This morning I flew SFO to DEN in paid F, on my way to Kansas City. After wheels up, I did what I always do and slowly reclined my seat, preparing to settle in to sleep. Apparently, the passenger seated behind me decided he was entitled to his space, and part of mine as well -- I started feeling sporadic kicks against the back of my seat. I ignored him, figuring he'd get the message and give up, but no. He opened his newspaper and rested the top of it on my head. At first, I didn't realize what he was doing and just brushed at my head. However, when it happened again, I grabbed the paper, turned around and said, "Could you please keep your paper off my head." He said, "I want to read my paper and you've reclined into my lap." I said, "When you've paid for my seat, you can tell me what to do with it." He said, "Well, put it up a little."

I'm having a particularly bad week and I didn't feel like a confrontation, so I moved the seat up a tiny bit -- a token concession, as it was. That appeared to satisfy this guy and I had no further trouble with him.

This is First Class. Seat pitch on a UA 757 in F is 38". I paid the premium to sit in F because I was exhausted and needed to sleep on the 2-1/2 hour flight -- that's what F is for, a little extra room and a little extra comfort. I'm of the opinion that the recliner gets to determine whether and how much to recline (though not during meal service), but I understand why tight seat pitch in coach makes this a controversial topic. However, this is a first class seat, for crying out loud!