Broken seat - does it matter?
 

I boarded a Delta flight from JAX to ATL yesterday evening and brought my seat into the upright and locked position where it stayed for about twenty seconds. After five or six attempts I snagged a flight attendant who reluctantly listened to my concern. The seat would not stay in the upright and locked for position. I asked her what I should do during take off and landing. She said, "it's o.k. If it won't, it won't". I told her I thought it was a safety issue. She said, "Don't worry. You tried". Then she added that if we try to fix it here we probably won't get home today. I never saw her again.
Am I wrong but I seem to recall several decades of being required to bring my seatback into the upright and locked position. Is this now optional at the airlines choosing?

No. The FA was wrong. But her statement about not getting home that day might also have been correct.

If you'd wanted, you could have raised taken the issue to the head FA or to the pilots.

At this point, you can complain to Delta and/or to the FAA. If you go with the FAA route, keep in mind you could seriously jeopardize someone's career. Perhaps even the Captain's even though he/she had no knowledge of the issue.

This happened to me once on another carrier. I wound up seated for landing in a spare F/A jumpseat at 1L as the plane was full. It remains one of my more memorable trips in X million miles of flying.

It happens, but in the event of a crash you'll have many more things to worry about.

Ignoring the fact that it's an FAA requirement and Thou Shalt Do It OR ELSE, what is the actual physical consequence of not having your seat in the full, upright, and locked position?

Complain but just to delta

I have had more than a few seats not stay upright and locked... you could complain and move to a different seat if one is available. If you were to push the issue on a full flight prior to departure they might just take the seat out of service and leave you behind!

I think the reason for keeping your seat upright is more for the passengers behind you than you. The seat being reclined makes it more difficult to get out of the row, which is why the rows in front of an exit row either have limited or no recline. If there is a crash, you'll be leaning forward against the seat in front of you anyway, not sittting "upright", so the position of your seatback wouldn't really matter (at least to you). But a reclined seatback makes it more difficult for the passengers behind you to get out and evacauate.

Well, there were three other options available for you and the affected passengers behind your seat:
1) Move to other seats (if one was available)
2) Repair the seat (causing a delay for everyone on the flight)
3) If no other seats other seats were available, remove you and the affected passengers from the plane and rebook you all for a later flight.
The fourth option is what you and the airline chose - accept it and fly on to the destination and deal with it later.

I'm not saying the decision was "right" or "wrong" - just explaining it. What would you have preferred they chose to do?

Was it a regional jet? I've been on plenty where many seats won't stay in their upright and locked positions - from E145 to CRJ200 to CRJ700.

And yep, if press the issue, they'll delay departure while they find maintenance, bring on maintenance to trouble shoot, then either delay to fix, or tape off the seat and move you to another seat or out the door if plane is full. Have seen this happen.

I've had this happen many times. One trick I've learned is to stand up and pull the seat forward. Sometimes this puts it back where it will lock.

If you are in first class, keep you mouth shut or you will be moved to coach. Any comments should be reserved for after arrival, unless you prefer coach.

If you comment after arrival, they remove the seatback, and then the next flight's first class passenger to board who has been assigned that seat is moved to main cabin :eek:


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8244239571.jpg

Likely a quiet favor so you would not be booted from the flight, reseated, or cause a plane to be delayed and misconnect in ATL.

Some DL seats fully reclined feel more upright than the E-175 F seats in the upright position, ha.

If this were me I would report the seat concern to DL as a post-flight maintenance note.

If it wont stay upright, it's likely a FA will notice during departure or pre-landing check.

The good news though is that the passenger in the seat behind gets an ottoman.

Maybe on these crappy domestic F planes I need to start bringing some tools and loosening the seatback of the seat in front of me... :D