It's a Plane Etiquette one!! Was I AIBU?

[Belladonna90]

Night flight back from the US.
Cabin crew do meal service at around 4am (UK time) around 11pm (US). I'm hoping not to go to bed when I land (so can beat the jet lag and not stay in US time!). In economy class and have the blanket over my head so I can sleep (need the 'room' to be as dark as possible'). I had my seat reclined in the belief that chicken or beef would not be served at this time. How wrong I was! Cabin Crew passes me with meal trolley (happily doesn't disturb me to ask whether I want a meal...at that time absolutely not!). However, when she is asking the passenger behind me she reclines my seat back up which startled the life out of me as I was jostled back up!! I was so annoyed as I was fast asleep. I can understand for a safety related issue if she needed to do that for example for landing but for a service related issue it seemed completely rude of her. Was I wrong to challenge her and ask why she did that?? She told me for service all seats must be in the upright position....

How could the person behind you eat if your seat was reclined? In economy on a lot of flights it is impossible.

Isn’t it so the person sitting behind you can comfortably use their fold down table? If so, you’re being very unreasonable, sorry.

Because its horrible and selfish for the people behind you you have the back of your chair in their face when eating.

I think it's completely normal to require seats up when food is being served, that's always been my experience on many night flights. How is the person behind you supposed to eat otherwise?

Seats need to be upright when meals are served so people behind you have the tray table available for their food. 11pm does sound late for a meal service, it I assume it was an hour or two after take off and not half way through?

YABU, this is completely normal

Surely your seat being reclined meant the person behind you couldn’t eat their food because their tray couldn’t extend? So not unreasonable at all for them to need your seat up. Anyone who’s even flown a flight with food served surely knew this? And every long haul (transatlantic Inc) flight serves food so not sure why the surprise?

I would say she should have instead woken you to ask you to sit upright and not just put your seat up though. So you’re not unreasonable to have been startled, but I wouldn’t have challenged once I’d realised what was going on.

YABU, all seats should be up during meal service so people can use the tray tables!

I have always asked the person in front of me to move their seat upright if I’m eating as it is very difficult to eat when the seat in front is reclined.
I have also asked the cabin crew to tell the person to move their seat to the upright position.

You were wrong to 'challenge' her, it's pretty obvious that the seats needed to be up for food being served, how was the person behind you supposed to eat?

Can you seriously not comprehend that the person behind you might need room to eat their meal?

I've never had this when I have travelled with Emirates or Singapore whose cabin crew are in another league. This was with BA....

I think it’s good manners and considerate to have seats up at meal service

@Belladonna90 your seat needs to be upright so the person behind could eat.
Bit weird they moved your seat instead of waking you up but maybe she was trying to do it without waking you.

Put your seat up when people eat, I find it nigh on impossible to sleep on flights, even the red eye ones back from the US.

You can use your table if the seat in front of you is reclined - there's no logistical issue there. I'd be incredibly annoyed if someone moved my seat and would say something too. If you've got a jumper on your head you're clearly asleep and it's beyond unreasonable of someone to disturb that for no good reason. YANBU.

Are you complaining that you couldn't have your seat reclined?

Or that the air stewardess put your seat in the upright position for you, which you didn't realise she was doing as you had a blanket over your head?

That's not true. I've flown with Emirates many times, they require everyone to put seats upright during meal times.

Why do you think the people behind should eat their meal with your seat in their face?

Absolutely find to recline - OUTSIDE of meal times.

YABU I do the US trip a lot and most people wait until the evening meal to be served before reclining and getting sleep. How are people supposed to eat with your chair back?

Why didn’t you move your seat when the trolley went past you and you knew they were serving food @Belladonna90

Exactly. Recline to your heart's content after the meal. Or sleep unreclined.

You need to have the seat upright at meal times - though I do appreciate that it’s a very odd time to have a meal, whichever time zone you were in.

There's always dinner on the red-eye, some airlines also do breakfast just before landing. You were being unreasonable in assuming there wouldn't be a meal service at all on a 7-ish hour flight (assuming east coast as you cited a 5hr time difference).

Another passenger wanting to eat their meal in some relative degree of comfort or applying a blanket rule of seats up during meal service are good reasons, aren’t they?

In what league?

The sort of league that makes a passenger balance their meal on their knee, because the person in front is reclining during meal service?

Bugger that league, I'd sit them up myself.