Then you're stuck landing with some @$$hole's seat in your face, that bothers me.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Everything about the flying experience has been getting steadily worse for years.
Yes, it's the money-grubbing airline's fault for packing in too many seats into the tin can.
It's no wonder things like this are flaring up and passengers are hostile.

I wonder how bad it will be in 10 or 20 years.
They'll probably put us to sleep with gas and use a forklift to pile us up like peanuts in a can.

Not really. Most airlines function at a loss. People want low fares and that comes with a price. The turnover for airline businesses is so high, new airlines going belly up or bankrupt. Not sure what the solution is, but I can't simply point fingers at airlines. It's far more complicated than that.

Very true, Kana. Back in my consulting days, I did more than one consumer study that showed that people buy plane tickets by price almost alone (something like 75% of the decision was price based, which is by far the highest I ever saw). It was very interesting: if you asked what people wanted, everyone would say larger seats, more leg room, better meals.However, if you showed them different tickets and asked them to choose which one they would buy, they would always choose the cheapest, even when the large, comfy option was only marginally (15%) more expensive. We even did this study with passengers immediately after they landed, thinking that the recent discomfort might change their willingness to pay and guess what? Nope, they still went for the cheapest.

Unless people want to pay for more comfort (since airline margins are very tight or negative as it is), we are going to have to deal with sardine cans with wings.

 

[kenny]

Then I guess we deserve what we get.