Think reclining your seat in economy is harmless? Think again. Welcome to the Seat Wars, where one press of a button can turn a peaceful flight into a gloriously British passive aggressive vendetta.
Editor’s Note: This editorial draws on more than 25 years of independent travel, first-hand experience and publicly documented evidence and regulatory changes. Many of these editorials were written years before the issues became mainstream, and have been updated to reflect current developments while remaining true to their original arguments.
Seat recliners are the absoluter worst examples of humanity. Solipsistic vortexes of pure malice who cause pain without remorse and thrive entirely on the suffering of others, and there is a special place in hell reserved for them, somewhere between lawyers and tax collectors, where they can spend eternity apologising to people whose kneecaps they’ve progressively beaten into powder.
If you are a seat recliner, just know that everyone hates you. Everyone.
There is just no excuse to recline a seat in modern economy cabins when individual space has shrunk so much, yet these selfish narcissists will happily steal somebody else’s comfort to gain a few extra inches of their own and who, through one simple press of a button, manage to declare to the entire cabin that their needs matter just a little bit more than everyone else’s.
The depressing thing is that they are so self absorbed they almost certainly don’t even realise they’re doing it. Or perhaps they do, and simply don’t care. Either way, the result is exactly the same. The poor soul behind them suddenly finds their knees crushed against the seat frame, their laptop wedged against the tray table, their hot drink that took forever to get thanks to a delayed service is now melting the skin on their lap and that tiny little bit of personal space they had is now gone, completely. It is an astonishing achievement to make an experience as universally uncomfortable as flying even worse, yet somehow the seat recliner manages it every single time.
The Weak Defence
The defence, of course, is always the same. ‘I have every right to recline.’ No, you don’t.
I don’t care if you think you have the right to recline. You don’t. There is no such thing, at all. You don’t have a right to squash somebody else’s legs because a manufacturer bolted a button onto the side of your seat. There is only a choice, and it isn’t a particularly difficult one. You can either accept that everybody in economy is suffering together and show the smallest shred of consideration for the person behind you, or you can decide that your comfort matters more than theirs. One of those choices is considerate. The other is selfish. Pretending otherwise doesn’t magically transform poor behaviour into acceptable behaviour, and nor does it create a magical ‘right’ out of thin air. The airline industry’s refusal to do it’s job and solve the problem doesn’t change that.
No civilised society has ever worked on the principle that your comfort should come at somebody else’s expense. That isn’t how society works, it isn’t how actual rights work, and it certainly isn’t how sharing a cramped aluminium tube at 35,000 feet should work.
Rights come with responsibilities. The moment your ‘right’ makes life objectively worse for the person behind you, you’ve stopped talking about rights and started talking about selfishness.
And before anyone reaches for the equally tired argument that ‘the seats were designed to recline’, let’s put that one out of its misery as well. They were designed that way almost a hundred years ago when the average seat pitch between rows was up to ten inches more than it is now, the cabins were designed like luxury cruise liners and the average height was three inches shorter than it is now!
Modern economy cabins simply don’t have enough room for reclining to work without stealing space from someone else. It doesn’t create comfort; it transfers discomfort. Anyone who presses that button knowing exactly what it does to the person behind them has failed the most basic principles of being a decent human being.
And do you want to labour that ‘it was designed that way so I’ll use it that way’ point? Seats were once designed with ashtrays too, you aren’t allowed to use them any more either because guess what? Society labelled smokers just as selfish, arrogant and disgusting as recliners are. It’s only a matter of time before we ostracise recliners in the same way.
Oh, so now you recliners want to use the ‘everyone else should upgrade if we want space‘ excuse? Really?
No.
We both bought seats. You didn’t buy your seat and half of mine. A seat is, by definition, something you sit on. Not something you use as a battering ram against the knees of the person behind you. We all boarded the aircraft expecting to occupy exactly the same amount of space, and we all started the flight sitting upright. That is the default. That is what everyone paid for.
If anyone should be paying extra, it’s the person who wants to lie back into somebody else’s personal space. If you want to stretch out, book business class. If you want a bed, first class is lovely. What you don’t get to do is buy an economy seat and then help yourself to part of mine.
Diplomacy Has Failed
We have tried to appeal to the recliners basic humanity, before we learned they don’t actually have any. Poll after opinion poll has repeatedly told airlines the vast majority do not want reclining seats and want them banned, and yet airlines shrug their shoulders and laugh all the way to the bank as they squeeze passengers into increasingly small spaces in a race to the absolute bottom. So where does that leave us?
