To think it's actually OK to recline your seat on a long haul flight?

[winterwonder1]

I always thought it was just one of those things, but this poll seems to make out it's anti-social behaviour. And that hack is just batshit.

Best life hack to stop air passengers reclining their seat | Chester and District Standard

I literally had this . Person in front reclined , person behind had reclined an hour before . Then complained when I did

I understand that. It was the ridiculous attitude of the poster, her self righteous belief that because she had a toddler, the person in front was not allowed to recline their chair, and she was apparently proud of the fact that she could not control her toddler enough to stop them disturbing the chair in front.

Fair, I don't do those crazy long flights, I have always gone direct or had a full break in the journey. Arriving 6.40 am, you'd obviously have to sleep on the stretch up from Doha when it's actual night time, but you definitely would not want to sleep west KUL to Doha or you'd really mess up your body clock.

And if they say 'yes, I mind'?
It's not their choice whether I recline my chair. 🫣

Surely if you reclined your seat onto a child (even of 18 months) on top of an adult in a pretty cramped seat pitch, you’d pretty much be touching the child with your seat, so would inevitably feel their every movement?

Still not the problem of the person reclining their seat.

Accidentally hit the wrong response.
I’m team recline.

I’d reach a compromise, maybe halfway.

(What does that saggy face emoji mean?)

And if toddler parent also reclined their seat then they’d be back at the same gap they started with so it still sounds like a ridiculous level of entitlement to me…

I get that a tall 23 month old doesn’t actually fit as a lap infant but are still legally allowed to fly as one but that’s the parent’s issue to solve. You can’t make it the issue of the poor sod stuck sitting in front! With a lap infant you usually have priority access to book the bulkheads, there is also the option to book them their own seat and also premium cabins with more space. When mine got over 1 I’d either buy the extra seat or upgrade depending on what worked out cheaper.

That is not the problem of the person reclining. If it is a long flight, the perhaps the parent of the child could have purchased a seat to make it more comfortable for the child, the parent and the person who would like to recline their seat. Airlines are absolutely fine with children under 2 having a seat - they can even have their child seat if they want. I assume it is because the parents don't want to spend the money, so the person who has bought the seat in front of them has to suffer. I find it unacceptable. Just my view.

Right, good for you, I'd just recline my seat when required - it's my choice, not theirs. Of course I'd respect the 'don't recline now' times.

Saggy face emoji?
You mean the one with the hands up to the face, aka facepalm?

Well, it is isn’t it? Because they’re the one having their seat knocked. If that isn’t a problem for you then fair enough, but most people don’t like that!

You may recline when the sign goes off for seatbelts (though you keep it on) and must raise the seat at mealtimes or the steward will have a word.

Long or short haul is irrelevant.

On the last few flights I've been on, the "recline" button hasn't worked.

I did wonder whether it was part of a ploy by airlines to phase out reclining, so as to eliminate all the hassles and arguments between those who recline and those who do not wish to be reclined upon.

Basic courtesy costs nothing. Reclining during meals is not okay, and the stewards will back you up if you ever experience this problem. Also it is considerate to recline your seat slowly, in case someone has a drink.

But fundamentally, if both the seat in front of you and your own seat are both reclined, you will have a similar amount of space as when both seats are upright. A majority of people will feel more comfortable at this angle if not eating and drinking. People who complain about this scenario are illogical and behaving like territorial animals.

it should be based on leg length not height - my 6’3 husband has shorter legs than me - I’m 5’11. He’s fine in a standard economy seat, my hip to knee length doesn’t fit with a seat pocket!

Ethically fine, but you will get cold feet! I’d keep your socks on at least.

No, I wouldn't ask. I might politely inform. I am not prioritising the person behind me over myself.
You can call that selfish, but it is no more selfish than the person behind who thinks their comfort is more important than mine. Have another emoji 🤷‍♀️

I get that they don't like it, but I am not responsible for their choices or the problem they created.

I was recently on a long haul flight with a toddler in front of me. They were so tiny that their feet didn’t reach the end of the SEAT when they had their legs stretched out. Anyway, I went to the toilet after takeoff and the toddler’s dad FULLY reclined the toddler’s seat….. they were able to recline anyway and needed no more room. I actually couldn’t get back into my seat as I’m on the taller side. I had to ask him to put it back up a bit and he was so rude. I was in shock. I only recline a bit, and only after food/if the person behind me is asleep and also reclining.

Of course you can. It's a relatively new phenomenon to gripe about it as though it's antisocial but people have been doing it forever. I've flown long haul about thirty times and have never been bothered by people reclining their seats in front of me. People just need to get on with it and stop moaning about others using a perfectly reasonable feature of their seat.

Edit to add: I'm 5 foot 11 and my husband is 6 foot 4 and we both manage fine.

So, he reclined a seat belonging to him, and you thought you had more right to decide what happened to that seat?

Would you have liked me to stand in the aisle for the 16 hour flight? It was so fully reclined that I couldn’t actually sit in my seat…….. I don’t mind a bit of a recline, but reclining so much that the person behind you can’t sit in their seat, is just quite frankly rude, whatever weird territorial spin you want to put on it.