A month ago I noted that La-Z-Boy had a new ad campaign about banning airline seats from reclining. Their petition has now garnered nearly 200,000 signatures. But it’s way too simplistic a take.
Still, it’s hard not to be sympathetic given incidents like these.
I leaned forward in my seat with my head over to adjust something. Just then, the guy in the seat in front of me slams his seat into fully reclined. The plastic part of the seat back slammed into my forehead. I shrieked in pain. The dude ignored it, while I try to catch my breath.
Then he looks behind and I say, you just hit me in the head with your seat. He turns back around and slams it back a second time. …I asked the [flight attendant]s for some ice, there’s a lump coming up my head. Now I’m sitting here holding a barf bag full of ice against it. I feel nauseous, but that’s probably the pain.
To be clear, you are allowed to recline if your seat reclines (except during takeoff and landing, when you’re instructed by crew to be in a full upright position for safety), and seat recline can be important for comfort especially on long flights with poorly-padded seats. (I wouldn’t be opposed to a petition banning Recaro seats.)
Recline works to distribute passenger weight and reduce back stress. 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
However, there is an etiquette to exercising your right to recline:
- 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).
- Let them know you’re going to recline, and do it gently. That helps keep this from happening:
@Delta small note for the suggestion box, maybe have a little warning sign or someway to prevent my laptop from being destroyed when the person in front of me reclines their seat. pic.twitter.com/QHmphXiDhH
— Pat “Beave” Cassidy (@HardFactorPat) February 26, 2020
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. Many years ago all it took was $5 (offered with a parent’s permission) for me to convince a child seated in front of me not to recline so that I could work effectively on my laptop.
The product you’re buying in a standard coach seat usually does not offer very much space. Keep in mind that both Southwest Airlines and JetBlue offer more space than United, Delta, or American – but not for long. As both carriers add premium seats they will reduce the space of standard coach seats. Many international airlines offer more space in coach than U.S. airlines do.
If you don’t want seat recline, fly Spirit. Their seats don’t recline. The airline markets the seats as “pre-reclined” which is funny when you think about the seats being in a standard fixed position. But those who want reclined seats banned have a choice!
By the way here’s an unethical so-called ‘hack’ that is less violent than shoving the seat in front of you, but is still an aggression meant to get under the skin of the person reclining and can easily lead to escalation. What do you think you’re accomplishing by “turn[ing] on the air con above you at full blast and point[ing] it at their head”..?
@thelkshow The plane ride is so long when you get one of these people in front of you 🥱 #plane #reclinetheseat #annoyingpassengers ♬ Blicky – Fresh X Reckless
Ultimately you need to buy the space that you want, ask politely that passengers around you conform to norms, and if they don’t get a crewmember involved. You can also consider a Coasian solution: you each have an initial set of rights and they can impede on each other’s preferences, so find a (cash) bargain.
People that recline their seats in coach are just rude. IMHO no reason to EVER recline except MAYBE on overnight flight and then only slightly recline. If in first or main cabin with extra pitch not as big a deal but frankly recline should be blocked for seats with 31 inch pitch or less.
@AC,
Might you explain why airlines install seats which you would consider “rudeness capable by design” into their airplanes? This is so obviously a feature yet you defiantly insist it is a bug. SMH.
I like the AC blasting at their head!
“ while I try to catch my breath” “ I feel nauseous” lololol I would have ignored that drama queen too
@jfhscott – I never said it was a “bug” simply that it was rude to do it. BTW, just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean you SHOULD! All about consideration and understanding that your actions can inconvenience other people. Most civilized people take that all into account.
Seat recliner in front of me has hit me in the head before, same as described above. The airlines don’t care & neither do the people reclining. Every single airline review sent to me, I ask to stop coach seats from reclining since we are being packed in like sardines
What a judgmental ad campaign. Turned me off from LaZBoy.
If someone reclines, you can choose to respond by reclining and you have the exact same space as before.
Only loser in that is the very last row or the row before the exit.
@AC, still waiting for you to reconcile carriers’ deliberately designing in a feature (at additional cost to them) with the use of that feature being as uncategorically rude as you proclaim.
Recline is a right, but nobody should ‘slam’ their seat back in any case – much more civil to at least check behind then ease it back. It can damage laptops, or the jarring will send anything on the tray table into laps or floor. You even have to be cautious if bending over to retrieve something. Just entitled idiots who think only of themselves. – the slam, not the recline itself.
I made a mistake of briefly hanging my glasses on the seatback pocket – once. A very elderly couple in front reclined their seats – apparently not enough – so they both started slamming into their seatbacks to try to get more recline – against my knees. Glass frames destroyed – $250 mistake.
I am tired of the anti-recline drama queens. No coach seat actually reclines so far that “their head is my lap”. At best you have 2” of recline, not the 12” need to put you head in someone’s lap. And for those that are too tall, your discomfort isn’t a license to make others suffer too, you have my empathy.
If the seats were actually comfortable in the full upright position reclining wouldn’t be needed, but they aren’t comfortable in that position and some level of recline is needed for any flight over 45 minutes.
There are options to purchase extra leg room seats, and if recline is a problem then spend the extra money
Never though recline made much sense on economy seats, does not add much comfort yet always seems to create some sort of problem.
