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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Who was unreasonable regarding plane seat ?

244 replies

planerider · 30/05/2022 13:24

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.

OP posts:
malmi · 30/05/2022 20:26

For those who don't like it when the person in front reclines, and are too cheap to pay for extra legroom, I suggest you fly exclusively with Ryanair, whose seats are fixed upright!

Otherwise, I have paid for the space that my chair reclines into, so make the most of it during take off is all I can say!

Mrsmch123 · 30/05/2022 21:01

If the recline function is there then anyone should be free to use it. People with children can purchase a separate seat for them if concerned about lack of space. I would have reclined and said sorry but I want to🤷🏻‍♀️

Mercurial123 · 31/05/2022 08:40

The thing that actually riles me up more than anything are the clumsy bastards behind me who grab the back of my seat to get out of their row. They usually pull my hair while doing it & I do ask them not to. If you need to hang on to a seat to get your balance to get out of your row, grab your own seat back

I have done this to annoy the recliners.... if anyone ever commented I would just say sorry but it's difficult to get into my seat there's not much room.

CounsellorTroi · 31/05/2022 09:32

Mercurial123 · 31/05/2022 08:40

The thing that actually riles me up more than anything are the clumsy bastards behind me who grab the back of my seat to get out of their row. They usually pull my hair while doing it & I do ask them not to. If you need to hang on to a seat to get your balance to get out of your row, grab your own seat back

I have done this to annoy the recliners.... if anyone ever commented I would just say sorry but it's difficult to get into my seat there's not much room.

I’ve got dodgy knees and by the time I’ve been sitting in a coach seat for a while they have seized up and getting up is pretty painful and I do need some support. I will try not to grab seat backs in future though.

Honeyroar · 31/05/2022 10:05

To be fair it can be incredibly difficult to get out of a middle seat in economy. Sometimes the people either side don’t get up. The seats are so crammed in nowadays..

BexW40 · 31/05/2022 10:17

I think I'd have asked if she minded and explained the bad back she might have swapped with the husband

grey12 · 31/05/2022 10:25

I always recline my seat 🤷🏻‍♀️ unless it's for the last row (poor person can't recline their seat) and push it up for meal times

Iwantmyoldnameback · 31/05/2022 10:28

In many aircraft you can recline the back row, that's why the seats are so popular and difficult to book.

GoodThinkingMax · 31/05/2022 10:59

I have done this to annoy the recliners.... if anyone ever commented I would just say sorry but it's difficult to get into my seat there's not much room.

well who’s the arsehole then @Mercurial123

GoodThinkingMax · 31/05/2022 11:00

You can grab your own seat back. It works just as well.

Mercurial123 · 31/05/2022 11:11

GoodThinkingMax · 31/05/2022 10:59

I have done this to annoy the recliners.... if anyone ever commented I would just say sorry but it's difficult to get into my seat there's not much room.

well who’s the arsehole then @Mercurial123

I would say the person reclining their seat, but I have a feeling you would disagree.

Travis1 · 31/05/2022 11:16

Reclining is the height of ignorance in economy. I had a man in my lap for a daytime flight from jfk to Gatwick. Thankfully crew managed to move me. I couldn’t even get out my seat when he was reclined. Never mind read a book or watch the entertainment that I had paid for. So YABU

ShirleyPhallus · 31/05/2022 11:24

Travis1 · 31/05/2022 11:16

Reclining is the height of ignorance in economy. I had a man in my lap for a daytime flight from jfk to Gatwick. Thankfully crew managed to move me. I couldn’t even get out my seat when he was reclined. Never mind read a book or watch the entertainment that I had paid for. So YABU

I’m quite sure the cabin crew would have a different version of events as to why they moved you. Given that reclining seats barely recline beyond a few inches, I can’t believe for a moment that he was lying in your lap or that cabin crew would move someone just because someone in a front seat reclined theirs

user1496146479 · 31/05/2022 13:13

BarbaraWoodlouse · 30/05/2022 13:26

I think all short haul flights should have seats that don’t recline at all. Sorry but I think YWABU

It's not a short haul flight

Bleachmycloths · 31/05/2022 18:19

I don’t know why they have reclining seats which cause such a problem when reclined. To me, they are not fit for purpose if they can’t be reclined without affecting someone else.

