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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Etiquette regarding reclining seats on planes

32 replies

EEVEElution · 04/03/2015 15:28

Apologies if this has been done before, but I've been curious about people's opinions on this for a while and was reminded of it by another plane thread.

Is it people's right to recline the seats since they have paid the ticket? Should the recliner ask the person behind if it's ok to do so? And what if the person says no? Does the height of the person behind affect this (ie tall people with long legs) or the cheapness of the seats and therefore the leg room available?

Thanks in advance!

OP posts:

kwerty · 04/03/2015 15:29

Yes, there was a loooong thread a while back!

ilovesooty · 04/03/2015 15:30

It was done very recently and provoked a lot of discussion. Can't link to the thread on phone but I'm sure someone else will.

KoalaDownUnder · 04/03/2015 15:30

YABU to even bring this up again. To say it's been done before would be a gross understatement.

Salmotrutta · 04/03/2015 15:31

I'm tall with long legs and I hate people reclining.

Not much I can do about it though.

except get up and down out of my seat clutching the back of theirs as much as possible

Original poster

EEVEElution · 04/03/2015 15:31

Ah sorry! Does anyone have a link?

OP posts:

YNK · 04/03/2015 15:32

The person in the seat behind me got the steward to tell me to raise my seat once.
Given all the people in the seats in front of me were reclining, It would have meant my head being squished between the 2 seats!
I think you can imagine my reply!

HazleNutt · 04/03/2015 15:36

You have the right to recline (except for take-off, landing and meal times) and if the person behind does not have enough space, they have the right to recline too. DH is very tall and we therefore have to get extra legroom seats - nowadays for a fee, of course. he would never tell people in front of him not to use their seat as intended.

LeSaor · 04/03/2015 15:36

I can live as long as you don't whack back your seat with no warning throwing my drink all over me.

PatriciaHolm · 04/03/2015 15:38

oh no no no. We thrashed this through to an unbelievable extent not long ago. It's one of those arguments-round-in-circles-for-1000-posts ones.

WaywardOn3 · 04/03/2015 15:39

In my experience it's fine to recline as long as you go back to upright for the duration of meal time (until all trays etc have been cleared away) or if the person behind you needs you to unrecline for something (as long as you can recline again after etc).

Only for long haul flights wouldn't bother for short haul

SauvignonBlanche · 04/03/2015 15:41

See here for a long recent thread on the subject.

specialsubject · 04/03/2015 15:43

on Mumsnet it is a crime.

in the real world you do it apart from take off, landing, emergencies and meal times.

if you want comfort, don't fly economy - but reclining makes it slightly less painful.

PtolemysNeedle · 04/03/2015 16:38

I recline my seat if I want to, I don't understand why people get so cross about it. I never even knew being pissed off with recliners was a thing until Mumsnet.

loveka · 04/03/2015 17:57

Reclining may make it more comfortable for you, but less comfortable for the person behind. Rather selfish not to care that the person behind you will be uncomfortable.

On long haul for sleeping is ok, but doing it to get a bit of extra space from the passenger behind is thoughtless. I hate having a seat back in my face.

Doodlebog · 04/03/2015 18:15

I recline. The seats deliberately have a recline function, and I will use it outside take off, landing and meal times. I have never 'slammed' the seat backwards, indeed I've never known one that moves quickly enough/to a large enough degree that it could be slammed. Never known anyone have a drink go flying. I find people grab seatbacks to haul themselves up whether I'm reclined or not so that wouldn't alter my behaviour.

Now I have a taste for business though, and do anything possible to avoid economy.

LaurieFairyCake · 04/03/2015 18:19

I only recline if the person in front of me has, wouldn't otherwise.

123Jump · 04/03/2015 18:25

Jeez! So it's been done before-so has every single thread on here. The OP obviously didn't see it. I'm sure out of the millions on here, some may have missed it and be happy to discuss it? If you don't want to then don't click on the thread!
OP, I'd go with asking them. Hopefully you can sort it between you.

zippyandbungle · 04/03/2015 18:32

I recline. It's there for that reason surely. Although I have witnessed a full on screaming match between a women and man on a long haul because he reclined. She was a large lady and the chap was very tall. It became quite nasty and scared my DD. obviously we never raise our voices in our house, no not us

PtolemysNeedle · 04/03/2015 18:46

People in front of me reclining doesn't bother me at all, that's why it had never occurred to me that it might neither anyone else unless they were especially large or very tall. It's not selfish to think you can use your seat the way it was designed to be used.

Seat only recline a tiny bit in standard economy anyway.

YoungGirlGrowingOld · 05/03/2015 16:54

I really don't understand why this is an issue on MN. In RL - get on, eat meal, recline for rest of flight. (Admittedly most of my flights are at night).

Nomama · 05/03/2015 17:08

Reclining in economy makes it less uncomfortable... for the recliner. I makes it excruciatingly uncomfortable for the person behind you.

I don't want to recline. I prefer to sit upright. So why should I have to recline just because you want to... on a tightly packed, short, economy flight?

Why does the want of the recliner trump my preference?

I do occasionally email various airlines and ask them to disable the seat recline bits of short haul, economy flights. Or pack us all in less tightly. Gets me nowhere. Just like being a non recliner, my opinions do not count, they do not want to know.

LaSalle · 05/03/2015 17:18

I never recline. I've never felt that the person in front was unreasonable if they did. It's a couple of inches, it really doesn't make much difference. It does become a huge issue on here and I have no idea why.

WeAllHaveWings · 05/03/2015 18:01

Why they put a recline on in economy I'll never know, I'm 5'10" so a bit tall but not very, if the person in front of me reclines, the seat is literarily pressing hard into my knees, if they don't get the hint (me moving around), I ask nicely if they can put the seat up as its on my knees, they either tut and do it grudgingly or say no (recliners rarely happily put their seats back up) then I need to ask the cabin crew to ask them to do it or move me.

It would be polite to ask and graciously accept if the person behind requests you don't, but in all my years of flying twice a month not one person gave any thought to the person behind.

nocoolnamesleft · 05/03/2015 18:05

I have to recline... or I won't be able to walk off the plane by the end of the flight.

GoringBit · 05/03/2015 18:09

One of the (admittedly few) things I like about easyjet is that their seats don't recline, it's one less thing to worry about.

I'll recline on a night flight, or if the person in front of me does, but I'll usually turn around and let the person behind me know before I do it, just in case they've got a drink on the go.

We're doing a nine-hour afternoon/evening flight in a few weeks, I'm not looking forward to it.

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