Unfortunately, despite everything I’ve just explained, there is still no recognised legal right to drag seat recliners out into the aisle and beat them repeatedly with the in-flight safety card until they rediscover the basic principles of polite civilisation. Apparently throwing them out of the nearest emergency exit is considered ‘murder’, and for reasons I have never fully understood, snapping the recline function on the seat isn’t allowed either.
And don’t rely on cabin crew for help. At best you’ll probably receive a sympathetic smile, a resigned shrug of the shoulders and the unspoken acknowledgement that, yes, the person in front is indeed behaving like a selfish arse, but the airline allows it and we have to prostrate ourselves before the airlines rules.
Which leaves the rest of us in a rather awkward position.
We know they’re wrong.
They know they’re wrong.
The airlines know they’re wrong.
Yet somehow they’re still sitting there, blissfully reclining away as though crushing another human being’s kneecaps is perfectly acceptable. Clearly, then, conventional diplomacy has failed. Violence is, regrettably, illegal. Which leaves only one civilised British response.
Passive aggression.
Field Manual For The Seat Wars
Diplomacy has failed. Negotiations have broken down. The airlines have abandoned us to our fate and the Geneva Convention, regrettably, has nothing whatsoever to say about reclining seats. That leaves only one option: to go full British. In the finest tradition of Dad’s Army, we shall stick two fingers up, embrace the art of glorious pettiness and quietly remind our reclining nemesis that every action has consequences. After all, if they have chosen to make your flight less comfortable, it would be terribly unfair if they were allowed to enjoy theirs in complete peace.
The Air Nozzle Approach
Not every aircraft has adjustable air vents these days, but enough still do to make this tactic worth keeping in your arsenal. If the passenger in front has decided your kneecaps are now part of their personal reclining mechanism, quietly angle the overhead nozzle so a gentle but persistent stream of gloriously arctic air lands directly on the top of their head or trickles invitingly down the back of their neck. Nothing excessive, just enough to make them spend the next few hours wondering why they can’t quite get comfortable.
If they ask you to turn it off, smile politely and explain that you paid for the nozzle, you’re simply using the facilities provided, and you have every right to do so. If they find it uncomfortable, they are, of course, perfectly free to move out of its path.
The Sick Passenger Approach
If somebody has reclined so far back that you can identify individual hairs on the back of their head, it’s time to introduce a little uncertainty into their day. Start swallowing nervously, shifting uncomfortably in your seat and making the occasional low, ominous retching noise while repeatedly reaching for the sick bag in the seat pocket. Every now and then, lean forward slightly as though you’re desperately trying to keep yesterday’s airport meal where it belongs and make sure the suck bacg just brushes the back of their head as you do.
If they happen to glance around, offer an apologetic smile and quietly explain that you suffer from terrible projectile airsickness and you’re really hoping you’ll make it to the bag in time. Amazing how quickly some people rediscover the upright position when they suddenly realise gravity works both ways.
The Spine Beater Approach
This one is particularly effective if you’re tall because, frankly, you won’t have much choice. Once the seat in front has been reclined into your personal space, your knees will already be wedged firmly into the back of it. Every time you move, stretch, adjust your position or simply remember that circulation to your legs is generally considered desirable, they’ll feel it.
So don’t stop moving.
Bounce your leg. Shift your weight. Stretch your knees. Drum your feet as though you’ve just discovered the world’s longest James Brown album and simply cannot keep still any longer. Every tiny movement sends a gentle reminder through the seat that actions, as they say, have consequences.
And if they turn around to complain? Look genuinely puzzled. You’re only trying to get comfortable in the tiny amount of space you have left. It’s hardly your fault they’ve voluntarily parked their seat in your lap. They’re perfectly free to move it at any time.
The Tray Table Fiddler Approach
Well, they’ve made it completely useless for its intended purpose. Your laptop no longer fits, your drink is balancing at a forty-five-degree angle and attempting to eat anything without wearing half of it has become an exercise in advanced engineering. Since you can’t actually use the tray table properly any more, you may as well use it improperly.
Open it. Close it. Let it drop. Push it firmly back into place. As hard as you can. Rinse and repeat as often as your sense of injustice demands. Every movement sends a reassuring little thump through the back of their seat, a gentle reminder that reclining into somebody else’s space occasionally comes with consequences.
And if they object? Smile sweetly and remind them that you paid for the tray table. You’re simply exercising your right to use the facilities that came with your seat. If they would prefer a less interactive experience, they remain entirely free to return their seat to the upright position.
The Frustrated Drummer Approach.
Well you can’t watch the in flight movie anymore because the low angle makes everything look like a damn negative, so you have to entertain yourself somehow right? Start drumming your hands on the top of their headrest! Don’t worry if you aren’t musically inclined, the more out of tune it is the better! As long as it is the headrest you are drumming and not their head, it isn’t assault!
