Rude Recliners on the Airplane

In My Humble Opinion
1

I was inspired to address this after reading another thread.

I am a tall man. Tall and big. Sadly, I have to fly on a somewhat regular basis.

I, being a kindly man most of the time, try to avoid reclining my seat if at all possible. I know what it is like to have a seat back in front of you, pressing on your knees. I also know what it is like to sit straight up with back problems. It’s unpleasant, but I seem for some odd reason to care about my fellow man a bit.

In the rare instance when I do recline my seat, I always inform the person behind me that I am about to do so, and I lay it back slowly, so as not to pound into the person’s knees.

This week, I had four flights. On one, the person in front of me immediately slammed his seat back with no thought. Upon my cry of pain (I’ve recently had an old knee injury aggravated), the man muttered something under his breath to the effect of: “Jesus, don’t be a baby!” and settled in better.

If you ever find yourself in this situation, I would like to share with you a tidbit of information I learned this week.

When the person in front of me slammed back, and bitched after I voiced my distress, I found that when I slammed my hands into the back of the chair, it not only went back to the upright position, it went BEYOND upright, and did not come back to the upright position without lots of work.

The flight attendants who were attempting to return the seat to a workable condition giggled constantly, and I received a free drink. The idiot, aside from having to stand for the majority of the flight, did not try to recline again after being reseated. In fact, he remained seated while I causally deplaned, glaring at him while standing in line to exit.

I felt like a god at the time, but now, I feel kinda like a bully. I used my superior size and strength to first exact revenge on this guy, and then to intimidate him.

In your humble opinion, should I feel bad? If so, what should I do to make up for it?

Your nice friendly pal,

Brian

2

Haha - revenge at last!

My husband is 6’4", and experiences this problem every time we fly. He fits in the seat in coach, and if he didn’t fit (like the fat lady in the other thread), we would be willing to pay extra for a first class seat, but come on, can’t people show a little courtesy? We have also noticed that people seem to check their manners along with their bags, and slam that seat back with no thought of who might be in the way. Gee, will it kill you to sit upright for an hour (we generally fly from NC to MA - a short flight)? Compared to my hubby sitting with his legs literally pinned under your seat back, I’d say it’s a small sacrifice!

My opinion on whether you should feel bad: if the flight attendants were on your side, you shouldn’t feel any guilt. These people deal with a lot of crap from travellers, and if you were being unreasonably mean and/or violent, they would be the first to slap some plastic handcuffs on you and hand you over to the feds upon landing!

3

I know exactly what you mean, I’m 6’4" myself! In addition to that, I’m somewhat broad in the shoulders, so I’m uncomfortable even if the person in front of me is kind enough as to stay upright. Flying was great when I was a kid. Now, I hate it.

4

While I’ve certainly never punched back up the seat in front of me, it’s good to know it’s an option.

I’m tall as well. I have long legs. When I settle in, my knees invariably are pressed into the back of the seat in front of me. What ultimately happens is what I would call a silent battle…person in front tries to recline…I push back with my knees, since, I’m sorry, but I’ve got NO FRIGGIN’ PLACE to put them afterall! For the next minute or so the struggle continues until they ultimately give up…usually after many attempts at slamming the seat back (“yeah…that must be it, I’m just not pushing hard enough,” they think). On those occasions I lose, I wait for them to go to the bathroom and push their seat back up. And when I do lose, I can’t imagine it’s too comfortable for them with my knees shoved into their kidneys. There’s some small satisfaction in that.

5

Y’know, I was thinking that I was going to start a Straight Dope topic on this just the other day, when I was flying. I find it uncomfortable to have the seat in the “full upright position” but I also know that reclining back all the way usually screws the person behind me. I’ll usually put it back just enough so I’m not totally uncomfortable, and it’s still a far cry from totally reclined.

For the first time on this flight I had someone in front of me relcine back the whole way, and I can tell you it’s no fun for those of us who aren’t 6’ tall, either. I’m 5’6", and pretty normal-sized, and it was a hassle to have this guy reclined back so far.

