Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To recline my seat on a long haul flight?

427 replies

PiratePanda · 25/01/2015 20:26

Just thought I'd check I was not BU.

Long haul flight in economy, 9 hours, overnight. I had my seat up for take off and landing and for meals but for the rest of the flight I wanted and needed to sleep (travelling for work) so reclined my seat.

The woman sitting behind me made an enormous fuss about me reclining my seat at all, complaining rudely to me when I reclined it, tutting and sighing loudly whenever she got up to go to the loo, kneeing me in the back apparently with intent, and hitting me quite hard and insistently on the head and shaking the chair to make me wake up in the morning well before the breakfast came round.

IWNBU was I? You are entitled to recline your seat except for take off and landing and meals, no? Otherwise why provide a recline button?

God she was rude.

OP posts:
SoonToBeSix · 25/01/2015 20:28

Yanbu for a night flight , woman was awful you should have complained to air hostess.

LuckyLopez · 25/01/2015 20:29

Personally I don't because I don't like people doing it to me.

The incline isn't substantial enough to make a difference to your sleep (ie they don't recline flat!) but taking up a good 25% of someone's limited economy space is unfair.

That's my opinion anyway. YABU.

LadyLuck10 · 25/01/2015 20:30

Yanbu, that's what the recline is there for. Did you complain?

PtolemysNeedle · 25/01/2015 20:30

YANBU, although I have seen this turn into hundereds of posts worth of debate before.

I agree with you that the reclining function is there to be used, especially on long haul, it never occurred to me to get irritated with someone in front of me reclining until MN.

lunar1 · 25/01/2015 20:31

I wish the chairs didn't recline its a fucking nightmare when someone reclines for most of a long flight.

CMOTDibbler · 25/01/2015 20:31

YWNBU at all. And tbh, on overnight flights I'm asleep as soon as we take off and I don't wake up till we are prepping for landing. My earplugs are in, so people can tut all they like because I need to sleep all I can to be fully functioning when we land.

expatinscotland · 25/01/2015 20:31

Why didn't you complain?

Original poster
PiratePanda · 25/01/2015 20:32

But Lucky, if she had reclined her own seat, she would have got the 25% back. And as a veteran traveller, yes, the incline makes a big difference as to whether or not and how well I sleep.

OP posts:
tomandizzymum · 25/01/2015 20:32

No yanbu. Long haul flights are horrible. For some reason a lot of people leave their manners, social skills and powers of reasoning in the departure lounge.

AuditAngel · 25/01/2015 20:32

Well, they can always recline their own seat to get additional space if they want to.

YWNBU

browneyedgirl86 · 25/01/2015 20:33

I agree with LuckyLopez. Last long haul flight I was on the man in front reclined his seat back as soon as was able and I was very uncomfortable for the whole flight. Was not a nice experience.

PtolemysNeedle · 25/01/2015 20:33

Having the seat reclined does make a huge difference to how comfortably you can sleep!

LuckyLopez · 25/01/2015 20:33

But there's always somebody at the back who can't do that. Some body somewhere is getting a raw deal so I prefer to recline to make their flight more comfortable and hope that other people do the same for me.

WD41 · 25/01/2015 20:34

Overnight, long haul, reclining is fine.

It's the twats who insist on reclining on a short daytime flight who piss me off

Rosieliveson · 25/01/2015 20:34

I think ywnbu as it is your seat but I hate it when the person in front of me reclines. I currently have to travel a lot with an infant in my lap and so the person in front reclining is really awkward.

joanne1947 · 25/01/2015 20:34

That makes me remember being on a long flight years ago, I was trying to sleep and said "no thanks" to the food. The man behind me reached forward and tried to move my seat from reclined to upright. I grabbed his finger and I might have broken it, he certainly did not try again.
I had paid for my seat and my payment includes the reclined position. As far as i see it PiratePanda you were NBU you were using the space you had paid for.

Original poster
PiratePanda · 25/01/2015 20:34

I didn't complain because I wanted to get in as much sleep as possible and in my experience it never makes any difference.

OP posts:
LuckyLopez · 25/01/2015 20:34

prefer not to recline

Penguito · 25/01/2015 20:34

Last flight I was on was 4 hours and I had dd on my knee, who was 3 weeks off her second birthday so didn't have her own seat. The woman infront had her seat reclined the whole journey so we had no room at all.

Original poster
PiratePanda · 25/01/2015 20:35

Lucky, all seats recline on modern aircraft including the ones at the back and in front of the loos.

OP posts:
Only1scoop · 25/01/2015 20:37

I usually just tip my head over and say 'mind if I recline' I normally only do if the selfish pax infront reclined theirs.

Original poster
PiratePanda · 25/01/2015 20:38

At least it wasn't as bad as last week's flight, during which the man next to me was wanking under his blanket. Completely full flight so no possibility of moving. Same airline.

OP posts:
Only1scoop · 25/01/2015 20:39
Shock
LuckyLopez · 25/01/2015 20:39

No this summer we flew to the states and dh couldn't (last row before the loo) I was in front of him and didn't recline but lady in front of me did. Made it uncomfortable as I couldn't even cross my legs.

WorraLiberty · 25/01/2015 20:41

Ooh it's been ages since we've had one of these threads Grin

I mean a reclining thread, not a wanking under a blanket one.