The Weak Bladder Approach
No, not that. This is a family website.
When somebody has reclined so enthusiastically that escaping your seat now requires the flexibility of an Olympic gymnast, develop a sudden and pressing need to visit the toilet. Frequently.
Every trip should involve an elaborate sequence of twisting, shuffling, squeezing and apologising as you attempt to extract yourself from the tiny gap they’ve generously left you. Inevitably, their seat will be pulled, pushed and gently shaken throughout the manoeuvre. That’s simply the unavoidable consequence of somebody parking it in your lap.
Bonus points for employing the infamous Headrest Catapult Technique as you lower yourself back into your seat. There is, admittedly, a special place in hell reserved for people who do this when the seat in front is fully upright, but if they’ve already invaded your personal space first, all bets are off.
The Slightly Modified Weak Bladder Approach
If you’re trapped in the middle or window seat, repeatedly climbing over your innocent neighbour rather undermines the moral high ground you’ve worked so hard to establish.
Instead, remain exactly where you are and simply spend the next few hours shifting position every couple of minutes. Readjust your back. Wiggle. Squirm. Fidget. Sigh dramatically. And pull yourself up on their headrest every single time you do. After all, you’re only trying to get comfortable in the tiny amount of space you have left.
If the recliner complains that they can feel every movement, offer your sincerest apologies and explain that you’re doing your best. It’s just terribly difficult to get comfortable when somebody else’s seat is occupying half of yours.
The Devil Child Approach
This tactic is only available to the very fortunate few who find themselves in the rare tactical situation of having a fully reclined seat in front of them and an energetic child travelling with them. Obviously, you should only even contemplate this if the parent is either with you or known to you and entirely on board with the joke. Randomly attempting to recruit strangers’ children into your campaign of passive aggression is generally frowned upon by both society and armed police.
Should the opportunity arise, however, the strategy is beautifully simple. Swap seats with your new mini accomplice, produce an emergency supply of sweets from your carry-on and casually explain that every enthusiastic kick of the seat in front earns another reward. Children require remarkably little encouragement to embrace their inner chaos.
Should the recliner object, simply shrug sympathetically. Children will be children, after all. Perhaps if there were a little more room between the seats they wouldn’t keep accidentally making contact with the back of yours.
Of course, if the parent declines and starts looking at you as though you’ve completely lost your mind, accept their decision with good grace and simply move on to the next tactic in the field manual. They are, after all, just trying to raise a decent human being.
The New Best Friend Approach
Think about it logically. If they’ve chosen to recline until the top of their head is practically in your lap, they must be looking for company. It would be terribly rude to ignore such an obvious invitation to become friends.
Lean forward with an enthusiastic smile and strike up a conversation. The subject doesn’t matter in the slightest. Explain your lifelong fascination with interesting rocks. Give them your detailed analysis of who is secretly sleeping with whom on whatever dreadful reality television programme is currently poisoning civilisation. Ask whether they think pigeons ever get lonely. Just keep the conversation flowing while maintaining unwavering eye contact and the sort of cheerful grin that suggests you haven’t blinked since take-off. If that isn’t quite enough, lean into the creepy factor just a little more. Lower your voice to a conspiratorial whisper, maintain unwavering eye contact and casually mention that customs confiscated your rope, industrial-strength gaffer tape and surprisingly impressive knife collection. Giggle to yourself for absolutely no reason whatsoever, then stare silently out of the window for a full minute before suddenly asking them if they’ve ever seen a human liver up close. My bet is they will want to sit up as far away from you as possible pretty quickly!
Victory Through Passive Aggression
So, is this approach immature? Almost certainly. Is it wrong? The jury is still out. Is it entirely justified in the face of such breathtaking selfishness? Absolutely.
Recliners have already decided that their comfort matters more than yours. They have invaded your space, crushed your knees, ruined your meal, blocked your screen and somehow convinced themselves that pressing a button absolves them of all responsibility for the consequences. If they have abandoned courtesy, consideration and common decency, don’t be too surprised if passive aggression quietly fills the vacuum.
Until the airlines finally admit that reclining seats have no place in modern economy cabins, the Seat Wars will continue. The battleground may be thirty-five thousand feet in the air, but the principle remains the same: if somebody insists on making your flight less comfortable for their own benefit, they shouldn’t expect to enjoy theirs in complete peace.
Or We Could Just Ban Reclining Seats
Of course, there is a far simpler solution than forcing otherwise perfectly reasonable people to become amateur practitioners of psychological warfare at 35,000 feet. Airlines could finally acknowledge that reclining seats simply no longer work in modern economy cabins and remove them altogether.
