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 have been on lots of 12 hour flights and didn't starve at all PP.

Yes, you can buy your toddler their own seat. But most people prefer to save their money.

Yes....two and over have to have their own seat but I've always booked own seat even when dc was a baby.

People who want to save themselves money when traveling with babies or toddlers by not buying the extra leg room seats or by not buying the child it's own seat are in no position to complain when they have no space due to recliners.

Wow, this is the first of these threads I've clicked on! I had no idea there was so much angst about reclining.

My opinion is that airtravel is terribly uncomfortable, and that dealing with reclining seats is part of that. Although I rarely recline as I am a weirdo who sleeps better in an upright seat :) so at least I can reassure myself I'm not randomly making strangers rage. I've also flown long-haul with an infant/toddler on my lap (many flights, same child growing up) and it never even occurred to me to be concerned when the person in front reclined (and recall, I'm unreclined). My DH is quite tall and his knees usually touch the seat in front when it is not reclined. When they do recline, he needs to splay his legs out on either side, as they just don't fit. I've never heard him think the people shouldn't recline either.

I remember one flight when I was Uni where a very tall man was stuck in the back row seat, which not only couldn't recline but was closer to the ones in front than others. He looked like a folded pretzel and we hadn't even taken off yet. My friend and I swapped with him and his wife.

Yes, you can buy your toddler their own seat. But most people prefer to save their money

And inflict the consequence of their savings on passengers around them & then complain of selfish anti-child passengers.

I eat anything put in front of me on a long haul flight -- it staves off some of the boredom, and I need something to soak up thin. (remembers fondly the days of Qantas steak and red wine).

My way of surviving US/UK red eye in cattle class, when I have to go straight to work on arrival is to book the latest flight possible out of JFK around 10pm, because it has a couple of great stodge restaurants (I prefer to come in via Newark as the border control queues are much shorter) have a really big meal at the airport: hamburger, fries & a milkshake or something like that. Get on the flight, refuse the meal there, eye mask on, blanket tucking me up, recline as soon as they take the meals away. Ear phones in, Bach or Mozart on, and pretend to sleep. Usually the pretend sleep drifts into that dozy sort of sleep that one does on a flight. I get maybe 3 or 4 hours of reasonable rest.

soak up "the gin"

Chimney that is EXACTLY what I do!!!! I suppose there's something to be said for experience...

Yes, on some airlines does affect my leg room as well, I don't understand the whole "oh if you recline as well it makes no difference!" (and I'm not even massively tall, about 5'7''). And it's murder for DP, who's over 6 feet tall with very long legs: we've had to move seats when we've travelled together before because the person in front of him was a)pinning him to his seat when he reclined and b)was then complaining that DP's knees were digging into his back (DP having nowhere else to put them unless he removed his legs). He flies transatlantic a lot for work and normally he tries to get bulkheads/exit rows because of this but they're not always available. Definitely not a "new bandwagon" for him, and I've hated it for years.

Air Canada used to have decent legroom, now that I think of it...

On overnight flights, isn't dimming the cabin lights the signal that it is bedtime and everyone should recline simultaneously, leaving no-one worse off?

I use SEAT GURU to choose my seats. I'd hate to get a seat that doesn't recline. Im uncomfortable enough as it is.

"In her situation I would have asked the OP to take her seat back up and if refused, I would speak to the air steward."
And ask them to do what? Cabin crew will not stop someone from reclining (except for meal times). If the issue is that someone behind you won't let you recline, then yes you can complain about that, but not about the person in front of you, using their seat as intended.

But that leaves the non sleepers/recliners like me Theoretician. It may be 'bedtime' but not necessarily 'sleeptime'.

They should stop having reclining seats on planes as they cause fights and aren't necessary.

Oh wait, what do you mean some airlines are starting to do this.

Says everything you need to know in my book.

Whether they are necessary or not is all down to personal opinion.

I wonder if the airlines are removing the recline option to fit more seats in...

What, 'some airlines', as in Ryanair...?

Was it Ryan Air who put forward a plan for "perching stools" rather than proper seats?

I have only encountered non-reclining seats on discount airlines, who are doing everything to remove all passenger comforts anyway. So I would not see this as an universal trend.

...and paying for the loo...

Says everything you need to know, in my book.

I think that was around the time of his 'charge for the loo' publicity stunt....

To keep it all going

And discount airlines don't fly long, let alone ultra long, haul.

I think it is shocking that people think it is acceptable to kick people in the back, pull hair etc because people in front have reclined their seat. Have you not thought they might have a bad back so that's why they have done it?

Jet2 have taken the recline facility from their seats, so I can only do 2 hours max with them.

Non-recliners are a pretty angry, passive aggressive lot.

This has been established on previous threads.

They are probably the ones who don't pre-book seats and expect the people who have to move so they can all sit together!

I am really looking forward to holidaying in the UK this summer.