To refuse to un-recline dd's plane seat...

[MerryMarigold]

Dh reckons I am. I reckon I am not.

So, long haul flight. Up at 3am to get to airport. 2 flights, 4 hour transit, bit of a hideous trip.

Anyways, on second flight, dd aged 5 FINALLY falls asleep. Thank God. Recline her seat so she is more comfortable and will hopefully sleep longer. 5 minutes later lady behind pokes my arm and asks me to put the chair up. Not very politely. I tell her my dd is asleep. She says she can't open her table with the chair reclined. (I have done this many times, so know it is entirely possible). I kneel on my chair and help her open table. Says she can't see TV screen. I adjust TV screen angle for her. She then proceeds to kick Dd's chair several times, whilst I get annoyed but decide to ignore.

10 mins later drinks come round and she speaks to the air steward in local language. He says to me. "Can I raise the seat?" and I tell him dd is sleeping. He says, "I'll do it gently" and just leans over me and does it. Thankfully she didn't wake up and managed to sleep in a contorted way for a lot longer.

I am usually the sort of person who doesn't stick up for myself and who doesn't like putting other people out (I didn't recline my own chair for the entire 9 hour flight as her large dh was behind me). I was very tired, I think that's why I was a bit arsey. I am also not being PFB. I have 3 children, but the others were not as tired and were fine.

Dh said it was her 'right' to have the seat up at least until the food is cleared up (this is probably at least 3 hours into the flight as it's a long flight). I said, "Says who?" Does her right to eat more comfortably trump my dd's right to sleep more comfortably?

So who is right?

Different airlines must have different seats then, because several other posters who are even taller have said a reclining seat doesn't touch their legs at all.

Well yes... Different air lines have different gaps between the seats.

And some people have long bodies/short legs so just because you're tall doesn't mean your knees touch.

But the reverse is true... Shorter people may have long legs so their's might.

Bringmetea I recline my seat because where the headrest is for a 5ft 3 person makes it impossible to be comfortable unright. So your consideration for my well being and comfort if genuine will extend to my need to recline.

I do however stow all my luggage at my feet and coats on my lap so you tall people who can actually reacher the overhead lockers can have your things in them and have more space around your feet.

If it's 'entitled' to use the function of the seat you've paid for, surely it's also 'entitled' to insist that your comfort as the person behind the evil recliner is more important?

I do however stow all my luggage at my feet and coats on my lap so you tall people who can actually reacher the overhead lockers can have your things in them and have more space around your feet.

Ironically, as a tall person, this would increase my discomfort further by removing any chance I had to straighten my legs under your seat...

Why woukd you be stretching your legs under my seat? how woukd your legs get there?

I have a 36 inch inside leg, have been picked out in a line to be given the seating by the door on a plane due to height, have flown with the supposedly smallest (according to this thread) leg room airlines, and my knees do not touch the back of the seat in front. The reason for this is that unlike seating on say, coaches or in cinemas, you can slide a lot of your leg under the seat in front when you are on a plane. Your knees would only be in contact with the seat in front if you adopted the posture of a person sitting as if in an office chair with their knees bent. I cannot imagine why, when not eating, somebody would need to sit like that on a plane.

Are your legs that long that they go under the seat in front of you, through the bar for the life jacket, under my legs and then into my legroom space

I wasn't even aware that you were allowed to keep luggage out of the overhead lockers. I thought it was a safety risk to do so in case of an evacuation!

Starlight, I didn't write that long post in response to yours. It was just crossposting. I have never had or seen any sort of issue arise over people placing luggage at their feet and doubt it is any kind of leg room problem.

But on every flight people are told to secure luggage in the overhead lockers, at least during take off and landing, and the attendants come around to check.

Ah I see, starlight, from your post I thought you stowed your luggage under your seat, not the one in front of you.

No, even my 36" legs wouldn't stretch that far

My post was in response to IS. luggage has to be secure so it doesn't fly around the cabin in turbulence or an emergency. It can be below (it is usually given verbally as an option and in fact now some airlines who allow two pieces of luggage insist one is in the footwell).