The arguments would disappear overnight. Knees would remain intact. Drinks would stay on tray tables. Laptops could actually be used, passengers could watch their in-flight entertainment without staring at the back of somebody else’s head and flight attendants would have one less entirely avoidable conflict to referee.
Reclining seats made perfect sense when aircraft cabins were spacious, passengers were smaller and seat pitch was measured in generosity rather than millimetres. Those days are long gone. Modern economy cabins simply don’t have enough room for one passenger to move backwards without taking space away from another. Reclining doesn’t create comfort any more; it merely transfers discomfort.
So let’s stop pretending this is an unavoidable part of flying. It isn’t. It’s a design flaw that has somehow survived for decades because airlines have found it easier to let passengers argue with each other than admit the concept no longer works.
Until the day they finally do the sensible thing and remove reclining seats from economy altogether, though, the Seat Wars continue.
Michael Huxley
Michael Huxley is the founder of Bemused Backpacker, a travel writer, published author, international speaker and former nurse who has spent more than twenty-five years travelling independently through over 150 countries. He helps readers travel with more confidence, safety and perspective.
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82 responses to “Aeroplane Seat Wars: The Passive Aggressive Guide To Dealing With Seat Recliners On Your Next Flight!”
This is hilarious! I’m probably more middle of the road when it comes to recliners but I do think in this day and age, there is no excuse not to have 2 different sections on a plane catering for both! I actually don’t think that the recliner makes it any more comfortable anyway really!
Thanks Shikha! 🙂 I don’t think it does either. Sure there may be the tiniest fraction of an improvement in comfort, but that’s nothing compared to the discomfort and actual pain they are causing others. As you say, there is absolutely no excuse for the airlines to continue using them without at least implementing some system to balance it out. Thanks for the comment.
Oh, you are pure evil!! What a great chuckle I’m having while on the bus heading home. My fellow passengers think I’m nuts…which makes me think of an addition to your list… get drunk on free wine and put the comedy channel on through your headphones. You may not be able to WATCH your screen, but you can HEAR the radio channels. Laugh as loud as humanly possible (don’t forget to snort!!) right in the selfish bastid’s ears. 😆
Haha! Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it! And I’m not evil, I’m very nice – when I’m not in agony from having my knees crushed for hours! ;D
Well, Michael, I have really mixed feelings about this issue. I agree with you that the airlines have left it up to us–the paying customer–to fight it out. Not cool. And, if they don’t want you to recline the seats, let’s make them so they can’t be reclined. (First, I hope you are referring only to those who fully or almost-fully recline their seat and not those who recline the seat back just a millimeter or so to ease pressure on their lower back.) That said, here goes. At the risk of banishment and scorn, I confess to being an occasional recliner. However, I usually make sure the person behind me is not eating, using his or her laptop, or watching a movie, and I only do this on long international flights when I know that I simply have to get some rest and sitting bolt upright isn’t doing it for me. On my next international flight in a couple of weeks, I will definitely take into consideration the feelings of people who may consider me one of the self-centered idiots. I’m not. Truly. I will be more careful, promise! Better yet, I may luck out and get a kind person behind me who understands my need to ever-so-slightly recline my seat after the food is cleared and the lights are dimmed. They understand we’re all in this together, and each one of us is simply trying to get through the flight safe and sound. The key to all of this is that we all try to understand the other person’s point of view. Not all seat recliners are insensitive morons with the agenda of tormenting the person behind them. And, I assume that the person behind me is not an intolerant tightly-wound bonehead. I’m hopeful there’s a middle ground where compassion, tolerance and common courtesy have a place. Thanks for addressing this issue and entertaining a point of view from an occasional, courteous recliner.
Of course there is always room for negotiation, I’ve written about it many times. But only if those in front are willing to negotiate. If all recliners asked first and only reclined to the point just before the pressure got painful (which literally is just beyond a slight touch for me) there wouldn’t be much of a problem. I think the fact that this IS one of the primary causes of air rage and trouble between passengers on flights just goes to show that the middle ground of compassion, tolerance and common courtesy has long since disappeared. Since recliners aren’t willing to take others discomfort or pain into consideration and airlines refuse to do anything but make the problem even worse by shrinking seat pitch beyond the capacity of average height, I say that is reason enough to have the option removed altogether. (Thankfully some airlines are finally starting to take note of this. As I said, the problem is most don’t take others into consideration. The majority of recliners ARE the insensitive morons who will screech ‘I have a right to recline!’ Yes well I have a right to walk off the plane without injury when it lands.Those intolerant tightly wound boneheads as you put it have a right to be a bit wound up when they are in physical pain, don’t you think? We all have lower backs that don’t find it very comfortable to sit upright for 8,9, 10 plus hours or whatever it is. I can imagine sitting bolt upright for whole international flights doesn’t do it for many of us either. I know I don’t particularly enjoy it, that’s why I go the loo and stretch. The difference is some of us intolerant boneheads are courteous enough not to inflict even more discomfort – never mind pain – on the people behind us. We are all in it together it seems, as long as recliners get to recline and sod the rest of us?
