Originally Posted by
gj83
I always thought it was so you can get out in case of an emergency. When all the seats are reclined it makes me a contortionist to get out of my row.
Yeah, that's a large part of the survivability requirements (called "crashworthiness"). Basically the seats have to be designed in such a way to not only allow you to survive impact, but also be able to evacuate quickly. Comfort is not part of the "upright and locked" position.