A Delta Air Lines passenger reclined her seat, and the woman behind her – she says – began pushing her seat back throughout the rest of the flight. In response, she didn’t ask for help from a flight attendant. Instead she… began yelling at the woman behind her. And another passenger caught it on video.
The passengers behind the woman denied pushing her seat and that just drove the her to the brink, publicly defending her right to recline. It was the end of the flight though, so the battle went on silently until she just couldn’t take it anymore.
Seat recline is important for passengers on long flights with poorly-padded seats. Recline works to distribute passenger weight and reduce back stress. This passenger looks fairly slight. But reclining is also a basic right when it’s a feature of your seat (certain airlines like Spirit and Frontier feature seats they call “pre-reclined” i.e. that do not recline).
- A passenger controls their own seat
- Airlines ban the Knee Defender device, which prevents recline – a device was designed to stop reclining. While their interest is prevent damage to the seat, they do not allow the passenger seated behind to interfere with the recline function
There is an etiquette to exercising your right to recline, though. Don’t recline during mealtime. Try not to recline unless it serves a real purpose (if it doesn’t actually benefit your comfort, don’t recline).
If you don’t want the passenger in front of you to recline, politely ask them not to. And if they want to recline and you don’t want them to, consider whether it’s worth your while to make not reclining worth their while.
(HT: Live and Let’s Fly)
Seat reclining etiquette also includes being considerate when moving the seat. I was in first class on an American Airlines flight and the person in front of me slammed their seat back so forcefully that my tablet flew out of the tablet holder (located on the seat back) and nearly hit me in the face.
A little grace and awareness goes far!
I always look politely to see if my reclining will affect the passenger behind me before moving my seat. And, I gently move the seat back (or forwards) as necessary. Kindness doesn’t cost anything.
The airlines are at fault. They cram people into tuna cans and act surprised when they go crazy. It is a predetermined result caused by greed.
Not the fault of the airlines. People know exactly what they’re getting. They most likely used the internet to purchase their ticket and they could have used the internet to do research if they didn’t know already.
Purchasing a ticket and then complaining about cramped space makes as much sense as being 6’4″ and then complaining that the Toyota Corolla you rented from Enterprise is too small and very uncomfortable.
I rarely recline on a domestic flight, but… if there’s heavy turbulence that goes on for a long time, those of us prone to motion sickness need it. Recline, cooler cabin temp, and overhead air on high. So would you rather have the person in front of you recline or smell the results of motion sickness gone too far?
@Lance, Dramamine, next.
True pre-recline sounds best as I’ve had some reclined people literally on top of me. Felt a bit “basic economy” lol
The airlines don’t allow for enough room to recline any more. It’d be better to lock it for flights under 6 hours, and even then not so much. It would also help if the recline was not attached to to the tray of the person behind.
Moral of the story, polite people don’t recline any more unless in first class where the seats are built to recline.
@2808 Heavy, it’s not that easy. Some ppl are on other meds they can’t take with Dramamine. Others have reacrions to it. And, it only helps so far- you can still get motion sickness while taking it, but it may help reduce symptoms. It’s not a cure-all
It’s also about general civility. A polite request to limit the recline with a simple explanation may avoid all hassle. And a hearty thank you if request is honored.
Can’t we all just be kind to one another!?! My husband has a 34”inseam. His knees are into the seat in front of him even before a recline. I would hope that all airlines would add tall people to the qualified list for bulkhead and exit row. And let them reserve that seat when they purchase their tickets. I agree with the other passenger. Wouldn’t it be better if reclining could be by request only at ticketing time rather then left up to passengers personalities!!
Alan, your an Idoit! Airline companies do not manufacture planes. If you are upset at the seats being crammed like tuna cans, contact Boring and Airbus. Complete moron!
My knees go right against the seat back, so when someone tries to recline it is physically impossible (and also genuinely painful).
As with Lance, I rarely recline my seat on a domestic flight, regardless of what class I’m in. that said, IMHO Gary is correct when he writes, ” [R]reclining is also a basic right when it’s a feature of your seat (certain airlines like Spirit and Frontier feature seats they call “pre-reclined” i.e. that do not recline).” In other words, IF your seat reclines, you the passenger have a right to utilize that feature of the aircraft — the same as you would if airlines still had seat-back entertainment screens. (Yes, I know some still do.)
