# Seat rage in planes. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 25, 2015, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-rage-in-planes/715927 "2015-03-25T07:35:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-rage-in-planes/715927/141 "2015-04-16T15:57:10Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > It would if you couldn’t get enough of it. Which is not at all the point of that post. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-rage-in-planes/715927/142 "2015-04-16T16:19:40Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Oddly, I don’t get annoyed on people leaning back on long flights. I get it- we all have 4-14 hours to go, and we can’t sit bolt-upright the entire time. > > I do tend to get kind of heated about the knuckleheads on flights from say… Houston to Dallas, or Dallas to San Antonio who, as soon as the chime sounds at 10,000 feet, immediately recline their seat back, so that the tray-table is poking me in the gut. > > Really? You have to recline and sit back like that for a 45 minute flight? Sitting upright IS the way to go on those flights- they’re short, and it makes it more comfortable for everyone. Am I the only person who asks the person behind them if they mind if I recline the chair a bit? (My most common flight is Boston to Florida, about 2.5 hours or so.) ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-rage-in-planes/715927/143 "2015-04-16T16:23:41Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > As one of the tall guys, I’m always helping someone stow or get their bags down. You know, I’m a tall woman, and I swear to god, if one more short woman in my own age-group or younger asks me to pull down her brick-filled carryon… People, we’re on JetBlue. First bag is free\*. FFS take advantage of that and lighten up the carry-on load. Especially in winter when we all have giant coats in addition to our carry-ons. I don’t mind helping tiny old ladies, but jeez, I’m not some kind of strongwoman who can lift your 75# bag over my head. \*For the time being; I hear that’s changing soon on JetBlue. Bastards! ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-rage-in-planes/715927/144 "2015-04-16T16:24:22Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Which is not at all the point of that post. Sure it is. You where talking about what a nice seat for you is. If you did not have enough leg room, and it made you uncomfortable, would you still consider it a nice seat as long as you could recline? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-rage-in-planes/715927/145 "2015-04-16T16:30:15Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > You know, I’m a tall woman, and I swear to god, if one more short woman in my own age-group or younger asks me to pull down her brick-filled carryon… “Sorry, no.” ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-rage-in-planes/715927/146 "2015-04-16T16:52:18Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Sure it is. You where talking about what a nice seat for you is. If you did not have enough leg room, and it made you uncomfortable, would you still consider it a nice seat as long as you could recline? I guess if there were metal spikes poking out of the seat and sirens overhead or something it wouldn’t be great even with a good recline. But in terms of actual seats that actually exist, “ability to recline” is the key thing that determines if I arrive rested or not. I am more than happy to switch out an exit row with someone that needs it. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-rage-in-planes/715927/147 "2015-04-16T18:39:37Z")
> [@Caneknife](#): > > Nearly every flight I go on I attract the seat recliner in front of me, my wife’s thinks it’s funny, had a 12 hour flight once, the second the seatbelt light went off, back goes the seat in front, couple of knees in chair and he got the idea quick smart to push seat back up , �������� That is truly a dickheaded thing to do. The person in front of you has every right to recline the seat the paltry 4 or 5 degrees that it moves. If you don’t like it, change seats. If you can’t, then suck it up, buttercup. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-rage-in-planes/715927/148 "2015-04-17T18:08:01Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Am I the only person who asks the person behind them if they mind if I recline the chair a bit? (My most common flight is Boston to Florida, about 2.5 hours or so.) You’re one of the few; usually the seat comes back without warning, or a chance to move your knees, stuff on your lap, etc… That’s ultimately why a lot of people lose their shit- some person just reclines the seat back into someone’s knees and it hurts; they overreact, the reclining person reaffirms their right to lean back, etc… Most people who just recline like that don’t want to get told no, or think it’s their “right” to recline, since that button is there, and it’s your problem being behind them, so they don’t bother asking. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-rage-in-planes/715927/149 "2015-04-17T18:38:50Z")
The spirit of at least a few in this thread [manifested](http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2015/04/17/woman-booted-from-flight-for-stabbing-seatmate-with-pen/?intcmp=features) itself, but not with the expected results. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-rage-in-planes/715927/150 "2015-04-17T18:49:53Z")
You’re wrong. People DONT lose their shit. That’s the point. No crying of pain. No bloody knees. No hissy fits. No screaming arguments, tears, fisticuffs! As many frequent fliers in this very thread have stated. They’ve never seen it. Because like everyone, the world over, everybody has some cross to bear. Too tall, too short, too wide, too slow, too old. And sometimes things are uncomfortable, as a result. And we’re all frustrated when we HAVE to suffer less than ideal circumstances. Mature adults mostly recognize that taking it out on the people around them, is always wrong headed. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-rage-in-planes/715927/151 "2015-04-19T14:34:36Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > You’re wrong. People DONT lose their shit. That’s the point. No crying of pain. No bloody knees. No hissy fits. No screaming arguments, tears, fisticuffs! As many frequent fliers in this very thread have stated. They’ve never seen it. This is true. And those that control the purse strings are sure to push everything/everyone right up to that edge. I don’t like situations that are little more than ‘How much can you tolerate?’, no one does. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-rage-in-planes/715927/152 "2015-04-22T15:34:18Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > Many times, I am asked to sit right next to the emergency exit. I am more likely to get it open than the very pretty 5’6" 130# lady that is sitting there. With 4-5 requests for people to change seats, everybody is happy. I once got moved from one of those. I totally understand it - I was a woman travelling with a small child and I’m quite small myself - but actually I wish that, for the inconvenience of changing from our pre-booked seats with plenty of space (booked long in advance and very handy for a young child) they’d moved us into one of the many empty first class seats. They would already have been able to see that this was not a child likely to whine and cause trouble. She has her problems in other spheres of life - on planes she’s golden. > [@elbows](#): > > You’re wrong. People DONT lose their shit. That’s the point. No crying of pain. No bloody knees. No hissy fits. No screaming arguments, tears, fisticuffs! As many frequent fliers in this very thread have stated. They’ve never seen it. > > Because like everyone, the world over, everybody has some cross to bear. Too tall, too short, too wide, too slow, too old. And sometimes things are uncomfortable, as a result. And we’re all frustrated when we HAVE to suffer less than ideal circumstances. Mature adults mostly recognize that taking it out on the people around them, is always wrong headed. Yeah, but sometimes the reason people don’t lose their shit to the extent that you’d notice it is because they’re sensible people who know that getting angry on a plane will not turn out well for them. Even tutting and eye-rolling (which you probably wouldn’t see, especially if you were in front of them) will not help them be more comfortable with their uncomfortable seating position. They might complain later to the airline or on a messageboard like this even if they seem fine in person. BTW, am I the only person who thinks Sicks Ate’s height is pretty obvious? Look at his name! And yes, he is unusual in that height. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-rage-in-planes/715927/153 "2015-04-22T16:08:09Z")
Ultimately it’s a mass market product. The very tall or very wide folks have an accurate beef that things on airliners aren’t sized for them. Neither are the clothes at mainstream outlets, nor the furniture at mainstream suppliers. Consider those ads with Shaquille O’Neill rhapsodizing about how spacious a Buick is while we can plainly see he’s crumpled in there like the proverbial gag snake in a peanut can. The travel industry does have products for the statistical outliers. They’re just disproportionately expensive. I bet size 17 shoes cost more than 2x the price of size 10 shoes despite taking no more effort to make and only 2x the materials. Shaq’s super-sized budget can afford custom clothes, custom furniture, custom cars, and super-sized travel arrangements. I’ve not much to offer the less-than-wealthy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seat-rage-in-planes/715927.md?page=7)