# Let's talk about airline seat recliners **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 27, 2016, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508 "2016-06-27T11:38:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Periwinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/21 "2016-06-27T19:09:39Z")
I think people who recline their seats on daytime flights in coach are real jerks. I am grateful that I fly seldom enough on business that it’s feasible to upgrade myself to first class, and I always do so for personal travel. My sincere sympathies to anyone who is stuck in that situation. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/22 "2016-06-27T19:21:45Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > What airline are \*you \*flying on? Southwest, exclusively for the past ten years. > [@](#): > > Once I was on a daytime flight from Paris to D.C. and the dick in front of me reclined his seat all the way back the whole flight, except during meal service. I could not use the tray table to write, I could not use my laptop, I could barely read a book, and his seat was pressing against my knees most of the flight. What airline are \*you \*flying on, and why would you continue to fly with them? ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/23 "2016-06-27T19:27:10Z")
Weird. Last time I took a red-eye flight and wanted to recline so I could sleep, the maximum reclination of my seat was about half a degree. Apparently some airlines allow a little more than others. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/24 "2016-06-27T19:28:07Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > As I boarded the plane with my boarding pass for seat 5B, I noticed that the passenger in 5C was already in her seat. She was obese, had the armrest between our seats lifted up and spilled over into about 1/3 of my seat. I looked around and noticed this was a full flight, so asking for another seat was out of the question. This is something to call the FA over to deal with. I thought people who could not fit inside the seat constraints were required to purchase 2 seats. Didn’t Kevin Smith of Silent Bob fame get infamously kicked off a flight for not fitting in his seat? I agree the reclining seat thing is something you have to suck up and deal with, but not having use of the full width of the seat you purchased is a different matter. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/25 "2016-06-27T19:33:41Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > i mentioned this in another thread: > > I was on a long flight home from Vienna. The woman in front of me was able to recline her seat all the way back, but I was in the last seat and couldn’t recline at all. The woman’s head was all the way into my lap. I asked her to turn her head so she could suck my dick. You? ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/26 "2016-06-27T19:34:52Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > (For the record, I am aware of the [Knee Defender](http://www.gadgetduck.com/goods/kneedefender.html), which is prohibited by virtually all major airlines). You didn’t hear this from me, but if you flip down the tray table and wedge a hard-cover book between the top edge of the table and the seat back in front of you, their seat won’t be able to recline very much. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/27 "2016-06-27T19:43:39Z")
Or you can just carry a couple of high farad capacitors and then discharge them on his or her seat frame, guranteeing a quiet and uneventful flight. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/28 "2016-06-27T20:26:40Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Southwest, exclusively for the past ten years.What airline are \*you \*flying on, and why would you continue to fly with them? Well, Southwest doesn’t fly to Paris. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/29 "2016-06-27T20:38:34Z")
As others have noted, some airlines seem to allow a lot more recline than others. In my experience it’s usually quite a lot, certainly far more than I would ever need and certainly far more than I’d ever feel comfortable inflicting on the person behind me. In many cases it’s more than a matter of discomfort – it can be difficult or impossible to put the tray down or to do anything with it once it is down because of the crazily encroaching seat back. Yet none of those things ever seem to affect the thoughts or actions of the dickhead who is frequently in the seat in front of me. So I’m going to disagree with what seems to be the majority here and side with the OP on this. I swear that if the seat reclined further, he or she would take it to whatever the limit was, so that if it was nearly horizontal with their head literally in my lap staring up at me upside down, the inconsiderate dickwad would think nothing of it and merely put on a pair of headphones and settle down for some E-Z listening. With their head in my lap and the seat sticking into my gut. I almost always go the entire flight with the seat in its original upright position and I’m perfectly comfortable except, in many cases, for the antics of the dickhead in front of me apparently inflicted with some physical disability that requires him to be as horizontal as possible. I think the argument about sleeping only rationally applies to overseas flights, mainly the overnighters, or transcontinental red-eyes, which are a whole other nightmare in themselves. I don’t know why anyone would need to sleep on a flight of several hours duration. People should sleep at home, not in my lap. I’m always tempted to do something novel like stick birthday candles in their hair and light them, or give them an impromptu shampoo using whatever beverage I currently have on hand but can’t drink anyway because their fucking seat is in my face. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/30 "2016-06-27T20:41:04Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Well, Southwest doesn’t fly to Paris. Will you fly that airline again? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/31 "2016-06-27T20:48:43Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Airlines make seats recline because it ensures some, if not most, passengers will sleep. Believe me, the airlines are much more invested in that than even the passengers. Imagine a flight where no one sleeps, that would be a nightmare for the carrier and crew. Where did you get these (rather odd) ideas from? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/32 "2016-06-27T20:52:13Z")