Alternative point of view: the onus belong on fat passengers to tell the flight attendant to tell the reclining passenger not to recline, and the fatty should have to pay more for this privilege (the surcharge would go directly to a refund to the reclining passenger who now can’t).
Merry Christmas, everybody!
@jfhscott – I guess critical thinking isn’t your strong suit. Seats starting reclining many years ago when it was common to have 38-40 inch pitch. This feature was there from the beginning. As seat have gotten closer together it became more of an issue. That is why I propose no recline if pitch is 31 inches or less. For first and main cabin extra, comfort+ etc with extra room it isn’t an issue.
Frankly I never understood people that feel they have to recline their seat in the first place. Of course as lifetime elite on AA, DL and UA I am always at least in an extra legroom seat and usually in domestic first of international business or first so really not my issue. I just hate to hear the riff raff in the cheap seats get into it over things like seat recline and eliminating that on seats with less pitch would solve a lot of the problem.
@AC
While God gives you the choice of being a jerk or not, but remember, if you act up behind me that way, I will not accept your attitude.
You mean, you slammed your forehead into his seat.
I would like to see your items 1, 2 and 3 on the back of every seat
@AlanZ – Not sure if you misunderstood my post or if you are replying to someone else (or maybe I just don’t understand what you posted). I am anti-recline in most coach seats. If the person in front of me reclines I will not do or say anything (unless they slam it back and cause some sort of damage then a FA will be involved). I am not a “jerk” on flights related to recline and never say anything to people about it – I just think common courtesy (which I understand most people don’t have in this selfish society) would stop them from reclining into the limited space behind them.
Please clarify what you thought I posted that got this attitude back from you in a response!
Truth be told, airlines caused this. Been this way for years with no uproar. Our uproar should be directed at them, they squeezed the space causing the problem. I myself cannot fly for long without moving my seat a bit for relief. So I book business class something a lot cannot do. We bail them out when things get tough for them, they squeeze us tight and take more of our money.
I was recently on a 4 1/2 hour flight in Y. I had good legroom and the seats were Acro Series 6 slimline. The lack of padding got to me after a while. And, my back started bothering me, an uncommon occurrence during flights. I thought there was no recline, as the button is in a nontraditional location. It’s amazing how that lowly 2″ of recline helped once I found out about that button. Doctors recommend reclining on flights (so , I’ve read). I will do it when allowed and it makes me more comfortable, except for meals. I will not ask you. I don’t believe it is courteous to ask for permission to do something it is my right to do, given I’ll recline if you say no. I will not warn. I will do it slowly. I was once asked not to recline in Y on a long flight. I suggested I might if she could get the person in front of me not to recline. But, I explained, it didn’t seem right I’d be the net loser in the deal, and she could just recline herself. I hoped she saw the silliness of her request, but I think she just realized her attempt to have me give her some of my space failed.
Airline websites describe the seats in each class including how many degrees they recline. If you pay for a seat that reclines, you have the right to use it. Don’t slam it back suddenly. And if you are in coach and have little room, don’t use the pocket in the seat in front of you for your personal storage and then complain when you don’t have legroom when the seat reclines. The person in front doesn’t want to be constantly poked either.
It used to be that coach was much roomier. But it was also more expensive in today’s dollars. People love to complain about the lack of space but they will also scour booking websites for the lowest prices even if it’s to save a few dollars.
If it costs marginally more to select a seat and you can pick one in an emergency row or the bulkhead, then go for it. Or fly business or first. If those classes are too expensive, then get economy plus. It’s cheaper than economy used to be, in relative terms. So if you are getting economy seats these days, you are paying for less space.
One size fits all thinking is common in the airline industry. Just look how the individuality of Southwest is being eliminated. Eliminating adjustable recline in coach on single aisle airlines would have a number of benefits such as sturdier seats at lower cost and the elimination of some passenger vs passenger conflicts. Having the seatbacks pre-reclined with one or two inches of extra recline compared to a standard seat is a solution.
Seats in Y don’t recline far enough (or suddenly enough) to be a problem. If you have a problem with back pain because of the seat design, place a pillow or folded blanket behind you at the BB ase of the seat back. I do this first thing when I take my seat. And I’ve NEVER had a problem with: 1. sore back, 2. pax behind complaining about my reclined seat, 3. pax seat back in front of me affecting any part of my flight, including food and drink service.
People need to stop acting so entitled.
An attaboy to lazy boy. Get rid of reclining seats!
Nothing gets me angrier than Karens whining about people reclining. Your three suggestions are also a problem because notifying the person behind me just gives them a chance to say no, and then I’m in a more difficult situation. I will recline unless the flight attendant or captain says not to, or when meals are being served. And I do try to recline a wee bit at a time. If they complain, I’ll just say I have back problems. If they still object, they can complain to the flight attendant.
I’m an big guy. I fly often. If I don’t get an exit seat and the person in front reclines their seat, I offer them $20 not to recline.
I have only had one person accept the $20 and the rest just said “no problem, keep the money” and they put the seat back up.
No confrontation, no hassle, everyone is cool.
Airlines, please disable recline on all seats and just pre-recline them slightly.
Even in int’l Premium Economy, the best airlines are moving to a shell design so that there is no encroachment into the pax behind.