Bcrev82 I am not singling you out for banishment and scorn but I do absolutely have issues with your points. How about we compromise that the seats stay upright so we are all in the exact same position then? Rather than making someone else’s situation worse? Or is compromise only valid when it helps you out to recline and steal someone else’s space for your comfort? I’m only 5’5, a wee shorty, and I find it cramped and uncomfortable when someone reclines so god help those who are taller. I agree with Mike that reclining seats should be banned.
Hahaha, you are still having problems with recliners then? I have read all your posts on this issue and they have all made me laugh hard, probably because they all had more than a ring of truth to them (I know this was meant in humour, but you are absolutely on point!) Recliners are the worst sort of people and they do deserve all of this and more!
Thank you Stephanie. Yeah, there will always be problems as long as the airlines keep shrinking the space and recliners still insist on making that space even smaller! I can’t magically make myself shorter! Thanks for the comment. 🙂
So you think nasty acts like this will improve the situation? I can tell you it won’t stop me! I paid for my seat and if I want to recline I will! If that makes you uncomfortable, tough! You can always go first class if you want leg room? If they let you in acting like that?
So I guess you missed the ‘in jest’ part of the post then? I’m not surprised. It is that exact selfish attitude I am talking about. You can always pay to go first class if you want to lie back on a long haul flight?
some people want to sleep in the plane that is why they recline their seats. If they don’t want it to be recline then they can try to be civilize and just tell the person in a good way that they are being crushed. (not everyone is huge just explain your situation nicely) =) If they can’t agree about the situation just exchange seats then. problem solve ^_^
Thanks for the comment princessemri, I really appreciate it, but I have to disagree.
I want to sleep too, and I don’t recline. It isn’t ideal sleeping sat up but it is manageable, and I’m not making things worse for the guy behind me. THAT is compromise, THAT is being polite and civil and everything else you recliners expect.
And I have made that polite, civilised request. Plenty of times, most people refuse, some get really belligerent about it. Some even get really angry and argumentative (hence the news story about the flight that got diverted). Being polite and just asking selfish passengers not to recline does not work for the majority of travellers.
And I’m sorry but if you think exchanging seats is the answer then there is no hope. So you want to recline, but you are not only making life hell for me by doing so, but some other guy who will magically switch with me? That will not happen! Switching seats just isn’t an option on most (extremely full) flights now, and the plane would end up in chaos as everyone tried to switch every time some selfish idiot decided to recline!
Not everyone is tiny, so just don’t recline! Problem REALLY solved!
aww that is a different story if you already talk to them and they still recline their seat T_T. I do recline my seat but if ever the person at my back is crushed and talk to me about it, I would gladly bring my seat up again with no hesitation. ^_^ What I mean about exchanging seat is that you tell the person in front of you to exchange place you so that he can recline his and not bother you at all since you will be in front. >.< but of course some of the poeple really won't care at all and yeah it will be hard to exchange seat with them. Hopefully airlines will come to address this issue soon ^_^
Ah I misunderstood slightly. Swapping with the recliner would be great for me if travelling solo. Still, changing seats isn’t ideal for people travelling with partners/family etc. But I wish more recliners were like you and sat back up when asked. If you are willing to do that then I can be completely reasonable too, I wouldn’t mind at all if we came to a compromise were you reclined a little so the seat isn’t crushing me too much. Like others have said it is all about compromise. Unfortunately the absolute majority have no interest in compromise.
As you say, I really hope all airlines address the issue too.
I am a recliner. I must admit it. Then again I am 162 cm tall, so I have no appreciation for those who need room for their legs 🙂
This is exactly what I mean. What’s that, about 5″2, 5″3? How would you feel if you were a full foot above that? (Which is pretty average for guys of my generation and below).
Loving the “new best friend” approach! I’m flying to Australia soon so these tips may come in very useful indeed! 🙂
Haha, good luck! That can be a hellish flight if you get a recliner in front of you!
Thanks for the heads up! I feel a best friend approach could be in order 🙂
Well I do have to say that I’m not very tall so I don’t have too much of a problem with someone reclining. Plus I’m Asian so I like to curl in a ball in my seat haha but I do have a friend who is almost 7 foot tall and bless his soul poor guy needs to recline a bit. I think as long as you’re not pulling it back all the way and you do take note if the person sitting behind you is … of a slightly larger size, it’s all about consideration. I personally hate people who constantly kick and push the back of my chair more. Now that is freaking annoying!
