Airlines, seats, passive aggression

[RebeccaWithTheGoodHair]

I was on a long haul flight over the weekend, 2 lots of 7 hour flights with a 3 hour stopover in the middle - it was never going to be a pleasant journey.

The first bit was OK but on the 2nd flight the people in the row in front sat down and immediately put their chairs back. Not just a little tilt either. They were practically in our laps. Our dropdown trays were hardly usable and the screen was difficult to see.

Of course they were perfectly entitled to do it and I could have done the same. Except I didn't because it's so bloody horrible for the person behind.

I don't get why airlines put these type of seats in, even using the tilt doesn't make them relaxing in any way. All it does it make it slightly less uncomfortable for the person in that seat - but 100 times worse for the hapless person behind.

My AIBU is whether giving it an extra hard shove when trying to use my tray or pick up my bag is U or not?

And if you are someone who does drop your seat back like that then don't you realise how horrible it is for the person behind you?

Sorry rereading my post, before I get in trouble, I should have said obese or smelly person - I'm not implying that those characteristics are in the same person.

My DH flies a lot and will often skip the meal and sleep through so that he switches straight onto the new time zone and get on with his work. He isn't going to wake up half way through for food he isn't eating and sit upright for a while. Fortunately for him his company puts him in business but there may well be other people who are not able to do that.

Punkrockergirl - I'm very disappointed to report that even after saving ourselves the money this time by not paying for seats together, our family has been seated together on at least 6 flights since DS turned 10.
Something to do with me checking in as soon as it opens online I feel, pity really as I would have enjoyed reading my book in peace.

Aside from when food is being served I don't have an issue with seats being reclined.

Tbh most short haul I've been on recently doesn't even offer this - but if it did - I'm of the view that someone deliberately kicking/pushing the seat from behind is worse behaviour than reclining a seat which is designed to do so.

If you need more space, recline your own seat. Problem solved and the space is identical to before.

If it's such a huge deal to you, then pay for seats with extra leg room.

'expat
I'm thoroughly enjoying the smoking outside thread - so much outrage, it's wonderful!
I rather think we're due a "why should I have to pay to ensure I end up next to my whiny brats dc on the plane" thread soon. That always goes well wink'

Oh, yes, and a buggy on a train or bus thread.

YABU

Why don't you just recline your seat instead of being a martyr?

It's not that uncomfortable for the person behind anyway and if anyone wants to sleep and recline then of course they can! Especially without you then silently booting and shoving the back of their seat! You sound a bit

rookiemere, but they very often are!!

Actually come to think of it, being squashed next to an obese individual is worse than being behind a seat recliner.

On long-haul flights I do recline my seat and I'm fine with people infront of me reclining their seats. Blame the airlines for packing everyone in more and more tightly. The problem I encounter with airline seats as a short person, is the way they curve slightly forward where your head hits the seat, I'm short so my head hits the seat a few inches below the average person and it hits at the point where the seat curves forward thereby pushing my head forward and downward (I hope this is making sense!) It become very painful in my neck are after a only a few minutes, so reclining is the only way to mitigate that. I hope there are some other short fliers on this thread who understand what I'm trying explain...

I always put my seat back. I have long legs and it's more comfortable. I am also prone to travel sickness and feel better slightly reclined. I appciate the passenger behind probably would prefer the seat up but my preference comes first. May seem selfish, but someone has to get their own way.

This is why I fly business.

If you have long legs or due to size issues you are unable to fit comfortably in your seat if the one in front is reclined, then it's your responsibility to either live with it, or pay the squillions extra to upgrade, rather than moan about people doing what they are allowed to do with their own seat.
This raises an interesting question. My company generally expects me to take at least one 11 hour flight a year (along with an average of a short haul flight per week). They won't pay for business class for anyone. As it's only one long flight, I pay the extra with my own money to get a seat on an exit row, but I can't afford business class.

On a short flight I wouldn't generally recline my seat. If it was a long night flight then I probably would (after dinner). If the person in front reclines you don't have much choice but to recline as well. If this happens I tend to give the person behind me a heads up ('sorry I'm going to have to recline as seat in front has reclined' type of thing).