All that aside, I’m not surprised this happened; I am only surprised this doesn’t happen more often — from either the recliner or the reclined upon, so to speak. Like Elvis, courtesy has left the building…
@Alan – No, just no. The airlines are not responsible for overly-entitled passengers behaving badly. If this passenger wanted more personal space she should have purchased a seat where she would not find herself put out by a seat being reclined. We need to stop with the victim BS and ask people to behave with some level of decorum.
She can 100% recline whether it’s on a 2-hour flight or an 8-hour flight if the airlines don’t like it they shouldn’t allow it one or make the seats more accommodating
Back in the day, everyone would recline the second the seatbelt sign would turn off, which was promptly 7 minutes after takoeff. There was even a fun ding letting everyone know it was time to push things back.
Pilots keeping the seatbelt sign on longer has created this chaos
Alan,
You’re 100% correct. The greedy airlines put the seats too close to get additional passengers and then wonder why everyone is so uncomfortable and irritable.
These anti recline people need to cool it. If I pay for the seat, I can recline my seat when appropriate. Get over it.
Just repurpose the seats to be slightly reclined and thats it. Problem solved.
It’s also my right being 6’5” to be able to sit properly in my seat. So I’m putting my knees into your seat back. If I’m uncomfortable you’re gonna be uncomfortable with me.
@James S –> how is waiting, say, 10 minutes for the seatbelt sign to turn off any different than waiting seven minutes?
@T- –> I don’t deny anyone’s right to recline (even if, for example, it might be damned inconvenient for me if I’m trying to work and the recline interferes with my ability to view the laptop’s screen — although in the case, I might politely ask the individual to not recline the seat quite so much). But the key words in your post are “when appropriate.” As I said above, courtesy is often missing in today’s society. With that in mind, when is it appropriate, and when is it not?
The airlines are indeed at fault for allowing seats to recline AND reducing seat pitch to a point where one’s space is severely impacted when the seat in front is reclined. We never hear about these battles in first class because even when the seat in front of you in FC is reclined, you still have plenty of room. This clearly isn’t the case outside FC.
Even thin people can suffer back problems or increase their risk of back problems by being stuck in miserable positions for too long and too often.
Thin and short people should have no fewer entitlements than fatter and taller people.
As a 6’2″ ex football lineman I am always surprised that the first thing the midgets do is recline their seat like it’s normal. I do not recline no matter how painful the experience is on me. That is what civilized people do. Cheap seats or FC seats all are midget seats to us larger folks. My shoulders are above the seat top. It would be helpful if the headrest could be removed since it’s non functional for taller people. My only relief is knowing I have not paid for a seat in 25 years thanks to FF mile bonuses.
I am 6’4″ and always will pay extra for emergency rows if available, but they usually get snapped up by people that WANT more leg room but don’t NEED it. The seats are not designed for people with 34″ inseams. Being big in a small world stinks.
I am a writer and anybody reclining their seat will have to deal with me typing away on my laptop…
Simply start banning people who misbehave from flights.
This seat-recline issue has been going on since the 1970’s. Unfortunately, passenger inflight etiquette has changed. Airlines will soon stop seat-recline completely to make seats more uncomfortable and avoid arguments and we’ll have only our selves to blame.
I’m 6’ 4” and was recently on a flight where the person in front of me not only reclined into my minimal space, but also flung their greasy hair back within inches of my coffee that I was trying to drink. While not a big fan of Spirit, at least I know that the person in front of me won’t be reclining!
I’m 6’2″ tall, my knees are at the exact correct position to stop the seat in front of me from reclining, if I decide to put them up against it . I’ve actually had passengers in front of me, trying to recline and not able to figure out why the seat won’t go back. It’s a fun game on long flights
THE ONLY REASON WHY I ONLY FLIGHT DELTA IS BCS THEY ARE STILL LETTING YOU RECLINE AND FEEL SEMI COMFORTABLE
She is a real jacka$$
James S, the seatbelt sign has nothing to do with reclining your seat.
You can recline as soon as the wheels break ground.
People are shooting each other for pulling into the wrong driveway. Why should we expect the inexplicably ‘entitled’ masses to behave well ANYWHERE. People suck. Come on, extinction: We had a good run. We blew it, but we had a good run.
I will recline after a while but only half way. I try to be considerate of the person behind me. I will look before I recline also to make sure they are not pouring a drink of something. I warn them I am reclining but only part way. Just be considerate of the people behind you. Seats are closer than they were when reclining came to the seats.
