People look at us funny when we say that we drive on all of our vacation trips - I should just point them to this thread next time. 
Nope, and I bet yours doesn’t either. In most cabins those things are like 2 inches wide tops.
My last flight I had the last row in the plane, middle seat. In that row, the seats do not lean back AND you have to fight for the right to rest your arms. This has happened to me two out of the last three times I’ve flown which makes me think there is some way to opt out of the last row that I don’t know about.
Ah yes, the toilet ass-seat I call it. Because you’re also spending most of the flight with your head next to the crotch or ass of someone who is waiting for the lavatory to open up.
Yeah, when I deplane the Caribbean awaits. I don’t care if you slobber on my shoulder. The three bloody Mary’s pre boarding help.
It’s not the reclining seat that bothers me, it’s the scaly, flaking scalp dumping dandruff onto me and anything I might be eating/drinking that makes me stabby.
Also, I understand the need to escape from your close proximity to two other equally unhappy travelers. You need to use the bathroom, or just get away from that guy’s halitosis for a minute. But do you really have to grab the back of my seat every fucking time you decide to take a stroll? I’ve nearly been catapulted out of my seat by some 300 pounder leveraging himself out into the aisle. Fuck sakes, man, eat a goddamn vegetable for lunch for a change.
Same here. I’ve had many delightful road trips. See the continent, meet nice people, have skiing, paddling and hiking adventures along the way. Can’t say that I have had many nice flights. The last long flight out included my barrel pack rolling down the converyor from the hold and clobbering the baggage handler (laid him out on the runway – ambulance took him away), a flight attendant standing on my lap to get pillows out of overhead storage, the movie player smoking (extinguished before any flames), over a dozen people suddenly having to use the toilet about twenty minutes after feeding time, leading to the entire plane stinking of shit and puke, for many of them could not hold it, and I came down with a very nasty cold the next day that lasted for much of my trip. For the flight back on that same trip, the plane was broken before we got to it, so we sat at the end of a terminal arm and waited, and waited, and waited, and then without any annoucement all the lights went out and the doors were shut for the night, leaving us there to sleep on the floor in the dark until the terminal arm was opened up the next morning with the airport employees very surprised to find us there.
In all honesty, I’d rather be stowed in a casket and sleep than sit up while wedged in like cattle in those vile airplane seats.
There is one nice airline in this end of the county, Porter, of which their airplane seats are large and comfortable, their hub’s lounge is very comfortable and stocked with pop, electrical outlets, and newspapers, and which is in downtown Toronto rather than an hour or so off in Malton, and which has competitive prices. The only thing I don’t like about Porter is that it does not fly to enough places, but it is picking up more routes, so I expect that sooner or later it will take over the world.
Cite?
My travelling companion and I got the aisle and window seat once and we spent the entire flight trying prevent the guy in the middle from encroaching across the armrests and into our seats.
Meh, I dunno. Just for shits and giggles, I placed my remote control (which can’t be more than a two inches wide) on my forearm, and it is generally wider than my arm, but my arm overtakes it as we approach the bicep, so I reckon it’s not totally insane that one’s arm would be wider than an armrest. But still, so much so that they’re intruding into other people’s space? Even if you have two inches of arm going into the other person’s seat, which most people don’t, it won’t even get close to touching them unless they’re pressed up against the seat next to them.
Never!
I’m with you bro. The inconvenience to the person behind me is not worth me reclining by 8 degrees. It really sucks when the person in front reclines. Although they’re perfectly in their right to do so, they’re still selfish.
God yes, last flight on SW a BIG teenager got into the middle seat at the last moment, saw my arm sort of half way on the arm rest and said MOVE. Oh, no, do not start with me. I said, Hey, we share. Then he has to cool his balls, and his leg was way over on my side. I just pushed it back and told him he was in my space. Then he falls asleep, and tries to lean on me-OH HELL NO. I pushed him back to his own side. Wonderful flight.
Next leg, me in the window seat, guy in middle had the worst goddamn halitosis in the world.
Fuck, I hate flying.
Who the hell are these GIANTS that have the jammed knees problem. I’m 6’-2" and fly I lot. I’ve yet to find any non regional flight that I can’t stick my feet under the seat in front of me thus taking my knees completely out of the line of fire. Of course I can’t do this with an XXXL duffle as a carry-on crammed under said seat.
As for the center seater. I always let them have the armrest. I end up using that arm as a headrest half the time anyway. :D:D:D
Seriously though, center seater can have it if they are going to be a dick about it. But if I am there I try to agree to share. Some gets the front part and someone the back part. Usually that works out ok unless the person has a phobia with personal space.
What pisses me off are the douche bags on cross country or international flights that have to harrumph the two times you ask them to let you out to use the restroom. :mad:
We have much to lean from them.
Airplane seats do not recline. They move forward out of their normal position for takeoff and landing.
And every since I heard people whining about bashed knees, I’ve started ogling people’s legs every time I walk to the restroom on a plane. I travel frequently for work on all sizes of planes. Not a single knee squished against the seats. There may be a dozen or so people on the planet who have this problem and apparently they all post on this message board. Or maybe it’s just whiny bullshit.
As for armrests, meh. Their long enough that one of us can have an elbow forward and another behind. My arms are not very chicken wingy so normally I just keep them to myself.
For the last few years, my husband and I have opted to drive a thousand miles each way to visit our friends in Boston, rather than fly. It’s still worth it.
Ruken, perhaps we got the shitty planes - the one knee-crushing time, we were in the crappy far-back next to the bathroom - but it did indeed happen. Hubby is 6’4" and has long legs. I’m 5’9" but have the same inseam he does, so I have very long legs. After the “more room throughout coach” from American (IIRC) and the United Economy Plus efforts, it helped a lot. And you can only share an armrest front-and-back if the armrest hog in question doesn’t lay his whole arm along the length of the armrest, or skeeve you out by insisting on pressing his bare arm against yours when you try to jockey for a spot. (Ew, ew.)
I don’t always recline when I fly, but when I do, I don’t feel one iota bad about it. As far as the armrests are concerned, you can have them. Even when I’m in the middle, feel free each of you on either side of me to take them. When I’m in the middle, I like to put my backpack on my lap, wrap my arms around it, and use it as a pillow and just sleep the whole way. If it’s an extra long flight, I bring extra sleeping pills to sleep even longer.
I remember learning the hard way the importance of gaining control of the arm rests. My arms were literally falling asleep from holding them forward, thanks to the enormous farmer and his wife(?) on either side of me, hogging the armrests. Asking the farmer if he would share, got me a snort of derision.
From that day on, I vowed to win the elbow wars at any cost. 
And I did. The trick is to get a window seat. That way they have to get up if you come late. But I don’t. I get there first. And then I plant my elbow on the back of the armrest like my life depends on it and I don’t move it for the whole flight.
If you gain the back of the armrest your arm will be closer to your body and a normal position of rest.
Anyway, after many successful battles, my bad karma 
finally caught up with me. I found myself in the middle seat between two potential NFL players and I was stuck for the whole flight with no armrests and my arms cramping. To top it all off, the airplane sat on the runway for over an hour before finally taking off.
It beats the greyhound though. Now there is a nightmare.
Maybe I should go back to hitchhiking.
I always go for the window seat. I’m one of those 300 pounders, but I just carry a jacket on with me and snooze the whole flight. They even get the arm rest.
If the person in front of me reclines, the tray won’t deploy correctly.
Easier just to sleep and ignore the rest of the cattle.
Last flight I was on I got stuck with a middle seat and the lady in the aisle seat had her baby with her. Other than being kicked in the head a few times and having baby slobber hands on me a couple, I managed to snooze most of the way home.
It’s the same as most social situations. Sometimes you’re next to the takers that think every situation is every person for themselves.
Yeah, fuck those entitled assholes that think I’m not entitled to recline my seat.
I’ve been in a casket before, at a metal club. It was really quite comfortable. The lid wasn’t on at the time, however.
Least comfortable trip I’ve been on was probably an overnight coach to Paris. I didn’t want to recline my seat, so I just put my pillow on the reclined seat in front of me and leaned my head into it. Didn’t get very much sleep, but the person in front of me did so I know I didn’t bother them. .