To recline my seat on a long haul flight?

[PiratePanda]

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.

I didn't think small babies could go on their own seats - I've certainly never seen a 3 month old on their own seat on a short haul flight for example. But I have spent many shorthaul flights bf a small baby and when the person in front reclines it is not nice.

Honestly, everyone just has to show a little consideration for everyone else when on a flight - it isn't difficult.

Small babies can't go on their own seats, they have to sit in a parent's lap at least when the seatbelt signs are on, they have their own belt that attaches to the parent's belt.

And yes, I'm sure I've possibly inadvertently disturbed people in front of me getting up to go to the loo (especially as I've flown a bit while pregnant - hoorah for pregbladder). You are entitled to recline your seat but not to the person behind you remaining immobile for the entire flight.

And agree about the showing of consideration!

Just looked on BA's website - babies need to be 6 months to have own seat.

They can use a car seat which is regulation and can be fitted to the seat during the flight. For take off landing and turbulence have to be on lap.

Personally, I don't recline as I find it really anti social. Having said that, I've never been able to sleep whilst flying anyway so there would be no point.

Luckily, I've never had anyone in front of me recline before. I've got a prosthetic knee that needs replacing and multitudes of nerve damage in the groin area so getting up in a cramped airplane is a nightmare and would be worse trying to do so if someone has reclined on me.

I would think it's manners to check if it's ok with the person behind though, they might have a hidden issue like I do and struggle with the lack of space.

I'd never ever recline on someone who has a toddler or infant on their lap.

My pet flying peev though is when parents fly with their children who they allow to misbehave the entire flight and can't be bothered to attempt to control/console them.

I don't think I ever want to fly ever again after reading this thread, what an aggressive bunch some of your are.

If we all tried to be a bit more civil and polite, flying wouldn't need to be such hard work.

I travel a lot and if I'm flying long haul and unlucky enough to be in cattle class, I ask the person behind me if they mind me reclining, as, even if they do, just the very act of me showing consideration to them will usually mean that they say "go ahead" and are way less likely to spend the rest of the flight seething. People just want to be shown respect, and if you shove your seat back with gusto, with no thought to the comfort of the person behind you, well I guess that just shows a lack of class.

NoImSpartacus, I completely agree. I don't think you can go far wrong if you treat other people as you would like to be treated.

I don't particularly enjoy being behind someone who reclines their seat back, because I am tall and it gets uncomfortable. But that is really not the reclining person's fault.

I have reclined my own seat back a bit when trying to sleep on a red eye flight. Due to the issue mentioned above, I do try to check and see who is behind me before reclining. I have had my knees whacked with the seat before, because someone in front of me got a little too enthusiastic when leaning back, and that was sore, so I try to avoid doing that to other people. But yes, I have put my cheap seat on an incline because I can't sleep sitting ramrod straight.

The real issue here is that airlines charge a bomb for tickets, but have reduced available seat space in Economy. I am in more of a position now where I can vote with my feet and fly with airlines that have more generous seat room (although that position gets more untenable the more children I have).

I can see both sides of the argument.
The people I genuinely feel sorry for are the ones on that very last row who can't recline at all (& they paid fully for their ticket like everyone else). Let's all spare one minute thinking of them while the rest of the plane passengers are happily reclined in their own seats.

YANBU, upright for take off/ landing/ mealtimes until trays have been taken then it's your choice. I have had an air hostess intervene when the person behind got pushy/ tutty. She politely explained we all had the same space and if she needed room then she should recline her chair too.

These threads are so black and white to some people.

To whoever said put recliners at the back and non-recliners at the front, that wouldn't work. I get on the aircraft via an ambulift and sit in the medical assistance seats at the front. I can't sit further back because I need to be able to get to the toilet easily, they take my crutches from me, so I need to be as near as possible. Airlines are supposed to carry portable wheelchairs but they don't always so I couldn't risk being in row 12 or something.

I need to be able to recline so I have any chance of walking off the plane and managing to enjoy my holiday. If I could sit upright for the whole journey I would, but I can't if it is over 2 hours. DH is 6ft 4 and has spent many flights behind people who have reclined their seat, hasn't moaned, kicked them in the back or pulled their hair.

A full recline is very inconsiderate, especially during a daytime flight.

Did a long haul over Christmas and both ways the person in front of my DP put their seat all the way back whilst watching films on a day-time flight. It meant that DP had the TV screen in his face and his drink kept slipping off the tray, spilling him twice. He put his back slightly to make things a bit more bearable, but it made for a pretty unpleasant flight.

He asked the person in front both times if they could lessen the recline slightly and both times the people refused point blank as it was "their right", even though they didn't have a recliner in front of them. Selfish twats.

I don't think you can go far wrong if you treat other people as you would like to be treated.

I agree and I fully expect the person in front and behind to recline their seat just as I will.

On the last long haul flight I was on the back row reclined too. In fact we were able to keep it reclined during meals too so it was quite a perk.

Why on earth would you want to be reclined during your meal? Are you a Roman emperor?

I always ask "do you mind if I recline" I think it goes such a long way and stops the edginess caused on king tedious sectors

Just wish my pax in economy did this occasionally.

Long haul flights are the pits.

I relished the extra 3 cubic cm the recline gave me including during meals and especially before the trays got taken away.

We were still in cattle class, don't imagine us supine with bunches of grapes, just a few precious degrees off bolt upright for 14 hours

Point being, people can keep their sympathy for the back row folk, we're alright Jack.

But what if they say no only1scoop

Fair enough, I personally can't eat comfortably if I'm leaning back.

I'd probably say ...."I'm just going to get some sleep for an hour and wanted to let you know"

I've never been met with a 'no' but then I've only ever reclined once at 30 weeks pregnant and my aft fellow travellers were very gracious.

However I must admit I don't often find myself in economy

They should make everyone sit up for meals and lie down the rest of the time in synchronised fashion. Count them up - 1,2,3 then count them down 1,2,3. Simples.

I once squirted sauce in the hair of a nasty woman who insisted on reclining her seat fully onto my pg belly even though her seat was broken so flopped a lot lower than it was designed to, leaving me completely penned in. My polite attempt to negotiate a compromise failed and the air crew were hopeless, so her hair got the brunt of my hormonal feelings.

Most long haul flights I do are 12 hour night flights to Argentina that tend to leave at midnight and get in around 8am local time. I would say 95% of the people recline and I've never heard anyone complain. Parents with toddlers are sat in rows that have "walls" in front and they are given little cots that hook onto the "wall".
Maybe it's a cultural thing, but whenever I've asked both Spanish and Lat Am nobody thinks reclining is bad.

*Spanish and Lat Am people

It's quite funny how the recliner haters don't see the hypocrisy in calling people selfish just for using the chair as it was designed to be used.