I think its selfish when people recline it all the way. The last long haul flight I was on I reclined it a bit but not enough to impact on the person behind me. And it was a night flight too

I blame the airlines for putting too many seats in. I've traveled regularly long-haul for almost 20 years and I have increasingly noticed the seats getting closer together. In the last two years I have started struggling to get out of a seat if the person infront has reclined their's.
BUT - its their choice to recline it and I do the same sometimes because its more comfortable for my back. With the exception of food times of course, but you can ask the hostess/host to ask the person infront to put their seat back up so you can use your tray.
]Unfort if you want more space the only option is to upgrade to a more expensive seat or one of those with extra leg room.

I'm too tight to pay for more than Economy but on long haul I will pay the extra for an extra legroom or bulkhead seat

It is unfortunate that airlines seem to be squeezing more seats in just at a point when humans are getting taller and bigger.

However the pressure on space is also driven by people's desire to have cheap flights which in real terms mostly cost much, much less than they did in ye olde halcyon days when flying was glamorous and children got a travel kit ( we had relatives in the USA and I used to love flying).

Therefore a certain amount of sucking up must be required to support these cheap prices.

In answer to the OPs question - yes it is very rude to slam your tray back into your seat if someone is reclining, understandable if you're doing it after your meal, but still rude.

Couldn't you tilt the TV? Usually you can. I flew a 12 hour night flight with dc on Friday and guy behind kept kneeing me in the back - not even that tall. I ended up using my hand to push against his knee through the seat as I had a constantly moving lump in my back. After food I put dc in onesies and settled them to sleep (dd1 over 2 seats and dd2 on me - she's 5.) I put my seat back (by then I was so pissed off with the guy behind's knee and him pulling on my seat when he stretched I didn't care if I annoyed him). I needed to be reclined to help me and dd2 sleep and allow space for dd to be on my lap.

Never understood the need to put chair back instantly. It's not allowed at take off yet the guy diagonally opposite did that and 4 separate cabin crew members asked him to sit it up for take off, which he did the immediately reclined it as soon as they walked away Same guy was on his mobile chatting away while we were taxiing despite us being told no electronic devices.

Honestly kids of flights are a piece of piss, it's the entitled 40 year old men that wound me up.

To my mind, you go economy you have to accept it. Last longhaul flights were bloody uncomfortable but we couldn't afford the extra ££££ to upgrade so we just put up with it.

What I don't understand about all these non recliners is that if they'd just recline their own seats there wouldn't be anything to moan about. Apart from during the meal why would anybody object to having to recline their seat in order to maintain the distance between it and the one in front? Why sit bolt upright, moaning about lack of space and kicking the back of the seat in a fit of pique, when you could just recline yourself and make the problem go away?

After all, it's not like they go back terribly far, it's more comfortable but it's hardly laying down. It doesn't stop you doing anything you can do when you are bolt upright.

Exactly FrenchLavender.

Every long haul overnight flight I've been on - person in front reclines their seat and I recline mine. I don't recline it to the point at which I believe would be polite, nor do I warn the person behind me that I'm going to be doing it, I simply recline it so I can try to get a little sleep.

I agree with you. It is selfish and inconsiderate in the extreme. Easy jet have got rid of these seats on shorthaul so I choose them over BA now even though I miss out on Avios points.

I was on a plane recently and someone did this. There was a free seat in front of him, so I moved and then put my seat back to see how he liked it. He instantly asked me to put my seat up! Which I did, but I told him why I had done it. He actually said it was ok for him to do it but not me!

If you drop your seat back it affects the person behind. That is a fact.

No, it's not. I'm about 5'5, in the healthy BMI range, and it genuinely doesn't bother me at all if the person in front reclines, even on especially squished planes. It never occurred to me to even think about it before I started reading threads about it on here, so now I am more considerate and will check if the person behind me is especially tall before reclining. It would be like not using the screen just for the sake of it in my head.

Unless the person behind me is especially tall, I will put my seat back, on a flight of any duration at any time of day if I need to to be more comfortable. That's what the recline function is for, and there's nothing stopping the person behind me doing the same to get their extra couple of inches back.

It is far more rude to intentionally thump the back of someone's chair than it is to use the seat in the way it was designed to be used.

Well I can't speak for anyone else FrenchLavender but DS has ASD and ADHD and doesn't sleep on planes. So he has to rely on electronic devices and games to entertain him. He also doesn't eat airline food.

So people in front of me reclining their seats make my job a little bit harder because it means the table doesn't work and he can't see the screen properly.

Given that it is impossible to recline a seat in economy without having a huge impact on the person sitting behind you, I think they should get rid of them in economy. If you want to lie down on a plane, pay for an upgrade.