So is having your legs crushed, believe me! The problem is seat pitch has been shrunk so much now that when someone fully reclines there is no room! By reclining you have taken up a vast chunk of the personal space of the person behind you, so you are going to get the back of your seat kicked and pushed every time they move or need to get up. It is as simple as that.
It’s nice you are short and can curl up. Unfortunately some of us don’t have that luxury. And the ‘of slightly larger size’ is generally average height now.
I agree that it is all about consideration, but as has been proven time and time and time again, there IS no consideration from recliners! When people want to recline, they recline, and damn everyone else. Is it any wonder someone invented the knee defender? Is it any wonder rows keep breaking out?
I have several flights booked for the next couple weeks, one of which is an overnight international flight. Hopefully no altercations will ensue.
Good luck! Hope no one reclines on you! ;D
Hahaha awesome post but very realistic too! I As I studied tourism I know how to deal with these inconveniences but I can imagine the struggle, not fun at all!
Thanks Axelle. Any tips you’d like to share with us? ;D
HAHA this post is just hilarious! I had the best time reading it! Luckily I never had a problem with reclining seats, but I would just politely inform them that I often get sick on flights and would advice them not to recline as I might get sick on them otherwise…this way you only piss of the person in front of you instead of everyone around you 🙂
Ha, thanks Linda! A simple trick but very effective! ;D Thanks for commenting.
The reclining and spine beating is the worse and I hate it most , especially when you’re in a long haul flights, trying your best to be comfortable and those annoying passenger are just getting into your nerves.
Everyone just wants a little room and a little comfort on their flights, recliners don’t have a monopoly on that. Thanks for the comment.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post, Mike! 🙂 I also really enjoyed the comment from Snoopy, haha! I think in his case it would be justifiable to skip all the passive aggressive steps and just just smash his belongings into pieces. Of course it’s your own fault for not paying the extra few thousand dollars to fly in first class, you poor person!
Another tip is to lean over and see which inflight movie they’re watching, then tell them the ending. Bruce Willis is a ghost!
Hahaha, I love that one! It’s definitely getting added to the repertoire! And thank you I’m glad you enjoyed it! I think Snoopy is pretty representative of many of the selfish recliners who have made the call to ban reclining seats necessary!
Notice how it’s always the recliners who are calling for compromise and consideration? How about you consider NOT reclining and we wouldn’t have this problem at all!
I’m 6″3 and am sick and tired of being squashed back into my seat. The airlines have created an intolerable situation and people who recline are just making it infinitely worse for everyone else because they only care about their own comfort and their own needs.
Well if you want to be like that, then I’m happy to call for a reclining seat ban too! Then you don’t get the option of hurting or inconveniencing the people behind you.
That’s very true Pete. How much compromise and consideration are we expected to give when we are in at least severe discomfort and often pain? I’m considerate up to a point, but there’s a line.
I am sure that everyone has seen some very rude passengers, on both sides of this story. I’ve seen small Asian women recline as far back as possible on large Western men. I’ve also seen aggressive passengers push/hit back on the seats of those in front of them. Normally, I’ve found that if you talk with someone, they are willing to compromise, but I’m sure there are those out there that are just mean. Great post! 🙂
Thanks Adrian, glad you liked it. I’d love to be as optimistic as you about the compromise but being the tall (average height really at 6″2) western man on the receiving end of reclining seats, and trying every polite request, talk and compromise I can think of, I have found that the absolute majority aren’t willing to compromise at all. There are definitely some who do of course, and that is great as we can both make the best of a bad situation, but most don’t.
And I have to agree about the tiny women too, the amount of short women (and men to be fair) I have come across on flights who pay no regard to anyone because they have enough room infuriates me sometimes, especially if they are sat in the seats with extra legroom or in the front row! It really is a case of ‘I’m alright Jack, so screw you!’
And I have every sympathy for those passengers who push/hit back at the seats too. Usually they have just been assaulted by a seat crashing back or had their laptop nearly smashed or something!
Thanks for the comment. 🙂
LOL too funny, Mike! I laughed out loud at “the next time some idiot reclines right into you, make sure they have a nozzle of cold air blowing on their head or down their neck for the entire flight.” Touché! I do agree in that it is super annoying when someone reclines all the way in front of you (ESPECIALLY when I have my food tray down!!!) Although I do recline my seat a cm or two. However I always look behind me and make sure someone doesn’t have their tray down or anything, and I always ask if they mind if I put it back a bit. 😉 I do wonder if airlines would ever go as far to remove the recline altogether!
