Plane etiquette

[SJane48S]

Not a big deal at all and could very well be just middle aged annoyance (where really really small things just seem to getting on my wick pretty much all the time, I'm even annoying myself!) but are people ruder & less considerate on planes than they used to be? We flew to New York 2 weeks ago, just before half term and our flight was full of loved up milennials on splurged 'you're taking me to New York, you must really be into me' mini breaks taking selfies snogging and then putting their seats on full recline from take off to touch down.It was a day flight and 3/4 of the seats were on full bloody recline. As an ex pat brat, I spent a lot of my childhood on longhaul flights and was taught it was ok to recline when you wanted to sleep but seat up otherwise, especially when people are eating. We spent the entire flight with seats in our faces and didn't recline ours as there was a young family with small children behind us. Is this standard practice for this generation?! And while I'm in full whinge mode, what is this new trend for having the shutters down the entire flight, even in daytime? Do other people like this?!

I know the answer is if I don't like it, upgrade, before anyone else says it but as well as being an increasingly grumpy old bag I seem to be becoming increasingly tight grumpy old bag!

And to be clear, I think in your circumstances it was the right thing for the chair in front not to be reclined.

But when he was asked he did it, you calling him selfish for not just knowing is ridiculous!

@brokenlogs

You made your point, its obvious you are looking for any kind of excuse to attack my point.
Because obviously because it wasn’t visible for your neighbours that you were pregnant, this surely meant that in my situation it was invisible too that I was pregnant . Talking about entitled behavior 😏

I fly a fair amount and I don't really care if people recline their seats, but in my opinion it's incredibly rude to do it during meal service, and if you do it on a daytime flight of less than 3 hours I will silently judge you the whole way there.

My bigger bugbear is people wandering around barefoot on planes and sticking their revolting feet up on the armrests in front or on the bulkhead

Cop onto yourself Honeybee85 😂😂

Flew long haul at 32 weeks pregnant and I was told to recline by the air hostess as it was better for my circulation. She also kept me supplied with water and juice. People who don’t recline their seats when they can are idiots really.

I always recline on an aeroplane. But it’s only good manners to pass the traveller behind a note first. I keep a stock of hand-written cards expressly for this purpose and use my crimping shears to make the edges nice and fancy.

Lots of people are saying the seats shouldn't be reclined for "meal service" but not everyone has their meal at the same time. As a vegetarian I sometimes get mine up to an hour before the people around me. You'd better believe I'm gonna have my seat reclined and be back to sleep as soon as I've eaten, especially if it's my second flight of the day!

I don’t think reclining is selfish at all. Honeybee85 why not pay for an upgrade if you were so heavily pregnant that losing an extra 2 cm of space caused you such discomfort?

@fridalovesdiego

If I had known the situation on forehand I certainly would have considered it an option.
However I was in really bad luck to have a seat that couldnt recline plus having a selfish twat in front of me. By the way, surely it was more then a loss of 2 cm!

I think it’s so sad that common decency seems so often to be a thing of the past these days. Years ago on a very long flight I was sat in front of a lady with a small baby on her lap and though the I person in front of me fully reclined his seat during the entire flight, I kept mine in the upright position because I thought it would be really uncomfortable for the lady behind me. She thanked me for it after landing 🙂. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you have to but it seems many people, also on MN, disagree with that.

Ah, see there’s another thing I disagree with you about. My kids always had their own seat (lived overseas) so I think that if people are that bothered about space for their children they will book a bassinet/seat. I once had a women huffing because my child reclined their seat onto her holding her baby. I suggested she swapped places with her husband, who was sitting behind her. It seems common sense often deserts people on flights.

@FridalovesDiego

The same thing crossed my mind but then I realised that this destination is quite poor and since it’s an overseas part of my country, many people probably couldn’t afford to buy 2 seats to visit family (massive assumption on my behalf, I know). I just thought the best option would be to be kind and yes, I consider that common decency.

Bassinets aren’t expensive, they just need to be booked ahead. Or the front row/ staggered seats. I have been on flights where people with babies have demanded the aisle seats. That pisses me right off, just book them. I had one who just took my disabled mother’s seat, not happening!

@FridalovesDiego

Yes, in that case you’re absolutely right!

@FridalovesDiego I had a woman tell me I wasn't allowed to recline on a 7 hour night flight because she had a large toddler on her lap (must have been very close to 2). Obviously I'm not an arse so I didn't but I fumed silently in a British manner. Also an expat and I paid for a seat for mine (on the same route) from 1 year onwards because you actually can't have a 1 year old on your lap for a long time without inconveniencing others. The woman had chosen to save money and I was inconvenienced as a result.

