Who was unreasonable regarding plane seat ?

[planerider]

Inspired by another thread.

This happened a few years ago, but it annoyed me.

The flight was around 7 hours long. I had paid extra to have the exit seat in economy, as I was suffering from a bad back. I paid quite a lot extra for the seat, it's something I try to do, as I have back problems and it helps.

The woman behind me had quite a big child on her lap during the flight and was sat next to the child's father.

Because of this, I was unable to recline my seat for the entire flight. I tried very gently reclining it a little at some stage ( before I had seen the child ) but she was angry and swore, so I put it upright.

Who was unreasonable here ? Or do we generally think anyone reclining their seat is unreasonable ? I tend to recline my seat on very long flights, when the lights are dimmed for sleeping, as do most others on those flights. I don't recline on short hall.

I don't think the seats at the back recline at all because of the wall behind them

I have a bad back and would need to recline on a long haul flights.

I am also a strong adult who is more than capable of opening the emergency doors. In fact, assuming they weigh less than 50kg I could happily benchpress them.

I wish economy seats didn't recline - it just makes an already cramped space even more uncomfortable and it barely makes much difference anyway.

I don’t understand why they don’t design the seats so that the seat pad moves forward rather than the seat back leaning back, so that anyone who wants to recline is doing so within ‘their’ allotted space rather than encroaching on the space of others. That would solve so many problems.

Not all extra leg room are emergency exit, in fact on long haul most are not. They are the bulk head row which is also where the bassinets and extra oxygen masks are. You can sit anywhere with a baby- there needs to be a mask

what a load of rubbish. you don't know how long the reclining person has been travelling for and what they will need to do when they get off the plane. Reclining seats are supplied so that people can recline them.

I would only ever recline my seat if it was night time and had asked the person behind if they minded. I wouldn't have done it without checking who was behind.
She should not have sworn and been so rude though.

so if they said they minded, you'd sit bolt upright all day and night? really?

I understand your point but I don’t think plane seats should recline at all. It’s really irritating for the person behind.

I don’t get this argument. If the person in front of you reclines (as they are perfectly entitled to do) and you feel cramped, surely you just recline yourself?? The seat on the back row is the only loser.

Fuck, really? Thanks for pointing that out to me 🙄

There’s a special place in hell for anyone on a plane that reclines their seat. You’ll meet the person there who invented it.

I don’t care how long the flight is for,
if you can’t go a dozen hours without the need to recline then pay for a bed seat in first class.

Who was unreasonable here ? Or do we generally think anyone reclining their seat is unreasonable ? I tend to recline my seat on very long flights, when the lights are dimmed for sleeping, as do most others on those flights.

You were not unreasonable. Although everyone on this thread will tell you are are & selfish & people who recline their seats are terrible people.

You have a bad back so you had to have seat reclined at all times?
Sorry but it's very annoying to get on a flight and person in front reclines the seat at the start and stays that way all the way through.
If it's 'nighttime' on the flight and they dim the lights then it's socially acceptable. If it's awake time then no you put your chair forward - no 'law' but it's just the polite thing to do. Not surprised she swore tbh.
If your back was so bad you had to have seat reclined the whole time you shouldn't go on a long haul flight you can't cope with. YABU

But this comes back again to planes not really being fit for purpose. There just aren't enough seats with extra leg room for everyone who needs one (you only need to be about 6', even a bit smaller, to not fit behind a reclined seat) on an average plane with an average passenger load. 'You should buy a seat with extra legroom' isn't actually a viable universal solution.

I agree that given that the seats recline it's ok to use that facility, but I also don't think they should recline, certainly to the degree they do.

I was seated on a plane for a 10 hour overnight flight where the man behind me demanded to have his tray table down throughout the flight with his drinks on. He physically attacked me twice for attempting to recline my seat. It was a dreadful experience not helped by me then having breathing difficulties. Cunt Features behind me kept up a running commentary whilst I was given oxygen by the crew. There was nowhere else for the air crew to seat me so I spent much of rest of the flight on their jump seats where they looked after me. I had to return to my seat for landing where Cunt Features immediately started laying into me again. I didn't complain as felt too ill but have always thought the situation was handled very badly. Not sure quite what could have been done however

I find it unbelievably selfish when people recline - you are increasing your space at the expense of the person behind you by taking theirs. I can never get my head around why people think this is okay. I wouldn't inflict that on another passenger, I'd be embarrassed to! And this idea that everyone behind can just recline as well to recoup their space - what if they don't want to spend the flight like that and would prefer to sit upright?? Passenger at the front is a selfish dick and reclines their seat thereby forcing everyone behind them to be selfish dicks and do the same?? Great!!

On a 7 hour flight we were in the row behind the exit seats. The two women sitting there reclined their seats after take off and didn’t return them to upright even when a meal was served. They had to be told to return to upright several times by cabin staff when the plane was landing. Some people are so entitled.

The reclining option should only be available for a period of time during night flights - otherwise they should be banned. It's antisocial in the extreme.

On a long haul flight it is normal practice to recline. Its when people do it quickly with force, without warning, and withing 2 minutes of getting in the air and when drinks and food are being served that it is really antisocial. I'm envious of those that can get sleep on planes, i never get more than a few minutes, but I think its fair enough that people recline to get some sleep.

Unfortunately, economy seats are built for the average person. And even then, probably at a mimimum. If you're small you probably wonder what all the fuss is about. Likewise its probably super uncomfortable for tall people and, um, our friends on the higher side of the BMI spectrum. Likewise, in this case, having a toddler on the lap. That must make flying less comfortable, but its not the person in front's fault. They paid for a seat with a recline facility and are fully entitled to use it. If you are bigger and want to ensure comfort, stump up for an upgrade. Whilst you have my sympathies if that description fits you, its not for everyone else to maximise your comfort by compromising their own.

My pet hate is people jabbing at the tv screen in the head rest like they're killing flies, not using a touch screen. My head is taking these bloody jabs. Oh and people using my headrest as leverage to get in and out of seats.

YABU for sitting in the emergency row if you are unable to open the emergency doors due to your back issues.

YANBU for reclining your seat.

She's a disgusting tart because she said for fuck's sake in front of a toddler? 🤨 What a weird thing to say.

I generally think you shouldn't assume you'll be able to recline as I think the person behind you is entitled to be bothered by it (I don't want to recline my seat, because of my own back issues which make it more comfortable if I sit and lean forwards, so I'd be annoyed if forced to). It depends on the age of the child for whether the mother was being unreasonable keeping him on her lap.

I don't really see why people have an absolute right to use the recline because it's a facility built into the seat, but they have no right whatsoever to expect to be able to use their tray-table, which is also a facility provided and which you can't use if the person in front reclines?

This all makes me very nervous as I am flying soon with an under 2 on my lap! 😬 It is short haul so hopefully won't be too much of an issue. But buying my child a seat of her own was not an option for a few reasons.

For people who are saying the mother should have bought a seat for her toddler, I do wonder why it's okay for someone to recline simply because they've been provided with a seat that does so by the airline, so they're entitled to use it despite therefore making the person behind them uncomfortable, but it's not okay for the mother to utilise the option of seating her child on her lap, which has also been provided to her by the airline, therefore making the person in front of her uncomfortable? Both people are trying to maximise their own comfort at the expense of someone else's.