No way - armrest down at all times. I have headphones, bitch away.
I’ve honestly never flown next to a stranger who wanted the armrest up, I would have huge issues with that.
I’m okay for the person in front of me reclining, I would only ask they gently and slowly recline the seatback. The last flight, I dozed off on take off and was painfully woken up when the person in front of me THREW their seat back forcefully into my knees. OUCH.
I usually recline - often only partway - and anticipate that the person in front of me will, as well. They almost always do, IME.
I am surprised at the number of people who report negligible improvement in comfort from reclining; I find the gain considerable.
I’m cool with reclining and with being reclined upon. If anyone asked me to stop - or employed more passive-aggressive means of suggestion - I would strongly consider complying. Neither has ever happened to me.
If there is an accident on landing or takeoff (the most likely time for one to happen), it makes it easier for people to evacuate the plane.
I always carry a newspaper or book with me on the plane. If the person in front of me reclines I just perch the book on the top of their seat or against their head, whichever is taller. If they complain, I say “Excuse me”, take the book away and then plop it right back down a minute later.
WeE perform this little dance for a few times and then, for some reason, they usually put their seat back up.
I gurantee you’d lose this one with me. Trust me. It’s better for you if you don’t fuck with my armrest. It’s also extremely rude to try.
I’m 6’6" and have broad shoulders. There is no place for me to contort to so I’m not blocking traffic or squeezing my seat partner except forward. Luckily my knees are tall enough that it is impossible to lean back into my space with out breaking bones and normally after a couple of minuets of trying people look back and stop. I think unless its time to sleep on lone flights it is incredibly rude to lean back.
I’m very short, and it doesn’t bother me if the person in front of me reclines their seat. If the person behind me reasonably asks me not to, then I won’t. But if they’re not tall/long-legged, or they try the silent seat-kicking passive aggressive nonsense, the seat’s staying down.
I’m much, much more bothered by those who lift the armrest and/or are too wide to fit in their own seat.
Not to single you out, but several folks have mentioned this. I’m curious, exactly how does this conversation occur? Does the person behind you say in advance before the plane takes off, “I’d appreciate it if you did not recline?” Or do they wait until you have reclined? Do they give you a reason? Can you provide your recollections as to specific instances in which such requests were made?
Because I have a hard time envisioning myself initiating such a conversation. I have to admit that I tend to think someone who reclines their seat is already on the rude end of the spectrum, and I guess I avoid creating a situation where they can be even more directly rude to my face.
I’m sure I am not being fair to all of the nice people out there. But having someone recline their seat is a minor annoyance I will soon forget. If someone reclines, I ask them politely not to, and they decline - whether politely or not, that I expect would stick with me unpleasantly quite longer.
As a non recliner I’ve always had a poor opinion of those that do recline. For some reason when someone reclines into me I picture their inner monologue going “Well I’m comfortable and thats all that matters.”
As for the armrest, I’ve never had someone try to lift it but I wouldn’t allow it. The main reason for them doing it would be to give them more comfort. Which means they are encroaching into my space to acchieve that. Again they suppose their comfort is more important than mine.
I’m sorry you feel that way. I have flown a lot in the last few years and never encountered anyone who had an objection to having the armrest up (or at least one that they voiced, anyway) so it hasn’t been an issue for me. I would at the very least need to have the armrest up so I could get buckled in and situated and then put the armrest back down, but if it was for someone bitching that they couldn’t fly without the armrest down I’d be sure to use as much of that armrest as possible to make their flight uncomfortable too.
Wow. I must say that you’ve all opened my eyes. I always recline, although I move the seat back gradually giving the person behind me time to adjust. In fact, when booking flights, I insist on getting a seat that reclines. Some seats, such as those in front of exit rows, don’t recline. I’m 5’ 10", so I’ve never had any problems with the person in front of me reclining. And to me, the reclined position is infinitely more comfortable than the unreclined position. But going forward, I will at least check to see if the person behind me is tall or uncomfortable. If they are, I suppose I can deal with some discomfort.
I’ll gladly concede the entire armrest to you if that means I will not have to have your body pressing up against mine. With a friend or family member next to me, the armrest goes up. With a stranger, no way.
I am with you. The person reclining in front of me, unless I am in an exit row seat, has to break bone to get their seat down. Sorry, but it is a physical limit nothing I can do about it.
I would love for somebody to try that with me. I’ve never lost an asshole contest yet.
I agree 100%. I need that physical barrier. I also an arthritic condition in my joints which means I have to rest my elbows on something when I read. And I have to read.
I usually recline in small increments. That way the person behind me has time both to adjust to a new position, and let me know if they really have an issue with further reclining.
While I may have gotten a bit more round since I left the Navy in 96, I’m certainly no taller. And I don’t remember ever being as crampted as I am now on most flights.
You know, even with the armrest up I still only take up 1 seat. My body wouldn’t end up touching yours at all. It isn’t a question of whether or not I fit in the seat, it is whether or not I am comfortable, much the same as if someone who is 6’6" tries to fly coach.
While I think that someone is perfectly within their right to recline, I agree that it shouldn’t be done during meal service. And I would never recline if the person behind me were, for whatever reason, holding an infant on their lap. Before we get into the debate over whether or not babies should be on planes in the first place, there are some situations where despite anyone’s desire to the contrary they will be, and I think it’s incredibly assholish to squish both parent and infant into the seat behind them during a short flight. Thank God they make parents buy a seat for the kid when they’re over two, though - it’s expensive, but if they have to be on the plane, making the parents make extra room is a good idea. Of course, on overseas flights (especially the super long ones), it’s every man, woman and child for themselves.
I’ve had people ask me twice. Once it was while the plane was still loading, and the guy behind me was well over six feet. He asked - half-jokingly - if I was one of those people who kept their seat reclined the entire flight. I said that sometimes, but if it would bother him I’d just keep it upright. He said he’d appreciate it, I didn’t recline, and - since we managed to have a civil exchange - neither of us were upset about it.
The other time it was when I was sitting in front of a child, maybe six or seven years old. They kept kicking my seat. I turned around and asked the mother if she could please keep her child from kicking my seat. She rolled her eyes at me and said that if I would put my seat back up, it wouldn’t be a problem. Instead, I got a flight attendant’s attention and the FA told the mother she had to control her child.
The difference between the two situations was that the guy had a legitimate reason and was polite. The mother/child combo lacked both of those.
Someone behind me = no recline.