Thanks Alli, I’m glad you liked it. Some airlines are actually beginning to see the light! Monarch airlines are introducing fixed non reclining seats (that are proving pretty popular) and Singapore airlines are increasing seat pitch on their planes. I know which airlines will get my custom and loyalty when the choice is there!
I have used the “air nozzle approach” a lot and it only worked once. Last week I flew from Ahmedabad to Doha with the front guy almost sleeping on my chest! And after politely asking for him to move he did not! I dream of the day I can afford my own plane…
I absolutely hate that, the absolute arrogance of some people to think it’s okay just to sacrifice your comfort for a minimal increase in their own. But that’s why you now have a whole list of tactics to choose from when the air nozzle approach does fail! ;D
You could also title this “Ode to the tall traveler”.
Or maybe Ode to the tall traveller 2: Tall blokes revenge! 😉
This is hilarious! Luckily for those sitting around me I’m not too bothered when people recline their seats in front of me but now I have a little more sympathy for those behind me when I’ve reclined mine. Although I quite enjoyed your humorous plots for revenge, I’d hate to have any of them directed at me so next flight I may just turn around and ask before I recline! Great post!
Thank you, I’m really glad you liked it. Glad to see you’ll start considering those behind you too. I’m sure they’ll thank you for it! 🙂
Great post Mike! I find the knee in the back trick works better on buses, haven’t tried it on a plane yet. The most annoying thing is when someone reclines when I’m watching something on my laptop – it’s felt like they were going to snap the screen off a couple of times.
Thanks! And I’m totally with you, yet if I were to walk up to you on the street and whack your laptop screen with a heavy object I would be arrested surely? Why is it allowed on planes?
Haha. These are hilarious! My last flight was perfect, I was in the back aisle but I could still recline my seat. No one to piss off! This is a funny article!
Thanks, my last ones were perfect too, I managed to bag the front aisle so there was no selfish ‘person’ in front reclining! An entire flight with enough legroom to move and no one crushing my knees! It is absolutely shocking the difference it makes to the flight experience.
I’ve seen so many news articles about arguments over reclining lately! I’m not a recliner because I find it really uncomfortable when people move into my space and it’s frustrating not being able to work on a laptop but I guess you’ve just got to roll with it! Have taken note of your suggestions for future flights 😉
That’s the fundamental thing recliners just aren’t getting, is that when they recline they are stealing someone else’s personal space! It’s just selfish. And to hell if I’m rolling with it! I’ve had enough! ;D
This is such a cool post, it made me laugh out loud thinking that I’ve tried pretty much all the approaches you listed! (not the air nozzle one – saving it for my next long flight to Oz). How about the armrest hoggers? Another bad breed! I had a particularly bad one next to me as I was flying back from Madagascar. Not only did he hog the armrest and half of my legroom, he also refused to stand up to let me go to the loo, I had to walk over him!
Oh the armrest hoggers! I hate those! How hard is it to understand that the person in the middle seat gets both armrests, and those on either side gets the other? That’s the rule! The guy next to you sounds like a total **** I would have physically shoved him out of my leg room space when sitting down and ‘accidentally’ stood on his feet every time I had to move past him!
Haha I love the devil child approach! I dont normally have problems with recliners but should the opportunity arise I will be sure to put my duty free pass to good use and buy up a whole shelf of sweets just for this alone.
Haha, well if people must bring their brats on board they may as well be put to use! ;D
I don’t really have a problem with recliners. If their seat reclines, they should be entitled. I’d sooner they only do it long haul, but I would never challenge someone if they did it, simply because they’ve paid for a reclining seat and should have every right to use the facilities of THEIR seat.
Ah, okay. I was waiting for someone to bring up this argument. What about the facilities of MY seat? When someone fully reclines I can no longer use the table at all, and I can no longer see the headrest screen properly without contorting into an unnatural position made impossible by the vastly decreased seat pitch. Never mind the fact that I can barely use the seat – that I have paid for just as much as they have – in it’s most basic function. As a SEAT. So recliners are denying me my right to use the facilities of MY seat that I have paid for. So why should they be able to do that? Does the purchase of my seat mean any less than their purchase? Have I not paid for the facilities of my seat just as much as they have?
The thing is, they haven’t paid for a reclining seat at all. They have paid for a SEAT, nothing more, nothing less. The functionality of that seat is what is in question. If the reclining function denies me the option to use the seat I have paid for without pain or severe discomfort then what right do people have to use it? It is a fundamental principle of our legal systems that no one has the right to anything at the expense of another persons rights. So if a recliners ‘right’ to recline, or their ‘right’ to use the function of their seat impinges on MY right to use a service without being injured or put in severe discomfort with numerous negative health risks, or impinges on my right to use the facilities of MY seat, then that means it isn’t a ‘right’ doesn’t it?
