I am sorry but if the manufacturers made seats in a way that they recline a certain angle, and the airline bought the aircraft that way, that means to me that you have a right to recline your seat. On may airlines website they even publicise how much you can recline !

So, my view is that everyone has a right to recline their seats. If the person behind wants to work, so what ? He has a right to work and I have a right to sleep, and it looks like the plane was made to accommodate my wishes better than his, tough luck, he should also recline... Same applies if I want to work. Yes I would sometimes like to open my laptop or stetch my legs, but I can't because the person in front is reclined - again, tough luck for me, I should recline too so I feel more comfortable.

There may of course be common-sense exceptions. I may want to sit up when the person behind is eating (yes, eating is part of every long-haul flight, it's expected), but not when he or she wants to work or read or just stretch legs. And I may also (reluctantly) not recline if I have a mother with baby behind, or an elderly person, but that's common courtesy...

@:-) Maybe they should divide every flight in two sections: one for people who want to recline / sleep, and one for people who don't want to recline and want to work or whatever. @:-) Wow, hey, I posted this here, now this is patented, anyone using this idea must pay me patent fees.