To recline my seat on an overnight flight?

[stargirl27]

I recently had a long-haul overnight flight from the US (10 hours approx.)

Once we had eaten/had drinks, I reclined my seat and put something on the TV. The man behind me immediately began tapping me on the shoulder and when I turned, he asked if I could put my seat into the upright position as he had a drink on his tray table. I agreed to this.

Around 30 min later, I was ready to sleep so I told him I was going to recline my seat. He asked me not to, as he said he was very tall so needed the extra legroom... I thought it was unfair to expect me to sit upright the whole time, and he could have booked an extra legroom seat (which, incidentally, I had). Also, he could have just reclined his own seat to give him the same amount of space.

In the end, after some back and forth, I agreed to recline it a bit but not the full way, but it wasn't as comfortable as it would have been if I'd reclined properly. Also, I thought he was a bit unreasonable to expect me not to recline so I could sleep, basically to sacrifice my comfort for his, but I wasn't prepared to spend the whole flight arguing so wanted to compromise.

WIBU?

YABU - you should not have reclined your seat
YANBU - you were perfectly fine to recline

Exactly! No one gets to restrict the comfort of the person in front, making their experience less comfortable than others around them who paid the same fare, because they themselves are tall. Take responsibility for your own needs.

There are so many situations where some people have to pay more to accommodate those things about us that we can’t help, it’s only when “tall” comes into play that somehow people think it gives them a right to take from others freely.

What is the recline function for if it's not ok to use it?

He doesn't have to fly. It is still a privileged lifestyle.

Am I the only person who doesn’t care if the person in front of me reclines? I’ve never had someone’s “head in my lap” or been unable to use my tray or see the TV. I’m even perfectly able to eat if the person in front is reclined.
I find it weird how some people say there’s no point in people reclining anyway as it barely changes your position to be able to sleep so what’s the point. But at the same time it apparently goes back so far it crushes the person behind.
If everyone just reclines together everyone has the exact same amount of space. (Possibly with the exception of the back row which sometimes don’t move).

Exactly

raises hand
I agree - never had a problem with it

Did he not realise that the screens are adjustable so that they can be tilted to compensate for the recline?

I personally dislike people who recline. But does it matter what I think? Everyone has their own hang ups and find what others do to be inconsiderate. He shouldn't have tapped you. You keep reclining, I keep disliking you for it and we can both happily move on with our lives.

It's clear that you are allowed to recline outside of mealtimes. Stewards won't ask people to stop reclining, because it's something they are allowed to do.

People need to stop thinking of the space the person in front reclines into as theirs. That's the bit that makes people upset, they feel it's being taken from them. But control of that space (outside mealtimes) has always belonged to the person in front, so if you are unbearably uncomfortable if they use it, then you need to pay for more spacious seating.

When did it become frowned upon to recline the seat on an overnight flight?
It certainly never used to be. If you were flying overnight, it was the expected norm that you would recline your seat when the cabin lights were turned off and try to get some sleep.

I haven't flown long haul for 25 years but back then it was the norm for all seats to recline at lights out. When and why did that change?

But surely you don't expect people to sit upright all night? It would be impossible to sleep!

I cannot understand why it’s considered rude to recline, when everyone has the same option.

why should anyone sacrifice their own comfort for someone else? Especially if the person behind is a recliner, they end up with extra space because the person in front is too polite to recline?

Madness. Just recline everyone and enjoy your flight and stop expecting others to not use the functionality of the seat.

It hasn't changed, despite some of the comments here.

Generally it's still widely accepted that it's legit to recline with care, certainly outside meal services, and regardless of whether it is dark or not, both inside and outside the aircraft.

Of someone reclines in front of my husband, their seat crushes his knees.

🤣🤣🤣

So book more legroom!

So, he should complain to the airline if he thinks the seating is inadequate. It's hardly the fault of other passengers if an airline crams the seats too close together.

Also, if he's 6'5", unfortunately he's taller than the "Mr average man" that the seating is designed for. I'm 5'3", so significantly shorter than Mr Average, and I find aeroplane seats horribly uncomfortable because the headrest is far too high and pushes my neck and head forwards. I think it's only really slim people, about 5'10" tall that are potentially comfortable on an aeroplane!

It's not true that you get space by reclining your own seat.

DH is 6ft 6, it depends on the airline but on the last long flight, he literally couldn't fit in his seat when the person in front reclined, there wasn't room for his knees. I think the guy in was trying to break his kneecaps by slamming the seat back. I was sitting a few rows back and noticed him standing up in the aisle as he'd been forced to get up. I had an empty seat in front of me so fortunately was able to swap. There hadn't been any extra legroom seats left on that flight or we'd have booked them. In future I'll just find another flight, we aren't going through that again.
It's getting worse over the years as airlines are closing up their rows.

It didn’t/hasn’t. It’s a load of keyboard warriors. On an overnight flight, passengers should expect that seats will recline - unless there’s a cabin meal service.

I'm slim, 5'10.5 and absolutely nope! Horribly uncomfortable. Generally I'm too tall for both the headrest and the leg space. Maybe it's that extra 1/2 an inch

I recline EVERY flight I am on. Overnight ones I recline all the way to sleep, daytime flights I still recline but maybe not as much.
The person behind you can also recline or book extra leg room seats if needed.
I don’t even understand why people think you can’t recline, it’s a feature built into the seats.

I think it's fine to recline your seat, especially at night which is a time for sleeping. He sounds selfish and entitled.

That'll be it! 😂