The Big Reclining Seat Debate

That Jekka Gal

That Jekka Gal

That Jekka Gal

Associate
Joined
2 Oct 2019
Posts
182
Location
Castle Cary
It seems that these days it is considered unacceptable to recline one's airline seat without getting the approval of the person behind.

I'm not sure when this became a thing but I'm old enough to remember the days when no sooner had the seatbelt signs turned off than the seat in front of you violently jerked back into a reclined position. Which I guess was a bit annoying but I always responded by doing exactly the same, as did mostly everyone else.

Anyway, not long ago, I was on a transatlantic flight and somewhere about midway I deined to recline my seat so as to get a bit of shut eye. No sooner had I done it than some self righteous little turd behind prodded me with his finger and made me feel like a war criminal. Had to really bite my lip in order not to tear him off a strip, I can tell you.

This attitude isn't universal, however. I was on an Avianca flight a couple of weeks ago & it was seats back in unison with the seatbelt sign going off , like the old days(for those lucky enough to have a reclináveis seat).

For the record, if I'm on a long flight, I tend to have the courtesy to wait until the meal service is done before I recline but I certamente don't feel the need to ask first.

Thoughts?
 
It's my seat and I'll recline it if I want to. They are actually designed so as to not disturb the person behind's tabnle as much as they used to (from what I can tell). However because i'm not a muppet, I'll wait until after the meal service and try to do it as gently as possible. We're all in the same boat (in economy anyway).

What on earth did the turd behind you say? What is there to say? "You reclined your seat". "...yeah".
 
Scam said:
It's my seat and I'll recline it if I want to. They are actually designed so as to not disturb the person behind's tabnle as much as they used to (from what I can tell). However because i'm not a muppet, I'll wait until after the meal service and try to do it as gently as possible. We're all in the same boat (in economy anyway).

What on earth did the turd behind you say? What is there to say? "You reclined your seat". "...yeah".
Click to expand...
He said "I'd prefer it if you'd consider others before reclining your seat" or holier-than-thou words to that effect. Like you, I'd waited until the meal service was cleared so didn't feel any need to ask permission.
 
It'd be great if recline was limited to about half it's current angle. Not much to complain about if you wait until after meal service. Having long legs myself, if I'm reclining I usually do it in a couple of stages to avoid pushing into knees behind me.
 
The only time it annoyed me was when we were flying transatlantic, and the person in front had a baby. Every so often they'd change position with their kid and either recline or return the seat. It must have happened at least fifteen times and just the jerking was getting really irritating.

But they had a quiet baby, so I figured a) they had enough on their plate and b) it was lot better than it could have been.

Clearly though the correct answer for all of us is to get a proper job and fly business class.
 
That Jekka Gal said:
Anyway, not long ago, I was on a transatlantic flight and somewhere about midway I deined to recline my seat so as to get a bit of shut eye. No sooner had I done it than some self righteous little turd behind prodded me with his finger and made me feel like a war criminal. Had to really bite my lip in order not to tear him off a strip, I can tell you.
Click to expand...

How very dare he! Poking a lady such as yourself.

Also, the time would appear relevant. If it's a night flight then it it seems decidedly unreasonable to complain about people reclining their seat to try and sleep.
 
I usually ask if they mind if I recline or if I see the person behind has already reclined then I will do the same. I dont recline during meals and when I recline I dont normally recline all the way
 
Didn’t realise this was so much of an issue. I’m in the crowd of it’s there to be used and utilise.

The seats are bad enough as it is, every bit of comfort is essential.
 
Mr Badger said:
How very dare he! Poking a lady such as yourself.

Also, the time would appear relevant. If it's a night flight then it it seems decidedly unreasonable to complain about people reclining their seat to try and sleep.
Click to expand...
agree with time, even on long haul I probably wouldn't recline on a day flight
 
I've never reclined my seat on a short flight, most of the time you are like sardines in there anyway so taking someone else's space just seems selfish to me.

Yes they are made to recline and yes you do have the right to recline but it is it really needed on a short flight.

I know from being on Thomas cook flights back in the day having some heffa lump chuck her chair back in my face when I'm already feeling uncomfortable can be the last straw.

If you want to lie down, stump up and pay for business class eh!
 
BeeP said:
If you want to lie down, stump up and pay for business class eh!
Click to expand...
Quite often it's a necessity to sleep on a short flight particularly if it's an early one and you've been up since 3-4am (like I'm going to have to on Monday :o ). The only thing that helps not stress about getting through that first day with half a night's sleep is knowing I can get on the plane with nothing to do for 2hrs and (hopefully) have a good power nap. And to your last point there's no lie-flat business class on short haul that I know of...
 
I'll generally always check behind to see if someone has a drink on their tray or something similar and give them a heads up, and then once it's back not be constantly changing it back and forward, however I always book extra legroom/exit row seats on long haul flights now, being as tall as I am the extra few hundred £ is infinitely worth it, even if I do lose a bit of seat width from the solid arms.

Most of my flights are to Australia, and I always try and get an A380 for the long leg to Singapore, which has 80A or 80K(or J?), which is the window seat the row behind the exit seat, meaning I get extra leg room, can get out when I want without waking the Mrs/Someone else up, and we also save a few quid as the seat next to it is a normal seat :D
 
Some of the recline these days is insane though, far more than they used to be in the good old days.
 
Not sure what 'debate' there is - chairs recline for a reason - to be reclined. What the other person behind me think or feels - I couldn't care less. The same way I wouldn't expect the person in front of me to care what I think if they recline.
 
A2Z said:
Not sure what 'debate' there is - chairs recline for a reason - to be reclined. What the other person behind me think or feels - I couldn't care less. The same way I wouldn't expect the person in front of me to care what I think if they recline.
Click to expand...

Luckily i'm tall enough to jam my knees into the seat in front of me for people like you :cry: No more recline for you!
 
Most long haul flights there enough leg room but I find the width of chairs a bit uncomfortable.

I will recline after a meal. I do give a quick glance behind me first to check they're not on their laptop or something. Invariably They're often asleep or recliner too so it's easy enough to make the decision to recline.

I don't get the attitude. Yeah sure it's not great having a seat in your face but at the same time it's not that bad and you can just recline yours too.

That said I don't always fine reclining the seat all that comfy!
 
Freefaller said:
Most long haul flights there enough leg room but I find the width of chairs a bit uncomfortable.

I will recline after a meal. I do give a quick glance behind me first to check they're not on their laptop or something. Invariably They're often asleep or recliner too so it's easy enough to make the decision to recline.

I don't get the attitude. Yeah sure it's not great having a seat in your face but at the same time it's not that bad and you can just recline yours too.

That said I don't always fine reclining the seat all that comfy!
Click to expand...

Even being tall I don’t mind people reclining in front of me, as long as there’s a bit of courtesy and like you say, a quick glance to check they haven’t got a drink on their tray or doing something that would be better affected by the recline!

What I can’t stand is people who are constantly changing from back to upright and back again :mad:

Like you say, even reclined isn’t the best sometimes, kind of puts you in this middle ground where you’re half lying down. Not helped by my entire head and part of my shoulders being above the top of the seat either way tbh :cry:
 
I'm 6 foot 6 and if I'm in a short haul 737 or Airbus and you recline onto my legs I will let you know very fast.

It's horrific
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom