To recline or not to recline...

Searc said:
I don't recline my seat out of consideration for the person behind me and I expect the person in front of me to do the same. You all can see by this thread how well that works.

If you want to recline your seat, buy a first class ticket.
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Since coach seats recline passengers don't have to sit in first class in order too.
Those people who want more space are the ones who need to buy a first class ticket.
But you won't of course you'll just complain about other people not giving you more space that you can very easily get yourself where it's provided.
 
MarkLT1 said:
Shrug.. there is also the basic human decency of not flopping your seat back, as if you expect the person behind you to be doing your dental work.

I have zero issue with people who recline their seat a bit. Something I think a lot of people don't consider: the distance an airplane seat can recline is pretty much the same as it was 30 years ago. However the amount of space between seats has been shrunk, and shrunk, and shrunk, such that the same recline long ago, is now much more invasive to the person behind you.

I always try to have faith that people generally have consideration for each other... and then I go to an airport and that illusion is shattered.. ;)
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The airport is the best place to see the worst in people. My last flight there was a dad and his son in front of me and my wife, the flight was only 2 1/2 hours and during the middle of the day. As soon as we got in the air, the dad put his seat back as far as possible and then showed his probably around 7-8 year old kid how to do it with his seat. The seat pretty much just reclines from the top, the kid wasn't even close to feeling the benefits of the reclined seat. The dad was small, obviously the kid was small, and they didn't try to go to sleep or anything. I don't understand the lack of considering other people around you.

I get the option to recline is there, but unless it's an overnight or long flight I have a negative reaction to anyone reclining their seat. Even then, I don't do it myself and I'm tall, I can deal with being uncomfortable for a couple hours. To me, there is more of a negative impact in terms of space on the person behind than a positive one for the recliner, it just comes off as a selfish act. The option is there for me to put a kid on my shoulders right when a fireworks show starts but I'm not going to do that either because I don't want to ruin anyone else's experience.

On the same flight we also had the 'pull yourself up out of your seat by grabbing onto the seat in front of you guy' behind us. That I understand if you are older or bigger but this guy looked to be in his 20s and not out of shape.


Not a rude person story, just a strange one - On the same trip, different flight, the guy next to me fell asleep and could have been mistaken for dead. His arm was well over the armrest into the aisle and the flight attendants couldn't get the cart through without hitting him, they tried everything to wake him and eventually just plowed through hitting his arm and then moving his arm back onto him. When we landed he still wouldn't wake up to talking and nudges by me, it was our aisles turn to get off the plane, so I start to attempt to just crawl over him when he finally just wakes up and quickly gets off the plane like nothing happened.
 
I do not recline my seat.

My travels put me in both first class and in the back. Even in first class reclining makes it uncomfortable for the person behind you unless you have one of those pod seating areas.

Reclining is even worse when meals are served. Do you eat at your dining room table or in a restaurant in a seat that reclines? Why would you do so on an airplane. The person behind you may find it difficult to eat with their tray table crunched up against them.

I have great empathy for the person sitting behind me. I would hope all travelers would feel that way. Just because the uncaring airline puts in those awful seats does not mean we should take advantage of that situation.
 
Lumpy1106 said:
Just saying, if you want the guy behind you to hate you for the duration of he flight, that's your choice. Personally that's not a choice I would make, but have at it.
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If a person is so filled with hate because the person reclines the seat in front of them they aren't the kind of person that I would care about liking me anyway. I tend to stay away from people with those kind of issues.
 
Last edited:
I recline only if it's an overnight or very early morning flight where it is expected that everyone will sleep. The problem I have is that not everyone is able to recline. If you are in front of an exit row or in the last row against the wall, your seat can't recline. But the people in front of you can recline into you. So that's just sucky. Not everyone can recline, but everyone is able to NOT recline.
 
b2k1121 said:
The airport is the best place to see the worst in people. My last flight there was a dad and his son in front of me and my wife, the flight was only 2 1/2 hours and during the middle of the day. As soon as we got in the air, the dad put his seat back as far as possible and then showed his probably around 7-8 year old kid how to do it with his seat. The seat pretty much just reclines from the top, the kid wasn't even close to feeling the benefits of the reclined seat. The dad was small, obviously the kid was small, and they didn't try to go to sleep or anything. I don't understand the lack of considering other people around you.
Click to expand...

I was on a flight a few years ago where the person in front of me reclined their seat as soon as we were in the air and never put it back up, even when drinks and snacks were served (of which they partook in). I don't think they ever even took a nap during the flight. And how they managed to drink something when they were fully reclined, I have no idea?
 
b2k1121 said:
The airport is the best place to see the worst in people.
Click to expand...