Oh, okay!

I am now imagining poor Starlight trying to manage a hatbox and a cello on a plane surrounded by people whose legs have some Mr Tickle arm type property surrounding her seat.

In answer to the people wondering why some people might sit with their knees bent...if I were to sit upright, with my legs stretched out in front of me, then I would be begging for mercy in less than 20 mins, crying in pain in under an hour, and crippled for weeks by the end of a lh flight. Worst possible position for my knackered sciatic nerve. And I believe sciatica is fairly common. This does help explain why I don't take lh flights. Though I did make it to the states - QM2 crossing takes a lot longer, but way more legroom!

I was wondering that nocool, and I do massively sympathise with it. I always sit with my leg straight out for the same reason, because I am in so much pain with them bent. I was wondering if it was the same for some people the other way around.

Tea, Can I ask what airlines you are referring to here? Because none of the many airlines I fly, on a fairly regular basis, could result in the extreme lack of space you describe at your height. But maybe you fly Virgin and I have never flown them. So, on lets say Emirates or Singapore Airlines or Cathay P (my 3 favourites). I think you would have plenty of space with me reclined. If you asked me not to because you were getting squashed, I would get up and look to see it was true. But I wouldn't really have to, because I know on those flights where my husband or work colleagues have sat behind me, numerous times and types of different aircraft in those fleets, that there's more than enough space for a 5'9" person. But I would certainly look and assess the situation to appease you. If you were squashed I would un-recline. If you weren't I wouldn't. I am sorry I just can't take your word for it. But there has been way too many vast exaggerations on this thread for me to believe each one of them. And I have flown too many times, with two good functioning eyes in my head, to see firsthand a lot of these stories must either be made up, or involve shit airlines.

Now I have answered that, would you answer for me too please? I have a bad back. I can show you the scars where I have had operations. I can show you my blue badge, I can show you a doctor's letter. If I explained to you that without recline my back will ache so bad I will be in pain. What do you then suggest? For me constant recline is not what I need. It's more an hour recline, an hour upright. If I couldn't recline at all (on a lh flight), and I have had that on one flight (mentioned earlier, ill passenger nearby on oxygen bottle because of heart and breathing issue, crew had to remain holding bottle and mask for him and for monitoring his condition) then I have no choice but to stand at my seat for a half hour at a time to ease my back.

If recline ever gets banned on LH flights I will have no choice but to fly business. I wouldn't travel any more for work, obviously. And my holidays would be cut back dramatically. But I would have to live with that, as it's the airline policy. Right now, it's not. Recline is allowed.

But in the mean time does your sore knees trump my sore back (and blue badge if you want to get nit picky over it, which I don't, but technically I am disabled).

And, why don't you petition the airlines instead of putting onus on people like me, who may well be physically incapable of sitting upright for 11 hours due to actual disabilities.

I know your sore knees must hurt. But want to swap them for my back?

It's pretty much like that tbh. I have an under two on my knee in a window seat with a changing bag at my feet, a 5 year old next to me with a trunkie at her feet, an Autistc 7 year old behind me who will require frequent passing of things from the trunkie (if I can persuade the airline to change the pre-allocated infant seat party seats) who will be nonstop kicking the back of my chair (the reason I try and get him placed behind ME rather than another poor bugger) and then DH next to him in the middle seat with his 6ft 4 height and dd's seat reclined into his space which will be used to eat and drink like that rather than wake dd.

If the airline do not allow us to sit like that (sometimes insist they can't move us and have put us all in a line) then all bets are off. DS will kick the poor bugger in front of him, regularly shriek at not having easy access to the trunkie goods, dd will recline and un-recline her seat abruptly during meal times, baby Ds will become distressed at not being near whichever parent he isn't near and on a frequent basis have to be passed back and forth sometimes escaping down the isle and pouring juice in someone's open bag.......

I will be beyond unreasonable when the stroppy woman behind dd asks us to put her seat up, and hopefully also drunk!!!

