Air travel: Is reclining your seat a right?

[millyskate]

Long coach rides are a nightmare, and when you're riding for 40 hours or so, there are times when seats need to be reclined. I always try and get an alley seat, but once I was stuck against the window for a Ukraine-Paris trip beside a woman who was of Tarasovian proportions, and with a Tarasovian dress sense. She turned out to be good fun though, so the trip wasn't so bad after all.

I strongly disagree that technical possibilities should not be considered "rights" or be used when they cause discomfort to others. I'm always baffled at the inconsiderate nature of people who just recline the seat all the way back without caring.

The worst discomfort I had in a plane was when I was seated directly in front of a teenage girl listening to a comedy show on an mp3. She laughed hysterically in burst, very loudly, and right into my ear for about half an hour before I finally caved in and asked her to be more discrete.

[overedge]

This is not intended as a defense of cheap*ss airlines who try to jam as many seats into a space as possible, regardless of whether the passengers are comfortable or not - but the way the backrests of some seats are shaped, often people HAVE to recline a little at least so that their back isn't destroyed by the end of a long flight.

If those backrests were designed using the shape of an actual human back, I'd love to find out what back dimensions were the model. Because I don't think anyone on earth has a back built that way.

[Erica Lee]

I think it's a right. I recline, especially long or overnight flights where I want to sleep a little. I don't mind when others in front of me recline, either. I expect it and don't think of it as rude at all.

And to everyone with movie complaints... fly airlines with personal seat back tvs... makes flying enjoyable!

[Fridge_Break]

Haven't read the thread (sorry), but I'll recline my seat if the person in front of me does and I am feeling a bit cramped. I can never sleep on airplanes, but I'm a tall guy so my personal space is quite crunched as it is.

[danceronice]

I recline if I feel like it.

Regarding seat/spacing, the reality is, they can either get as many people on one plane for a single flight, or triple the price at *least* and run more equipment (which is a bigger loss). Niche-market carriers like Jet Blue or (if they're still operating) Midwest Express either charge more, operate limited routes, or (as with Southwest) make a LOT of stops. They don't pack people in like that for fun or to be sadistic, they just have figured out through expensive trial and error about what most coach fliers (ie, generally non-business travelers) are willing to pay (for the most part, less than it costs to fly th seat) and how many they have to get on each plane to cover operating costs, or try to anyway. Like overbooking, which is not done to screw with people but to make sure they don't fly empty as an empty seat is worthless--99% of the time, it works as there are always no-shows (as demonstrated by my downright uncanny standby ability--I've done entire trips where I haven't been on the flights I was originally booked on--heck, once I and three other very lucky early arrivals flew on what was not even a scheduled passenger flight, just equipment and crew deadheading) except, more or less, on the day before and the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The fewer people they can get on one plane or the more equipment they have to run on the same route, the more money they lose on it.

[overedge]

The fewer people they can get on one plane or the more equipment they have to run on the same route, the more money they lose on it.

I think everyone can figure that out.

But p*ssing off your passengers so that they badmouth your airline to their friends or refuse to travel with you again is not going to increase usage either.

[UMBS Go Blue]

I think the message some of us are trying to get across is that:

1) yes, it is within your right to recline
2) but if you choose to do so, be considerate and see if the person behind you is working, eating, would be squashed, or would otherwise be inconvenienced by your recline. In any case, asking politely if you can recline is itself an act of courtesy and fore-warning, and is tough for the other person to say no to without looking like an a** in front of the rest of the plane.

[KatieC]

How did the guy get away with having his seat moved back during landing?

The plane was going on to Calgary from Winnipeg. Mum was supposed to get off in Winnipeg, but had a disability and wasn't able to get up easily. In the middle seat and squashed from the seat in front, she couldn't get to her feet and eventually a fellow two rows back noticed her frustration and got the guy to move. I don't know why his seat was back at that point, but Mum didn't travel alone again. I think things are better now for disabled travellers.

[Allen]

I flew coach on the way to Brazil when I was doing a study abroad years ago. The guy in front of me practically had his seat in my lap. That was a miserable flight. I normally don't recline on a short flight that is all coach. I just think people should be courteous about it.

[nubka]

Anyone who wears perfume, aftershave, cologne or really smelly shampoo/moisturizer when travelling by air should be pushed out of the plane.

...

[Gazpacho]

I figure it's more inconvenient for the person behind me if I recline, than it is for me if I don't.

I think all the airlines should either have all the seats permanently fixed in their upright positions or modify the seats to only allow a very limited range of reclinability.

ITA. Some of the Asian airlines have seats that recline while simultaneously sliding forward. So when you recline, you recline into your own space, trading off legroom, rather than someone else's.

[skateboy]

I think it's a right. I recline, especially long or overnight flights where I want to sleep a little. I don't mind when others in front of me recline, either. I expect it and don't think of it as rude at all.

And to everyone with movie complaints... fly airlines with personal seat back tvs... makes flying enjoyable!

Agreed on all counts!

[manhn]

That brother sounds like an ass. Along with freedom of speech and same sex marriage, reclining is a right.

[millyskate]

ITA. Some of the Asian airlines have seats that recline while simultaneously sliding forward. So when you recline, you recline into your own space, trading off legroom, rather than someone else's.

Sounds like an ideal solution.

[Cupid]

I recline the seat just a tiny bit, maybe an inch or so to make it more comfortable. But I had a guy once who reclined his seat waaaay back and my daughter had her head resting on the tray - I had to ask him not to recline so far back and he was fine with it. But that is totally rude to recline all the way back, you're practically on the person's lap behind you.

[Twilight1]

I recline. Yep I am one of those rude people that sleeps on their flight to wherever short or long flight. I don't recline all the way but my knees lock up and hurt horribly if I don't recline some.

[Aceon6]

I just try to be sensitive to the passenger behind me. If s/he is trying to work using the tray table, I'll only go back an inch or two. If s/he is already reclined, I'll go back more. Personally, I prefer sitting more upright, so it's not an inconvenience to me.

The rudest thing I ever saw was an older lady who crammed her stuff under all three seats in our row. I had to get the flight attendant to let her know that the space in front of my seat was mine, not hers. I have really long legs, and it kills if I lose any of that space.

[PrincessLeppard]

I prefer to be upright most of the time. If I recline, it's just a bit. I, like others in the thread, hate it when someone reclines into my space, so I'm not going to turn around and do that to someone else.

[rjblue]

Reclining your seat is the same thing as having a seat on the bus or subway when others are standing. It is courteous to offer your seat to an elderly person who cannot tolerate standing as easily as you can. But it is your seat, and you have a "right" to keep it. You can choose to look ill-mannered. Just like you look ill-mannered sitting when someone like that stands, you look ill mannered with a fully reclined seat in the middle of the afternoon flight, especially if there is a tall person behind you.

[danceronice]

I think everyone can figure that out.

But p*ssing off your passengers so that they badmouth your airline to their friends or refuse to travel with you again is not going to increase usage either.

The problem is, they've already accounted for that. People may whine and bitch and end up still flying even though they claim they won't, but if they remove seats, they HAVE to raise ticket prices--and that really DOES keep people off the plane.

Really, if the coach seats are an absolute deal-breaker, you have the option of paying for business or first, which have more leg room but are priced accordingly. More room and more service means it costs more, it's up to the customer to decide if it's worth it.