I saw the thread title, and was surprised this wasn’t in the pit. I HATE it when the person in front of my reclines his seat. > [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > He reclined _all the way?_ The whole two inches? Bastard! > > Seriously, it is not an intrusion. It is barely noticeable. It’s not like his head was in your lap. Demanding the same personal space on an airliner that you would in any other, less restricted environment is just selfish. Relax, have another beverage. You don’t notice when something slams into your knees? Because I do. Even when the seat in front of me reclines slowly, it significantly impinges on the space my legs want to be in. > [@chappachula](#): > > psssttt…didja know that you can recline your own seat, too?.. Yes, I am aware of this. It does not return any of my lost knee space. Nor does it give me more room on the tray table to open my laptop. I suppose if my goal were to sleep, it might help, some. But no, all that will do on a daytime flight is annoy the poor soul behind me, it won’t do me any good at all. If I could research which airlines allow how much recline, I would certainly favor the ones with less recline. God I hate it when the person in front of me spends the whole damn flight leaning on my legs. I might have to “research” that hardcover book thing, though… ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/33 "2016-06-27T21:02:40Z")
So, for those who disagree with reclining seats, tell us how many letters YOU’VE written to the airline about this, to you, very important issue? DID you raise the issue when you purchased your ticket? When you arrived at the airport? What’s that? Not a single letter? Never remarked when you bought your ticket? Failed to mention it when you boarded? Then you have no complaint with the other passengers! As all the other adults on board are having no issues, you should look to them for how to behave maturely perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/34 "2016-06-27T21:05:58Z")
> [@Periwinkle](#): > > I think people who recline their seats on daytime flights in coach are real jerks… hmm, so if I have been up all night working and then try and get some sleep on my daytime flight home I’m a jerk? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/35 "2016-06-27T21:06:29Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > As all the other adults on board are having no issues, you should look to them for how to behave maturely perhaps. Adults don’t unnecessarily inconvenience others for their own sake. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/36 "2016-06-27T21:13:46Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > So, for those who disagree with reclining seats, tell us how many letters YOU’VE written to the airline about this, to you, very important issue? > > DID you raise the issue when you purchased your ticket? When you arrived at the airport? > > What’s that? Not a single letter? Never remarked when you bought your ticket? Failed to mention it when you boarded? > > Then you have no complaint with the other passengers! As all the other adults on board are having no issues, you should look to them for how to behave maturely perhaps. Why do you think that no one else has any issue with it? In on-line polls, I’ve seen a lot of support for “no reclining”. If the airline allows it, and your back will benefit from reclining a bit, you can do it. But you ought to know that the person behind you might be one of the many people who will be annoyed by it. And it’s unambiguously rude to recline quickly into your neighbor’s knees. For god’s sake, recline slowly and gently. And I do try to buy seats on airlines that give a little more legroom. That’s more widely advertised than how much the seats recline, but they both add up to less knee pain. ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/37 "2016-06-27T21:19:19Z")
I’m over 6’ tall with fairly long legs, and when someone in front of me reclines their seat, it crams their seat back into my kneecaps. If I’m not expecting it, it’s quite painful. Then I can either sit that way or try to splay my legs in some awkward angle for the rest of the flight. Fun. I don’t really get angry about it unless someone does it aggressively, but it’s not enjoyable. I personally don’t recline my seat unless there’s an empty seat or a small child behind me – maybe if it’s a petite woman or something I’ll consider it, but I’ll ask if she would mind first. Reclining my seat doesn’t really make me much more comfortable, so I’ve decided that I’d rather not make someone else’s trip significantly less comfortable so that I can be marginally more comfortable, even if I “paid for it” or am well within my rights to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/38 "2016-06-27T21:23:03Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > You don’t notice when something slams into your knees? Because I do. Even when the seat in front of me reclines slowly, it significantly impinges on the space my legs want to be in. How tall are you? If the reclined seat touches your knees, you really shouldn’t be flying in coach. First class has more room for those who are much taller than average. If a passenger weighed 400 pounds, should he complain the narrow seats? Either avail yourself of the increased leg room in first class, or fly another airline that doesn’t cramp your knees. What airline is this, anyway? Why do you continue to fly with them? I would vote with my wallet if an airline did not offer reclining seats. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/39 "2016-06-27T21:32:40Z")
I’m 5’6", but have more of my height in my legs, I guess. And I am uncomfortable if I can’t cross my legs, which makes them take more space. Trust me, I will be as uncomfortable trying to fit behind you with your seat reclined as you will be with a nice mostly-upright seat. Yes, I realize this is mostly the airline’s fault And I do usually pick airlines that advertise “more leg room”. And I don’t bitch at the guy in front of me, possibly just because I’m a wimp, but whatever. Nonetheless, sometimes corporate policy or schedules don’t allow me to fly in longer seats. Seriously, if you really really feel like you have to recline, at least do it slowly, so you don’t hurt me. And be aware that lots of people behind you WILL be unhappy that you’ve reclined. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508/40 "2016-06-27T21:33:52Z")
The unfortunate thing about flying is that it puts you in very close proximity with many people who don’t give a damn about other people. If they want to do it, they’ll do it. Excessive seat reclining is just one issue. There’s also the people who take their shoes off, eat stinky/messy food, play music/games without headsets, spill over into other seats, talk to you when you’re clearly not interested or trying to get work done, etc, etc, etc. It actually would be nice if seats reclined way back as long as everyone was polite. If there was no one behind you, recline all the way and relax. If someone was behind you, only recline a small amount. But the self-centered people will always recline to the max regardless of whether someone is behind them or not. It sounds like Southwest seats only recline a small amount while other airlines recline more. Given that there’s such a variety of passengers, it would be overall better for passenger happiness to have less recline rather than more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-airline-seat-recliners/758508.md?page=3)