And some people have long bodies/short legs so just because you're tall doesn't mean your knees touch. But the reverse is true... Shorter people may have long legs so their's might.

tea, I doubt at 5'9" inches you have longer legs than my 6'6" husband with his 35-36 inch inside legs. Not sure how tall/inside leg my male colleagues who I travel with are, I can find out on Monday though. I guess all (much?) taller than you. None of them have the issues you describe. Are you sure you are just not flying a crap airline? Like United or American I had crappy leg space. I don't avoid European and N.American airlines for nothing. They are crap. They never come near the top of the "winning airline" lists.

I have a 36 inch inside leg, have been picked out in a line to be given the seating by the door on a plane due to height, have flown with the supposedly smallest (according to this thread) leg room airlines, and my knees do not touch the back of the seat in front. The reason for this is that unlike seating on say, coaches or in cinemas, you can slide a lot of your leg under the seat in front when you are on a plane. Your knees would only be in contact with the seat in front if you adopted the posture of a person sitting as if in an office chair with their knees bent. I cannot imagine why, when not eating, somebody would need to sit like that on a plane.

^ I just want to say that almond is not my husband (also 36 inch inside leg). lol. But you are completely correct. My husband can sit "office chair" like in planes with seat in front reclined. But only does it (like short people too do) for short spells to alternate position. Everyone stretches their legs out. I can draw no other conclusion but, there is an awful lot of awful wild exaggerating taking place on this thread. You, my husband both about as long legged as they come. My tall colleagues I fly with. What I see with my own eyes. I travel more than most too (for work, not pleasure, it's no brag). Sorry folks, I don't believe most of you and these extreme examples you are presenting.

A sleeping little one is entitled to be reclined if it helps them to rest and any adult who can't put a small child's comfort ahead of their own is unreasonable.

It is a different case if it is, 'adult on adult', so to speak.

I would complain to the airline if airline staff had moved my little one's seat when it was clear that I had not wanted that action to happen.

It's a tough one! I always wait untill after the food/drink service has passed for reclining. I'm a pretty small person so if it's a larger person behind then I don't recline. I certainly don't mind if the person in front reclines it doesn't affect how I watch the tv or the tray.

I think the lady was very rude however if a meal was being served then I understand why she would want the chair upright.

You probably were being a little bit unreasonable but long flights and small children are very difficult and every time I have done it I have been unreasonable

I once cried silently because a twenty year old asked to be moved on a longhaul flight when 2 year old dd was being an angel I was pregnant

I then toughened up and took no prisoners. We were on the final leg of a 32 hour journey and got two backpacker behind us. I heard the girl tutting and sighing when she saw our dc. I stood up to go to the loo and ds cooed quietly. I saw her throw her arms up as if to say I've had enough. I got red mist. Came back from the loo, ds fell straight asleep on my knee and slept for the rest of the flight. I heard the girl saying "how did she get him to sleep" etc etc. On landing ds woke up and as we stood up her waved at the backpackers . They started fussing over him and waving back. I looked straight at her and said "don't wave at the nasty lady" She was

I was very unreasonable but it felt amazing.

Why are some posters apparently hell-bent on proving other posters wrong about things? Like the whole knees against the back of the seat, thing - a poster says this happens to them on planes, and other posters leap I. To describe their legs or their dh's legs and to ask what strange airlines don't have enough legroom for the first poster, when their dh can sit comfortably on every plane in the skies?

Why is it so hard to accept that someone else's experience could be different to yours? Basically you are accusing someone of lying.

I am not accusing people of lying STDG (not that you have accused me!). I can see that somebody's knees could touch the seat in front. I just don't understand why people would want to sit like they are at an office desk on a 9 hour flight, and why they don't just relax their legs and not have their knees in that position.

I can understand some people with sciatica needing to sit in that way, but why other people would do so I don't understand. Is it not really uncomfortable regardless of reclining, not reclining on plane, on a chair on your own in the middle of an entirely empty football stadium?

I just don't understand why people would want to sit like they are at an office desk on a 9 hour flight, and why they don't just relax their legs and not have their knees in that position.

Well DH does because his legs just don't fit in any other way. He can't straighten his legs out.