6

Hallelujah, Mr. Cynical! I am very thankful that you stood up to the evil recliners. Don’t you dare feel guilty.

I think it is so rude for people to recline. I mostly blame the airlines for even making the seats that way. People pay a lot of money for a very small amount of personal space, and to have a seat shoved in that area… well, it’s just not thoughtful. Or considerate. Or remotely nice at all.

7

People with seats behind me love sitting there, I’m sure. My disc problem tends to flare up if I recline. Very uncomfortable for me. I do much better in the full, upright position.

I learned this lessen the hard way in a movie theater some time ago. I was slouched down pretty good near the front row. When I tried to leave, the searing pain in my back sent me to the floor. I couldn’t walk for days.

So, no reclining for me, thank you!

8

Well, Mr. Cynical, I don’t think you should feel guilty. But truthfully, I don’t think the guy in front of you should feel guilty either, at least not for simply reclining his seat. (The rude response, now that’s another thing.)

I personally think, as Boli referred to, that the airlines should feel guilty, or at least be held responsible, for putting us in this position - literally and figuratively. They’re the ones who put the seats so close together in the first place, and then they make them reclineable. This wasn’t too, too bad a few years ago before the airlines got their supercomputers and their O.R. experts and figured out how to fill every damn seat on almost every damn flight. (When was the last time you were on a half empty plan? Used to see it all the time, now - NEVER.) I could go on about the airlines and their policies and the co-opting of the passengers’ “Bill of Rights” but that’s for another time (and probably The Pit). And it’s been done before…

I sympathize with you taller posters, 'cause I know what it’s like for me at only 5’7", and especially for weary business travelers whose employers MAKE them (us) take the “least cost fare” to fly for work, so basically have to be there but can’t opt for Business Class, etc.

My “position” on this? (PI) I typically recline a little bit, so as not to be “in the fully upright position”, but also not in the lap of the person behind me, and I do this slowly so as not to shock them. (Ever have someone in front of you slam back their seat while you’ve got your laptop open, and practically shatter your screen?)

On a side note…
Why do I always feel like I’m getting away with something (woo hoo!) when I manage to either take off or land with my seat slightly reclined and without getting “caught” by the flight attendant? Yeah, I’m easily amused…

9

I have longer-than-average legs, and like rundogrun I’ve fought the battle against someone in front of me many times. Often it’s inadvertant–my knees are against the seat somewhat by default (&%$&@ airlines), and I often don’t feel inclined to move them when I start to feel pressure…

I never recline my seat, either, since like a lot of you I don’t want to put someone behind me through it. But I try to aim for window seats, so I can lean against the airplane wall and get decently comfortable.

10

I would vote to have all seats non reclinable. If I want to rest and cannot recline it is only slightly more uncomfortable. But if I want to read or work on my laptop it is just impossible.

I vote we start a campaign to have airlines implement the rule that you are only allowed to recline your set IF the person behind you has no objection. I think that is fair.

11

I’m 6’2" 270 lbs., and I’m usually in so much discomfort from the lack of width to the seats that I don’t even notice whether the person in front of me is reclined or not. I always request/demand an aisle seat so I can hang out into the aisle. This helps a little, but it almost always degenerates into me falling asleep only to be awakened by the stewardesses either taking off an elbow or running over a foot with that %#! drink cart (which I can sympathize with, they’ve got a high stress job to perform in the same cramped space we’re complaining about merely sitting in…).
I think that you ought to be able to recline as far back as the chair can go. If the person behind you can’t accomodate this, then they have an obligation/option to request a bulkhead seat (row with no chairs in front of it) and the bloody airlines have an obligation to find them one… However, I don’t think there’s any justification in being rude when reclining. Simple notification or a slow hand on the controls is not too much to ask.

