A passenger on an American Airlines flight was told to put her seat in its fully upright position for departure. She refused because she said other passengers weren’t doing it either. So the rule was being applied unfairly!
The confrontation over this woman – dubbed a “Karen” by the person filming – had her insisting she could recline her seat during taxi and takeoff.
- She argues back and forth “no, it wasn’t” and “neither is his” about whether other passengers were complying
- Then she laid out her case: “if they don’t have to follow the rules, I’m not going to follow the rules.”
The flight attendant here stayed calm. A second crewmember joined. But the passenger just refused. Ultimately, a flight attendant dropped their version of the line we all know, that ends it all: “are we going to have a good flight or are we not?”
The passenger responds with an insult: they’ve “apparently” been doing this “too long” because she “overlooked things.” The captain turned the plane back to the gate to have her removed.
@dayana.hansley Had a Karen on our @American Airlines ♬ Love Is Bold – Daniel Sid
FAA rules specifically require seatbacks in their upright position for takeoff and landing on a commercial flight under §121.311(d). And passengers are required to comply with crewmember instructions regarding cabin safety.
Even if that Cranberries album were true, and everybody else is doing it, so why can’t we? it doesn’t matter:
- that passengers seat had to be upright
- they had to comply with the crewmember’s instruction about safety
This is an odd hill to die on. And litigating it isn’t going to end well either because even if you somehow win (you won’t) you won’t win in the moment. That’s what happened here.
Some commenters oddly in social media feel that “she paid for the seat, leave her alone” – but she’s still required to follow federal safety rules. You purchase transportation between two points, not the ability to do anything you wish with the seat for the duration of flight. That’s simply not the bundle of rights you’re paying for.
Just a couple of months ago, a United Airlines passenger got kicked off for refusing to sit while the plane was on the tarmac during a delay.
(HT: Johnny Jet)
The seatback upright for takeoff and landing thing is because a reclined seatback makes a minor obstacle to the row behind you if there’s an evacuation. It’s for folks back there who might be, ahem, less than fully limber and spry.
Same thing with the tray tables sticking out or bags/objects/etc. on the floor.
Too bad that the passenger behind the entitled person didn’t have the Knee Defender.
Just another case of an entitled person thinking that they are entitled to recline but getting the timing aspects wrong. I have zero pity for her.
I know it is a rule, but is it really a rule. Can’t we just ignore it this one time.
Sorry to make it political, but isn’t that what a certain party is saying about illegal invaders?
Glad the captain followed the rules, now are there going to be paid protesters everywhere disrupting everything?
If I were the passenger behind her I would have forcibly pushed the seat forward with my feet. Instead everyone was delayed when they had to return to the gate.