Angry woman on plane, Was we BU?

[Raynaud]

7 hour flight with DH and DS(4). As soon as seatbelt lights went off DH fully reclined exhausted DSs seat so he could sleep. The woman behind snapped at DH to put the seat back up as drinks would be coming around soon. DH said no as drinks currently not being served. She called him a selfish twat to her OH.
Drinks/snacks start coming around. Woman tells DH to put the seat back up. DH put the seat back up half way so to not wake DS. She tells him to put it fully up. He tells her DS is sleeping. Her OH then tells her to speak to steward which she does. Steward asks DH to put the seat back up - he tells her DS is sleeping. I tell him to just put it back up, he again says DS is sleeping. Air Steward starts getting pissed off, I snap at DH to put the bloody seat up. He does so reluctantly and DS does not wake.

Once everything is cleared away he puts the seat fully back again. The woman complains that he’s doing that out of badness because “the kid” is still asleep. Her OH confirms that yes, DH is a twat.

My take on it is that both were being unreasonable at different times. My sister however says this was all on DH.

All on your DH. Sorry.

He was BU, it’s horrible to be sat behind a reclined seat for an entire journey.

I'm with your sister on this, your DH is a twat

It's all on your DH. Hope that helps.

Your DH is an arrogant twat. The couple behind were spot on.

She shouldn't have used the language she did but your husband was unreasonable here.

100% on DH. Who does that

Its good your son slept through his father acting like a prize idiot.

Yep DH is an arsehole

Ach. One of the risks of air travel is that the person in the seat in front will recline it.

Until airlines stop having reclining seats people are going to recline them.

Yep, your husband was being a bellend

True. She should have used worse language and even then he probably wouldn't have got it through his thick head.

DH was being unreasonable. He obviously put the seat back down to make a petty point. Flying is a time to be extra considerate and thoughtful, not spiteful point scoring. Does he think he is the first man in the world to travel with a child? Arguing with the cab crew makes him an utter twat, obviously - they work very hard and are there to keep you safe.

I’ve never been on a flight but I’m wondering why do they have reclining seats if it’s not acceptable to recline them ??

If the child's asleep, the seat can be raised. They won't notice.

See I think she was being unreasonable at the start as food / drinks were not being served. DH then became the unreasonable one? But then after everything had been cleared, she again became unreasonable?

She ended up swapping seats with her OH in the end as I think even he was getting fed up of her complaining.

But I do agree DH was being pig headed and he was annoying me too.

@PerpetualBurnout so you can sleep on a night flight. It is well known that you do not have the seats reclined at drink and meal services and if the child slept thru then they obviously did not need it reclined.

Your DH is unreasonable. There's little reason to recline a seat for a 4yr old, not like they need the extra space and he stayed asleep upright. Also seats should be upright during drinks and food service or the person behind can't use their table. It's bloody rude!

This ^
however her using this language doesn’t justify your DH’s actions so I’m with your sister.

Oh I see I was confused !

Your DH is all to blame here. What an unpleasant interaction. Is he always like this?

It’s fine to recline seats when permitted to. He was unreasonable not to straighten it fully when required to do so, to the point of arguing with the stewardess over it, however.

The way your DH handled the situation was inappropriate, but if the seat has a recline function, that means you are permitted to recline. I don’t understand the horror some people have about using it (apart from meal times). I cannot sleep on a plane if I’m sitting bolt upright so I would expect to be able to recline on a long-haul flight.

Couldn't a 4 year old have legs across one of you? Surely they are small enough to be more flexible. My last 9 hour flight the twat in front reclined and didn't have the decency to change even when food was served. She kept that chair back the whole flight.

Why did your DH need to recline the seat as your DS was asleep? It woukd have made no dufference to him sleeping or not

Your DH was being awkward to be awkward