It sure is! My mom worked in the airline industry for over 40-years. She spent about half her time behind the scenes, and half her time working the gates. Some of the stories she can tell are eye-popping. Travel (especially via airplanes) really does seem to bring out the worst in people.

Just last month I was on a flight and a lady a couple rows up in front of me just threw her laptop in the overhead bin near landing time. When the plane got to the gate, she was the first to bolt up out of her seat into the aisle, and opened the overhead bin. Her laptop falls out, onto some poor lady's head, and split her head open (there was quite a bit of blood, etc..), and of course the laptop was broken. What does the owner of the laptop do? She starts threatening a lawsuit against the lady whose head was split open. It was... shocking.
 
I don't recline. but understand that we all pay for a seat to recline, so its your choice. I am 6'5" and don't enjoy it if the dude in front of me reclines, but I get that he paid for a reclining seat. its what about 6 inches? all these people saying they are in their lap, amuse me. get over it. recline if you want to, but I don't get why people make an issue of it. and the whiners about people that slam their seats back? come on. sometimes that seats are stuck, or they go back fast. we are a nation of complainers. and these threads just amaze me, the lack of tolerance people show. people whine about it, but pay for first class then, or buck up and get an exit row. or will they then whine about how expensive it is to travel. first world issues man. relax. enjoy yourselves. and have a cocktail.
 
littlejimmy said:
I don't recline. but understand that we all pay for a seat to recline, so its your choice. I am 6'5" and don't enjoy it if the dude in front of me reclines, but I get that he paid for a reclining seat. its what about 6 inches? all these people saying they are in their lap, amuse me. get over it. recline if you want to, but I don't get why people make an issue of it. and the whiners about people that slam their seats back? come on. sometimes that seats are stuck, or they go back fast. we are a nation of complainers. and these threads just amaze me, the lack of tolerance people show. people whine about it, but pay for first class then, or buck up and get an exit row. or will they then whine about how expensive it is to travel. first world issues man. relax. enjoy yourselves. and have a cocktail.
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I am guessing your response was somewhat directed at me (re the slamming the seat back).. Sure I was upset, when I ended up forking out nearly $700 to have my laptop's screen replaced.. and as I indicated in my message, I don't hold the guy who reclined responsible (I was a bit ticked that he refused to un-recline so I could get my now-pinched/broken laptop out).

As for it being all of 6".. I don't know how many planes you've flown on, but the amount of recline can vary substantially.. I've been on planes where the person reclining in front of me, nearly rendered my tray table useless. I've also been in situations where the maximum recline is so small, I wouldn't even call it reclining. Again, it all goes down to common sense and decency. Just because you are lucky to get a (broken?) seat the can recline to near horizontal, doesn't mean you should.
 
I do not recline.
I have a tall DH and DS, so I feel for them, so I don't ever do it
 
littlejimmy said:
I don't recline. but understand that we all pay for a seat to recline, so its your choice. I am 6'5" and don't enjoy it if the dude in front of me reclines, but I get that he paid for a reclining seat. its what about 6 inches? all these people saying they are in their lap, amuse me. get over it. recline if you want to, but I don't get why people make an issue of it. and the whiners about people that slam their seats back? come on. sometimes that seats are stuck, or they go back fast. we are a nation of complainers. and these threads just amaze me, the lack of tolerance people show. people whine about it, but pay for first class then, or buck up and get an exit row. or will they then whine about how expensive it is to travel. first world issues man. relax. enjoy yourselves. and have a cocktail.
Click to expand...

Chill. It's just a thread on a disney board, not a commentary on the state of the nation, especially since not everyone on the board is even from the same nation. Take your own advice and have a cocktail.
 
These threads always amaze me. I have great empathy for other people, but I always recline my seat. I expect the person in front of me to do the same. That said, I only recline about an inch. To me, it makes the difference between a miserably uncomfortable flight or not. In the fully upright position my head is weirdly tilted forward the whole time. I didn't think airline seats even reclined that much anymore? I've only seen seats that ease slightly back. Maybe I'm not forceful enough because I wouldn't think slamming back was a possibility - though I would certainly avoid doing so. I've haven't flown where I've noticed seats that recline significantly in many many years.
 
To the seat recliners, look, we are among friends here, right? On some airlines (Jet Blue, Delta) there is plenty of room between the seats and it's no big deal. But other airlines (American, United, Spirit(?)) there just really isn't. Just letting you know that reclining your seat is not appreciated in those cases. That's all - no need to get upset.
 
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