HongKonger

Alternatively you could have defended your rights and told the guy sitting behind you to go eff himself. Or offered to switch seats with him.

HongKonger

The FA's instruction was invalid. You should have challenged it and asked her under what rule you were required to put your seat up. If she persisted, you should have noted her name and stated that you would be complaining about her by name. No need to raise hell, just say it calmly. I still would not have put my seat up.

skchin

That's massive. I think she's trying to makeup for something.

BusTrav8yrs

There are certain planes I wished the seats did not recline (A319/320). My time on the plane is opportunity to get in more "billable" hours, yes even on the 6am monday morning flights I will whip out the laptop. It is not the reclining that gets me irritated. It's the ones who push the button and it seems has all their weight behind it so it comes flying back and I have little time to react and prevent my laptop from breaking, for those folks I do speak up and yes smack the back of the seat.

MSPeconomist

I hope you got the FA's name and complained to DL. Did you try to challenge the FA at all for making up the rule? Also, was there any evidence that the other passenger was a friend of the FA or a nonrev since the FA seemed so eager to take their side. At the very least, the FA could have comped your drinks after you felt forced to move to coach.

Was the issue perhaps that you reclined fast without warning?

HongKonger

Agree here. Ninja reclines are unacceptable. They should be done smoothly and slowly. Right to recline does not mean right to smash into people.

NWAFA

Even though I'm now retired, I'd like to offer my apologies. The FA was wrong to ask you to raise your seat back. The FA needs a refresher course.

A passenger may certainly recline their seat, it's their right. Remember a few years ago the "seat blocker"? We didn't allow them on the a/c.

The only time I would ever ask a passenger to raise their seat back was during a meal service and then only temporarily.

Compensation is certainly due. You also did the right thing with complying with the FA's request. You don't want to be caught up in a "situation" while on the a/c. Taking it to Delta directly was the correct thing to do.

NWAFA

boeingATL

no way in hell would I put up with this. I'm almost 2 meters tall. Does this trump a large laptop?

You are entitled to you space. Now what to do when the person next to you is so wide, they infringe on your space. And they thrash about, fight over the arm rest space, then make you hang into the aisle. Forget about the seat recline rocketeers. . . the real pigs are the ones next to you.

Vent done and closed.

JesseRohr

I've had the person behind me in F on a 757 hit the screen so hard (while reclined) that I could literally feel my head leave the headrest with each "poke." When I asked him to please touch the thing lighter he was clearly grumpy about my reclined seat. The FA asked him to quit once I brought it to her attention. He later asked to move.

mattyb2233

I would ask for the difference in fares in First and last class if you were moved. I think its pretty ballsy that lady would ask a flight attendant before she would say something to you. I usually just start coughing and act sick! Whats this world coming to?

Sez_Who

Very difficult to defend the FA who told you to put your seat up. OTOH, I have been the pax behind someone who put their seat back all they way in F. Usually not a problem (even if it is irritating) but in one case, the seat in front of me went back so far that I could not even open the table. Obviously this was excess recline and that seat needed repair.

No idea if that is what happened in your case, just pointing out that sometimes the recline goes back so far that if you turned around, your face could be in their crotch. Agreed that would be an interesting thread here -- especially with pix -- but just pointing out that is it possible there was excess recline here. Might have been nice to switch places with the pax behind you and see if this was really an issue.

MichaelKade

I always turn around behind me as if to warn the pax behind me of the imminent recline. Then I recline slooooowwwwllly.

DeltaUnitedContest

I still don't get it...now that you've gotten us all roped in and involved in the saga, tell us a bit more, please? Did you have to interact w/ the rude px behind you as well or was it all mediated through the FA? Did you put up a fight at all or straight out comply? When you moved to coach (a pretty dramatic move), were you given an apology? Did the FA come check on you? Perhaps you felt weird b/c you were on upgrade and possiblt the other person was a F revenue ticket? Just trying to imagine, b/c I think I would have flatly refused to not recline, or perhaps moved the recline up an inch or two to accommodate a bit without giving in (I imagine this would still have given you better recline than your new coach seat?). After flying 200K this year, I'm just surprised you didn't feel entitled to your space as much as the other person did.

MSPeconomist

Agree and welcome to FT.

I could perhaps see moving from FC to a whole empty row of coach, but even then I think the FAs could at least supply drinks back there.

Yaatri

When the seats recline, tray tables don;t move. I remember days when a passenger reclining their seat in economy did not cause a problem for the passenger behind them during meal service. Two things have changed since then. Seat pitch and passenger size.
Now that I have lost quite a bit of the extra weight I have gained, I find that it's less inconvenient for me when the passenger in front of me reclines.