Hutchy16 · 31/05/2022 19:02

i booked my seats like this:

R1: Neice, SIL, Nephew
R2: Me, Son, husband

lol I figure the kids won’t recline so I’ll be fine 🙈

Beverley71 · 31/05/2022 19:11

This would annoy me too planerider. A lot of years ago hubby and I went on an all inclusive to Mauritius and paid extra for premium seats on the flight. It was an over night flight and when it came to the time to sleep the people behind us complained very loudly about us reclining our seats. Every time i nodded off she pulled on my seat and woke me up. The future me (now) would have definitely said something to her, but back then I just quietly seethed and spend the whole of the first day asleep by the pool

Snugglemonkey · 31/05/2022 19:48

@BashfulClam I have really long legs too and have had this issue. On a flight to Canada the woman in front kept trying to ram her seat back and was furious she couldn't recline, but I had people either side and had nowhere for my legs to go. I was bruised quite badly and have never flown since unless I am in an emergency exit row.

HappyinChester · 31/05/2022 19:51

I don’t understand why economy seats recline. There is never a happy outcome to this for anyone. There just isn’t the space to do this.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 31/05/2022 19:56

WibblyWobblyLane · 30/05/2022 15:06

It's interesting that MN thinks it's ok to disrupt someone else's comfort by reclining in an already cramped space, but children playing in their own gardens before 10am on a Sunday is a no because it disrupts someone else's comfort despite it being legally ok. Either the rules are there and if it disrupts other people, so what, or the comfort of other people matters, in which case you can't pick and choose.

Different people posting on different threads?

MN doesn’t have one single hive-mind - you’ll find people with lots of different experiences and opinions here.

CharlotteSt · 31/05/2022 20:03

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 30/05/2022 15:23

I'm sure I read a couple of years ago about a design of seat that reclined by moving the seat forwards not the back backwards. Solves all the issues.

Yes I've been on a flight where the seats did this. Hurrah! Can't remember which airline.

I hate sitting behind a recliner as it makes me feel claustrophobic but I accept it's their right.

I wouldn't mind so much but I think being reclined is actually less comfortable.

Mamaof2males · 31/05/2022 20:11

We are going away in August, providing the bloody flights don’t get cancelled / can actually board with the difficulties at present - we have all booked extra leg room. There are 6 adults and 3 children we are in the middle rows in 3’s together on the plane for this reason. The men are 6ft 3 and we want comfort so we’ve all paid.

paintingcolors · 31/05/2022 20:12

I recline and have had words with someone behind me who told me not to do so. I told him he should have bought a business class ticket. I only recline after meals have been cleared so that my seat doesn't cause issues for the person behind me trying to eat off the tiny tray.

Insanelysilver · 31/05/2022 20:12

I one had a guy in front of me who’d inclined bus seat literally as far aS it would go. He was practically on my lap.
i called a flight attendant and showed her how much he was encroaching. It was so uncomfortable and it was impossible for me to use the table. He told the flight attendant that the seat didnt go up but it was upright during take off. She didn’t want to call him a liar and so she said there wasn’t anything she could do.

When the food arrived courtesy of another member of the cabin crew. saw I couldn’t put the table down.
He told the man to put his seat in the upright position and again the man said he couldn’t. The flight attendant made him stand uo
and sat in the seat and showed him the seat was working perfectly well.
He said
so we all know that your seat is functioning now don’t we sit, so there’s no need for you to be making this nice lady uncomfortable for 8 hours is there.
He then said loudly
let me know if passenger causes you any more problems.
i was so grateful as I’d already had 4 hours of it!

anon666 · 31/05/2022 20:15

I'm with those that think it's antisocial to recline the seat. I've noticed cheaper flights have got rid of this altogether