Boom!! *Drops mic!*
I love this 🙂
I am short, and am probably the only adult in history who can stretch her legs out fully in any airplane seat- as long as it’s up right, but still. I enjoy this 😀
Haha, I’m jealous! ;D
Totally right! Recliners should be banned!
I agree!
Hahaha!! Love this! Hate those seat recliners!
Me too!
I had this issue going to Turkey and I ended up just punching the bold headed bustard in the back of the head!
Well that’s not exactly passive aggressive, more just aggressive, but I suppose very effective! What happened?
How have I not come across this before? This is hilarious and you are bang on my friend! I’m about the same height as you (6 foot 2) and am in hell on long haul flights when the selfish ******** in front recline all the way. They deserve everything they get and should be banned from all future flights for being inconsiderate *****! I think the airlines should all go the way of fixed seats, they are thinner, cheaper and lighter (therefore using up less fuel) than traditional reclining seats anyway, so they save money, everyone gets more room and no one can recline! It’s a no brainer!
Thank you! And I agree completely it really is a no brainer, I just cant believe airlines aren’t seeing it!
I left a comment but can’t see it so apologies if it appears twice.
Today I arrived back to the UK on a 13 hr flight from Singapore. I took 3 other long haul flights on this trip with no issue. Even if people reclined I still had room. However, this last flight was a different aircraft, a new A350-900 & the seats in economy reclined back way too far. I couldn’t get into my bag under the seat , watch my screen comfortably or use my tray. After several hours of the passenger in front lying right back almost in my face, I politely asked him if he could move it a bit so I could access my tray & bag. He immediately started to give me verbal abuse & swear at me. I was very upset as I would never speak to people like that so I went to the back to get cabin crew. The head one went to confront him & he sat there ignoring them & refused to answer. I got moved to business class thankfully & he got a warning that if he did it again they would get the police to meet them on landing.
I have friends & family in Australia & New Zealand & want to visit again but now a lot of airlines are buying these A350-900 planes & I don’t want this situation again. I am only 5ft 2 & was cramped. For a tall person it will be hell. I wouldn’t have minded if it was just reclined halfway but the new recline on these seats is far too much. I am going to have to check the aircraft type before I book flights again but then the airline can change it anyway. Do you have any tips on how I can avoid such a situation again?
Wow, sorry to hear about that arsehole. You did not deserve that. You’re right about the different plane layouts and it is absolutely true that airlines can swap them out at the last minute, so even if you think you are flying on a particular type there is never really a guarantee. And yes many airlines are buying up planes with much smaller seat configurations, in fact many are reducing the seat pitch in newer planes specifically to get more seats in! There are some airlines, such as Singapore Airlines and Emirates that offer planes with larger seat pitches than many, but it depends on where you are going. Good job on getting the upgrade at least, I’m genuinely surprised they bothered to do anything at all. Unfortunately as I have said there is no real way to avoid the situation, the airlines are basicaly just shrugging their shoulders and saying it is down to passengers, and when half of those passengers are selfish idiots, is it any wonder so many people are getting annoyed?
Mine was on Singapore Airlines. The B777 was fine but their new A350 was horrible. As well as having the seat recline in front going much further back than the 777, I had very tight space under the seat too as my bag struggled to fit whereas it fitted under the other aircraft’s seat easily. This shows that they are now buying these new planes with less space in economy class. There aren’t many reviews of the A350 yet as it’s so new. I think they moved me to stop things escalating because he was so abusive.
Hahaha yes! Love this! Recliners are the absolute devil.
They are that!
Hahaha I love this, u are SO right! I hate it when someone reclines into my space. So selfish!
It really is, only they refuse to see it that way, which in and of itself is selfish too! ;D
Ir is ridiculous to not utilize anything offered and paid for. I paid for a reclining seat. I’m reclining
And I paid for my seat, so you make me uncomfortable don’t expect any sympathy when my finger jabs the screen very hard and repeatedly or my knees become acquainted with your spine
Haha Love this! And people had a storm on social media about the guy who was just knocking the back of the seat! Haha
Thanks Jan! That guy was a hero, and that woman was beyond selfish! Goes to show the mentality of the recliner that she is now claiming to be a victim with all sorts of whiplash injury and is suing everyone left, right and centre!
I watched her interview on Fox News. She said the guy behind “punched her hard” but not when she was recording lol. She also said she now has constant headaches & has been for x-rays. On the video, she is sat there smirking!!!!!
That attention grabbing witch saw an opportunity to grab a bit of compo and too it, that’s all this is
Yes! Everyone needs to start doing this to recliners with immediate effect!
I don’t disagree!