enviroian

I would have immediately turned around and confronted this prick if he did this to me. No polite words are in order just a 'Hey pal enough with the pounding on the screen....got it??".

izzyizzo

The FA gave Wendi a passenger disturbance notice. YX FAs are generally pretty professional in my experience, so there's probably more to this story than we know about.

gottaluvNW

First - everyone on this forum is entitled to their opinions.
Treat every response with respect. Learn from it.

Second - please stop writing in BOLD
Your voice is not more important than another's

Third - my few cents
1. Reclining seats are there for a reason. To recline. You dont like it - go elsewhere
2. Harassment - verbal or physical is unacceptable. The gentleman in the rear should have taken up his issue with the airline, not imagined he was sitting in front of a punching bag.
I would have given the passenger one warning and if not heeded, thrown him off the flight or banned him for a short while if possible, from flying with the airline.
3. Most issues can be brought down from boiling point if there is communication - clearly the passengers could not communicate and the flight attendant did not see their role as facilitating a discussion / reaching an amicable conclusion.
This last point I find most disturbing - that the flight attendant / therefore the airline / took sides in this dispute.

MarkOK

1. I agree with you in that the confrontation is all out of line. The dude is a jerk for pounding the seat, but isn't in the wrong by asking her to not recline her seat. My uh huh rolly eyes is that I don't agree that what shows in the video qualifies for a 'crime' though. (the airline should have handled it all differently as well)
2. I disagree that seat recline is part of the service offering. It is a function of the seat she is in, but not a service offering in Y class. And like so much in the world, there are things you 'can' do but still qualify as obnoxious and rude behavior. And I do think people reclining very often does crosses that boundary into obnoxious and rude and I wish more travelers would see the potential that their recline can impede on their fellow passenger. My comfort level goes from a 4 to a 1 (on a 10 point scale) when someone reclines while I am trying to do anything other than close my eyes. Maybe you and most people here don't give two-bits about that, you have a right to be rude and ignore that the passenger behind you is paying a price for your 'recline', but I am just letting you know in case you do care.

rickg523

Did I actually read that people think of calling in the FBI because a guy shook and punched the back of a seat. I mean the guy's a jerk, but making a Federal Case out of it? Get over yourselves.

FrequentFlyerNOT

The way I look at it is that the seat in front of me "owns" the space it can recline into. If they don't recline, then they are being generous by not using that space.

Let's talk about that space I think belongs to the seat in front of me. It is about 1.5 inches at the top of the seat and 0.25 inches at the bottom. Enough to relax but not enough to bother someone outside of meal service. My measurements are not exact, but less than two inches at the top and one half inch at the bottom. Unless you are on an older plane that may still recline further, let's face it - the problem people have with reclining is a mental one - not a physical incursion. For you tall people that barely fit, then yes I recognize there are exceptions.

rufflesinc

well fine, replace FBI with whatever law enforcement would have jurisdiction over this assault

TBD

First, "punching bag" seems an exaggeration.
Second, of course the feds won't take him to court. If FT has such a diverse reaction, then we can assume a jury would, too. If a majority decision isnt likely, why would the US attorney bother to prosecute?

They both acted like children. Let's move on...

rufflesinc

Children only get a pass because they don't know any better.

dallaspopo

Unfortunately, definition of assault has different meanings depending on who you talk to. The guy should not have used the seat as punching bag to get the passenger in front to put the seat back up. And the lady should have just listened and stop recording when told to by the fa. She should have gotten enough right there. She can take this civil court and take care of it there. Now saying that US airlines are cramming more seats in the plane, reducing seat width making people unhappy. It will continue and more disturbance between passenger will occur in the air. There won't be any charges coming out of this. But airlines should take note of this. More seats= unhappy passengers= fights

bitterproffit

Don't diss my emotional support song.

dallaspopo

This is a civil issue. This is not an assault. The guy though should not have continued to punch the seat. He is an idiot. He could have asked the lady that he doesn't have space and ho on from there, but no, acts like a silly child.

HGH

She lives in my town and is all over the news. And, she is still fighting with trolls on her twitter feed. She is so far along in this, I doubt she will ever be self-aware enough to admit that MAYBE she was not 100% blameless in this. Even if she had just to say to the guy that she was going to "recline due to health reasons and sorry but that's it," this whole thing might have played out differently. I am not justifying the guy's reaction at all, but I also have no sympathy for this woman because of how she handled it.

I'd think most people have had to deal with seatmates who invade your perceived bubble of personal space at least a little - reclining 100% is just one example. I put loud talkers, strong smells, watching videos without headsets, taking up your actual seat or floor space with their stuff, as more of those things people do because they can. What would happen if all those types if situations escalated to the level this has?

Zeeb

The real issue is that coach seats are packed like sardines and all the little indignancies of air travel have people on edge before they even get on the plane. Modern airplane seats recline. They've been that way for decades or more. And when you book a seat that doesn't recline the airline even goes out of its way to make sure you are aware you aren't getting a seat that reclines, since the recline is assumed to be the standard. And airlines advertise "extra recline" as a selling point in whatever they call their economy plus seats and in first class.The idea that someone using a standard feature of their seat is in the wrong is just bizarre to me. I totally understand if someone gets annoyed because the seat in front of them is reclined, I've been there to . But I don't get the mindset that the person who reclines has wronged the person behind them.

dallaspopo

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