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.

If you had also reclined your seat, you would have had more space ....

When we buy a flight we pay for our seat, not every inch of space around that seat. If you want to control what happens to the space around your seat, you can always buy a first class ticket.

Yep, I can confirm that this is what they tell you. We had this issue on a long haul flight where the woman behind my adult daughter totally lost it when she reclined her seat. She was, very nicely, informed by the flight manager that it was my daughter's right to recline. This was in prem ec. I just do not get the MN attitude towards this and I find that it is generally accepted that people recline where and when possible. They don't put their seats up for meals either

I have long legs and it really is unbearable if someone reclines the seat in front. Therefore I buy a premium economy seat, only fly Virgin (BA premium is not worth it) when I fly long haul (usually to US). This means buying from Tesco and saving all my vouchers to buy air miles to afford it (and we only go every other year).
People are allowed to recline, the seats are not roomy, but if it's a problem for the passenger behind it's their problem. Therefore you should have been able to recline your seat, and if it was an issue for the woman behind she could figure out a solution. Though I do agree that some common sense consideration should be made like going upright at meal times.
By the way I thought emergency exit seats were for those who were physically able to move and open the doors if needed.

Read it again.

I hate when the person infront reclines there seat them it squeaks and shakes. My last flight was only an hour to Amsterdam and I couldn’t resist being petty and kicking the seat back lol
In future you should speak with cabin crew or assistance at the airport and explain your back issues

I cannot work out if this means you’re for or against reclining?!

My last flight was only an hour to Amsterdam and I couldn’t resist being petty and kicking the seat back lol

Yes totally petty and childish.

I don’t know why but I always end up reading the endless recline-or-not argument.
My stance:

• seats are built with a recline feature


• the only rules are not to recline during take off / landing and meals


• reclining can cause discomfort for the person at the back but they can mitigate this by reclining themselves


• not reclining can cause discomfort if you have back ache

-> I’ll recline. Of course slowly but without « asking » the person behind.

Remembering a coach holiday about 20 years ago from UK to Sorrento. The first and final nights were spent overnight on the coach with curtains closed, lights off and all seats reclined. However my DSis and I had an elderly couple behind us who objected strongly to us reclining as the husband had a thrombosis in his leg. The couple in front of us apologetically reclined theirs as did the couple behind of course and we remained uncomfortably upright all night. By the end of the week most of the rest of the coach party had all commiserated with us and they were re-seated at the very front going home.

On Mumsnet it is generally illegal to recline your seat and you should sit bolt upright for the duration

I generally recline my seat if I want to sleep or if the flight is a longish one.
the person behind you can always recline theirs too in order to maintain the same gap between the seats.
from my POV- YANBU

I thought the extra legroom seats were only to be used by people who have no mobility issues, so they can help in case of emergencies.

Not on long-haul
Most are bulk heads with the bassinets and baby face masks.

I have flown twice with my baby - each time I paid for a comfort seat for her as I was alone and didn’t want to be crammed and my baby moves about a lot! I couldn’t actually put her in her seat though as she is a baby and can not sit upright unaided - also the airlines do not allow it!

The two airlines I flew with had rules that under two’s must be on your lap unless you bring an airline approved forward facing car seat - this is tricky as under 2’s in the UK and EU must travel in backwards facing car seats which means you would have to spend hundreds on a brand new car seat just for the flight and carry it through the airport while juggling a baby which is why you rarely see infants in car seats on planes.

I would love if airlines made it possible for an infant to travel in his/her own seat - holding a baby for several hours is not easy or fun. I personally was terrified that the woman in front of me was going to recline at one point as a 6 month old doesn’t understand why an adult is crushing them with a seat. Thankfully she saw the baby and stopped.

I would never blame someone for having a lap infant or recline a seat on a baby - most airlines do charge for having a baby on your lap these days so they are not travelling free of charge even if they don’t buy their own seat. If you have a disability that means you must recline or you are completely shattered and there is a baby behind you I would speak to an air steward and see can he/she can accommodate either group in other seats.

I went long haul to NZ with arthritis in my spine and hips and managed not to recline the seat as there was an elderly man behind with similar issues. Sometimes you just have to suck it up in cattle class or pay the extra for business or first class.

I think airlines should just disable the recline feature and fix the problem forever.

Been flying for close to 30 years and I always recline when the option exists. As soon as we're up in the air my seat goes back, and only comes back upright for the meals and landing.

The function is there for a reason. Use it.

@easyday
Credit cards, including sign up bonuses, are the way to go.

Agree

Not just MN do a search it's an issue. You are either for or against reclining. The world isn't full of recliners. Though I always seem to be behind them when travelling.

this is tricky as under 2’s in the UK and EU must travel in backwards facing car seats which means you would have to spend hundreds on a brand new car seat just for the flight

The Jolie 360 is rear facing for babies, but can be turned round to forward facing for toddlers - it lasted DGD from birth upto 4 years! Get one from birth and travelling on planes is no problem!

This isn’t true at all, you can sit with the child in your lap of hire a CARES seatbelt harness to have them in their own seat

I would have just reclined anyway. Screw her, it’s not my problem if she didn’t plan for her child to have adequate space. Also this is why I always try to book a seat in the exit row so there’s nobody in front.

It would exacerbate another problem, though, wouldn’t it? People recline because sitting bolt upright for many hours is very uncomfortable for them. I’m an anxious flyer and lying back really helps me relax. Generous seat pitch is a selling feature in economy cabins, so I don’t think the airlines see this as a problem that needs fixing.

I always recline the seat whenever I feel like it. They can recline theirs too. I don't get the aggro about this. In the 80s it wasn't viewed as remotely antisocial, and I spent a lot of time on flights.