12

Oooh, my favorite pet peeve when traveling! I’m not tall, but I usually get some yahoo who decides to recline completely after wolfing down his meal, leaving me with the top of the seat in my face and no way to eat comfortably. Usually a polite request gets them to sit upright again, but once a flight attendant (already not in the best mood because of some other things that happened during the flight) barked at the guy in front of me so that half the coach section could hear. Funny thing was, I distinctly heard the sound of other seats being returned to the upright position after that.

I have to say that one of the more comfortable flights I’ve had recently was so because I was sitting in the row right behind the emergency exits on the wing, and could stretch out completely. I may ask to sit in that row more often. :slight_smile:

13

I am over six feet tall and weigh in at about 235 pounds and I fly frequently as well. I have tried the knees against the back of the seats wars and have won and lost those. I haven’t slammed a seat up yet, but I sure have been tempted. I agree that most people leave their brains and politeness at the bagage check in.

One trick that I do is: If the person in front slams back their seat, I wait till they are real comfortable. I then pull out the handy air sick bag, lean forward and drape it across the top of their seat so it is laying on top of their head and then commence to huff, wheeze, cough and say “Ohhh Nooo, not again!!!” It is amazing how fast those seats can come up, once they have, you say, “I think it has passed for this time, I might be able to make it a little while longer”.

It works, it is not overtly intrusive and they will not lay their seat back again.

14

Mr. Cynical, your loss of perfect civility may cause some slight twinges of guilt. Means you are a good guy. Nice fixing the idiot in front of you though. I’m tall too, but I haven’t had as many problems on planes as I have had on buses. The 16 hour chior trip to Philly sharing a seat with my 6’8" buddy was entertaining. Good thing we are close friends because the few ways we fit involved a lot of pretzel like contact.

15

I’ve never asked when I recline my seat before, but if I ever heard a yelp of pain, you can bet your booties I’d feel terrible and move.

And thank you for illustrating reason number 346 that I’m glad I’m 5’4". Hell, I can nearly sit cross legged in those coach chairs.

::Running and diving for cover before all the much larger people come after me with hatchets::

16

Absolutely the best way to fly coach. I actually make it a point to get to the airport as early as possible, just to get an exit row. I’d rather sit around the airport longer and wait than sit in a tight seat. It works about 90% of the time.

17

For the record, Roo1ster, I don’t think you can request bulkhead seats as they tend to be reserved for special cases.

I never recline my seat if someone is behind me, for the reasons cited here. Only once, however, have I had someone recline their seat so far into me that I could barely function. Then a flight attendant noticed (bless her) and told the passenger to bring their seat up a bit. I am extremely fortunate to have short legs; however, given the discomfort I feel on some flighst, I can’t imagine what taller passengers do!

Since they’ve advertised about it, I’ve tried to patronize carriers who increased seat space (my little way of rewarding them) but we live in a city that is pretty much monopolized so it’s not easy.

Mr. Cynical, your post made me laugh out loud and despite my use of the acronym, that rarely happens.

18

Au contraire. Every time I fly I request bulkhead seats. Often they can only assign them at airport check-in, though. In the last half-dozen times I have flown, I have successfully requested bulkhead seats four or five times. And when I don’t get the bulkhead, I usually get emergency exit seats. You just have to pester them.

MR

19

What’s amazing to me is how little those seats are actually reclining, in terms of the difference it makes to the person reclining, and how invasive that turns out to be to the person behind. I once flew 12 hours in the back row of the plane, where the seats could not be reclined. I had the most awful head and neck pain, I thought I was going to throw up.

Because of that experience, I rarely last a long flight without some attempt at putting my seat in at least a semi-reclined position, but I also feel overwhelming guilt each time I do so. I can only imagine how this must be for the tall or wide, who are even more ill-suited to fit into an airline seat with the approximate dimensions of a milk crate. I wish I could afford to fly first class!

There has to be a better way!

We should rise up and demand to be treated like human beings, not sardines!

20

I think that if the airlines would make first class more affordable, I would fly it exclusively. Damn right! Screw those frowning asses who fly up there all the time. I would like to sit beside one of them and talk about felching as loudly as I could, just to see how much he could actually frown!