I NEVER Recline unless NO ONE is behind me !!!!! I believe it’s RUDE to infringe on the passenger’s space behind me….ESPECIALLY during Drink and or Food Service !!!!! …..I have “Freakishly Long Femurs” …..So I HAAAAAATE People who Recline in front of me !!!!!!!! I have some pretty good strategies to ANNOY the Recliner in front of me during the flight !!!!! Hahaha…..
@SOBE ER DOC People like you are a real nuisance to society. Why are you blaming the lady behind the woman who did the reclining. The gentleman clearly said she was not pushing the seat. The lady probably wanted to go further back and was either blocked by the lady’s legs or it could not go any further.
The lady who started arguing is definitely the problem here and based on your own reasoning should have gotten tickets with more space if she decided that she needed to be lying down the entire flight.
The seats are cramped anyway- why try to piss off the person behind you?
I’m 6ft 6in tall and find these “right to recline” a**holes a nemesis. i definitely push back because there is literally no room available for the recline to happen. it never fails; the recliner has ample leg space, yet selfishly feels entitled to recline.
Maybe take a look 1st before pushback and ask if there is enough room.
Only way change happens is if you only use Airlines that make you comfortable. If Airlines and Manufactures designed seats, rows and bathrooms for the largest possible person, all flights would be comfortable for everyone and there would be no need for classes on the AIrcraft but everyone will pay first class fare rates. If you dont like coach. Pay for business or first class. Your paying for your space everytime you travel on Airlines. Dont support airlines who are eliminating room on flights. People dont talk to people anymore. Ask for their phone number so you can text them to kindly move their seat up. Social skills have sadly diminshed in airtravel. It use to be fun believe it or not.
New focus. Everyone needs to complain about the bathrooms that should be illegal. A small child has trouble turning around in this tight box on narrowbody flights. There should be a minimum requirement for bathroom size. The bathroom on a bus is 2 to 3 times larger as some airline bathrooms.
@JayR, unless you were on said flight sitting across the isle from both parties, you have no idea whether the person sitting behind did keep hitting , kicking , or shoving her seat. It’s easy to lie. Airlines should give a little more legroom, tilt the backs a little more. Get rid of the recline feature entirely, it is awful to have the person in front of you in your lap. Everyone needs to suck it up and start acting like adults. It’s an airline flight, not a lifetime.
Why don’t they make seats that recline by the seat sliding forward? That way the passenger can trade leg room for recline, but won’t invade the space of the passenger behind.
Not reclining triggers my sciatica.
Just as painful as anything a tall person experiences.
The idea that I’m rude if I recline is ludicrous.
Stop. This shouldn’t be an issue. If your tall buy a ticket in business class!! Don’t be cheap and then get upset when the person in front of you reclines. Everyone has a right to recline their seat. This has only become an issue in recent years. Recline. If you don’t like it pay for a seat with my leg room!!
Is it possible that the rear passenger was using the touch screen on the seat back, and the forward passenger incorrectly assumed that the pushes had malicious intent?
Stacy C says:
May 2, 2023 at 7:59 am
Stacy, you are correct that airlines don’t manufacture the planes, but each airline provides their specifications on the seat layout and type of seats. They will often update the layouts over time. And they differ by aircraft within the same airline.
Reclining without asking and getting the permission of the person behind you should get you thrown off the flight imo.
I wish airlines would remove that feature alltogether if they don’t provide adequate legroom in the first place.
I’m 6’3″ and have been injured once by some roudy reclining their seat without asking (bruised knees).
Stacy C calls somebody an idiot and a moron, but she does not know the difference between “your” and “you’re”. Way to go keyboard warrior.
For the record, the airlines do in fact control seat pitch when they purchase the aircraft. The manufacturers build the configuration the airlines order. This includes seat pitch/spacing. And the airlines can modify this spacing at any time after purchase.
To Stacy C.
Actually, Alan is correct. Airlines order aircraft and pay the manufacturer to complete the interior as requested and specified. So, the airlines are responsible for seat size and configuration. The manufacturers (that would be Boeing not “Boring” and Airbus) are not responsible for seating size, number or configuration. As long as we are on the subject, insulting remarks are slightly more effective if correct spelling and grammar are used. “Idoit”(sic) and the contraction “your” for “you are” weakens your attempted insult.
Wow. Just don’t fly!! Probably best to stay close to home if possible these days. Just sayin!