What would you do if your seat wouldn't lock upright?
Background. I was seated in an F window today on a single aisle (2x2) short flight (about 1 hour). The flight was delayed due to the incoming aircraft by about 1:30.
As soon as I boarded, I noticed that the seat would not latch in the upright position. if I leaned back, the seat would recline all the way back, without touching the recline button. I tried for a few minutes to get it to latch, then pressed the call button and notified an FA.
I told the FA that I was willing to move to any open seat to facilitate leaving, or that I could deplane if the a/c was full. My seatmate also stated that she was willing to move to any open seat.
So the captain comes back and pushes on the seat a bit, says that's just play in the seat and is normal. I told him to try sitting in it, that this is not "normal play in the seat." So he decides that I can't just be reseated because if the (empty) seat falls back during takeoff, it blocks the person behind's egress path. Thus, maintenance gets called.
The maintenance tech was terrific (have you hugged your favorite A&P mechanic lately?): He came quickly and was able to repair the seat in about 10 minutes.
What do you think?