Plane seat upset

[Foodieasfuck]

We travelled back from holiday yesterday. I booked (and paid for) an aisle seat and a middle seat (as this is our preference) The flight was full so we knew that someone would be sat on the window seat. The man arrived after us and it was very obvious that he was going to really struggle to squeeze across 2 seats and into his seat. He was very, very overweight (no judgement, just stating the facts).
He asked us if we could please just move over so that he could sit on the end. It was a 4.5 hour flight and I had chosen the aisle seat so that I can get to the loo easily. (Weak bladder).
The stewardess got involved and also asked us if we could ‘just move over’. It was really embarrassing for all concerned but I stood my ground and politely refused. The man duly took the window seat but it took him a while to shuffle over. He hadn’t paid for a seat in advance, it was randomly allocated at check in. There was no bad feeling. He was a nice man. He needed the loo once during the flights and we happily let him out.

I don’t believe I was unreasonable as I’d paid for the seats but it’s left me feeling a bit bad for him. There isn’t much point in paying for seats if you can’t actually sit on them. Was I unreasonable?

This. People would be much more likely to agree to move if it meant they effectively got a free flight or an upgrade!

The answer is "I booked this spe ific seat for reasons I don't need to go into in public". Only needs to be said to te steward

Surely if you have a weak bladder and need to use the toilets more often he would have been worse off sat in the aisle as he would have to get up everytime your or your fellow traveller needed a wee!

I fly regularly on long-haul flights, including back-to-back long-hauls and itineraries that cross many time zones.

I just laugh at people who make ridiculous comments like "no-one reclines on flights" or "you should only be allowed to recline if it's at night" as if those are concepts that even make sense! They would be the only person on most flights sitting bolt upright. I genuinely don't know how anyone who's ever been on a long-haul flight could come to the conclusion that it's weird to recline, unless they were blind.

If the answer to every CF who did this was a default no then the CFs would stop asking. If someone requires a specific seat, they know they have the same option you did: to book it. If they hear 'no' from the passenger they expect to shuffle around to accommodate their preferences, then perhaps they will be more likely to book next time and stop making it other people's problem.

Thank you, OP. Unlike those who take a 'be nice' approach which only perpetuates this annoyance, you have done everyone else a favour.

We’re all terribly impressed with how well travelled you are - good for you 👍.

Not saying it’s weird saying it’s anti-social and if you were in front of me I’d grab your seat as hard as I could every time I got up. So you wouldn’t get any sleep anyway.

Nobody is denying the usefulness of reclining seats - nor that most people would want to use them when it's clearly night time.

They just need to be used with consideration and the realisation about how they affect others.

If I went out now (early Saturday afternoon) and spent half an hour with my hedge trimmers, it would be reasonable to expect others to put up with a bit of unpleasant noise. If I went out at midnight and just left them running for 5 hours, my neighbours would rightly complain - it's no use my saying "Well, that's what hedge trimmers are designed to do" or "Well, you all use hedge trimmers sometimes too".

Anti recliners are so pathetic. If you were yanking the back of my seat as hard as you could do you think I'd sit there and accept it? You think pulling seat heads is more sociable than reclining? Sounds like you don't know the meaning of social skills.

And I'm the anti-social one?!

It's a long-haul flight, sleep is interrupted by a lot of things, I'll survive and sleep on the other end. But I'm still going to be a lot more comfortable not sitting bolt upright for 8, 10, 12, 15h (or longer if back-to-back itinerary). Why don't you try it...?

Ew who the hell calls people "bitch" like that?

You do realise you can be arrested on landing for assaulting someone on the plane? Which is exactly what you're describing doing.

Etiquette is don't recline during the meal service (and attendants will enforce this without being asked, usually).

"Clearly night time" isn't a concept that exists in the world of long-haul flights though when people are transiting from all sorts of places and might have started their day on the other side of the world 12h ago.

It’s really not, you were the one with the “I wouldn’t accept it” threats.

We’re talking getting up to go to the bathroom. Which I can do without touching the back of the seat in front. But if the person in front isn’t being considerate to me I’ll happily use the seat to help get up and down. Hardly assault. 🤡

There is. Don’t decline during meal service. It’s often announced and/or cabin crew gently get people to unrecline for meal service

Thankfully I don't seem to meet any of the weird anti recliner MN people when flying long haul!
Have to yet to see a flight where when the cabin lights are dimmed there are many people not reclining.
Glad I fly in the real world, and not the one where apparent adults bump/kick seats!
We don't even accept that kind of behaviour from children!

No one really has to answer the question of what kind of person calls someone 'bitch' like that.

They have revealed that all-too clearly for themselves.

you can't be flying that often if you haven't noticed it

I have seen the crew telling passengers off and asking them to stop reclining

They’re the same size, yes - but you have more ‘spill over’ space on an aisle seat. Whereas in the window seat, you’ve got a plane wall on one side and a passenger on the left - so ‘overspill’ room reduced

Not true. Most airlines (sorry, I've used a lot of long-haul flights. Sadly mostly gorgeous work) designate a time when lights are dimmed and blinds are closed. And just about everyone tries to catch some reclined shut-eye

@thedogatethecattreats
Have yet to see any cabin crew telling a passenger off for reclining a seat, unless during meal service, in which case I'd agree!!
So no, I've not seen that weird behaviour you see, again maybe it's just on the parallel MN world!

I'm glad you've cleared up the fact that you are the most important person on any plane you fly on.

It’s an it depends, might be airline dependent.

They might have a word during meal service and obviously would during pre take-off/pre arrival checks but outside of that I wouldn’t expect Cabin Crew to be telling paying passengers to put seats upright as a matter of routine.

More fool you then.

Her medical need trumps his comfort need. He could have precooked an aisle seat if he needed it so badly.

Eh? It’s entirely the opposite. I don’t recline seats out of respect for other passengers. But if they’re not being considerate to me I owe them nothing.

Reported your bitch post.