Originally Posted by
ThrowDownYourLeavyScreens
Ignoring the fact that it's an FAA requirement and Thou Shalt Do It OR ELSE, what is the actual physical consequence of not having your seat in the full, upright, and locked position?
I think the reason for keeping your seat upright is more for the passengers behind you than you. The seat being reclined makes it more difficult to get out of the row, which is why the rows in front of an exit row either have limited or no recline. If there is a crash, you'll be leaning forward against the seat in front of you anyway, not sittting "upright", so the position of your seatback wouldn't really matter (at least to you). But a reclined seatback makes it more difficult for the passengers behind you to get out and evacauate.
Originally Posted by
Orion
I boarded a Delta flight from JAX to ATL yesterday evening and brought my seat into the upright and locked position where it stayed for about twenty seconds. After five or six attempts I snagged a flight attendant who reluctantly listened to my concern. The seat would not stay in the upright and locked for position. I asked her what I should do during take off and landing. She said, "it's o.k. If it won't, it won't". I told her I thought it was a safety issue. She said, "Don't worry. You tried". Then she added that if we try to fix it here we probably won't get home today. I never saw her again.
Am I wrong but I seem to recall several decades of being required to bring my seatback into the upright and locked position. Is this now optional at the airlines choosing?
Well, there were three other options available for you and the affected passengers behind your seat:
1) Move to other seats (if one was available)
2) Repair the seat (causing a delay for everyone on the flight)
3) If no other seats other seats were available, remove you and the affected passengers from the plane and rebook you all for a later flight.
The fourth option is what you and the airline chose - accept it and fly on to the destination and deal with it later.
I'm not saying the decision was "right" or "wrong" - just explaining it. What would you have preferred they chose to do?