I also had someone who told me her mother was scared of me reclining on a similar flight and that I was out of order trying to recline. Again I didn't recline because I don't want to upset an elderly woman but I had an uncomfortable long haul flight as a result.

I have been flying long haul for 40 years. Etiquette is you can recline at any time (as others have said just because it's a day flight doesn't mean you're in that timezone) but you unrecline for meals. I check that the person behind doesn't have something on their tray but I don't actually ask for permission - that's not the norm in my experience. I actually don't recline unless I'm sleeping but I've never objected to anyone else doing it.

I have reclined on short flights (although I normally don't bother) - there are people on short flights who are on connections and have been travelling for the last 20 hours!

I don't understand this either , seats are meant to recline and I will do so if I want to sleep .. it's not rude is by design .. 🤷‍♀️

It is very rude and selfish Recline should be banned unless night time. Majority of passengers hate it.

It causes discomfort to.people behind, Stupid woman reclined 2 seats in front ,Dh seat couldnt recline, hes 6 ,'2 and was stuck , lpoor man in middle was also stuck.
Happened also when we have been back row where seats cant recline.
Always book extra leg room if we can,

Because I don't agree with you Honeybee85 you call me a bully??!! You are seriously too much!

Maybe next time don't go for the cheap non reclining seat?

OR as I've actually been saying all along ASK nicely yourself instead of thinking everyone is an arsehole.

The reclining of seats doesnt bother me. Its the other selfish passengers taking up 3 seats so that they can lie flat and sleep that piss me off.

I have recently done 4 long haul flights (26 hours each way). There were 2 open seats on the window side with one passenger in each row. Before the seat belt sign was even off she was laid out with her blanket and pillow. As we got to cruising level the cabin crew asked her if she would please move from the two extra seats as there was a mother with a small baby who was in a middle seat further back, who had asked if she could be moved if there was an extra seat somewhere. This lady refused to move and told the cabin crew that she isnt moving and she wants to sleep and isnt having a baby next to her. I was flabbergasted to be honest. Hence a whole shuffle round a few rows up where a couple were ok to separated to that the mum could have a front row with a bit of extra leg room. The baby was a bit big for a sky cot.

I think cabin crew these days can tell a whole lot of stories of selfish people.

I had a chap in front of me that practically cleared out the alcohol available. At least he eventually fell asleep as was probably so intoxicated he couldnt find the recline button.

The baby could have got its own seat if too big for the sky cot. And the only cabin crew member who has commented on this thread was firmly in support of the recliners. Funny that.

It’s such an awful experience flying long haul in economy sometimes. Noise doesn’t really bother me but the cramped personal space is an endurance test.
I was on one transatlantic flight where I truly thought I couldn’t cope with the chair in front on full recline and the child behind kicking my chair fairly frequently (parents had apologised but obvs you can’t stop it 100% - I get that). I think for only time in my life I experienced claustrophobia. It’s such a lottery - sometimes it’s absolutely fine.

It is very rude and selfish Recline should be banned unless night time

But there is no night time world wide, people travel from all over the world and can be on their third plane. It could be night time for them. Try travelling from vancouver to new zealand or similar. That is 35 hours of travelling and if you can sleep somewhere along that journey you will.

@NameChange84 - it’s 2am and there is an elderly woman in front of you, absolutely fair enough and not the point I was making. As for minding people being young and love, we’ve all been there and been equally toe curling (I think DH & I kissed the entire length of the Northern line one morning). If your seat isn’t on a recline, it does make a difference in what’s a very narrow space. I just don’t do it myself unless I want to sleep & I didn’t do it on this flight as there was a mother wrestling with a young child behind me. As the PPs with back issues, I have ankylosing spondylitis & not being able get comfortable is horrible, I get that. And the same with anyone just off another flight and wanting to sleep. I just don’t like someone who is fully awake’s seat in face on a day flight & find it really inconsiderate and don’t do that myself to others. But as I started off as saying, really small things to piss me off these days, some of which I’m sure are just me being grumpy. AIBU? Some of you think not, some do - happy to accept that.

To the PP who suggested we should have got into the action and just done the same ourselves, like your thinking but our 11 year old was sitting between us (and I’m not forking our for therapy!) and sadly our days of snogging the faces off each other the whole duration of a journey are very very distant memory!

Wow - really should have checked the spelling on that before posting!

I kept mine in the upright position because I thought it would be really uncomfortable for the lady behind me. She thanked me for it after landing 🙂.
And that suited you! But maybe that man had a bad back or maybe he had just come off a job where he had worked his ass off for weeks! or had been travelling since early the previous morning and it was his night time!! etc just because I feel you did something nice doesn’t make another person an asshole @Honeybee85