StayingHomeIsBetter

Perhaps FT needs to add a "tongue-in-cheek" emoticon to its menu, in hopes of preventing failures to detect dry humor.

Denolloyd

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3G: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7C144 Safari/528.16)

Duh I should have known. I actually thought twice prior to posting.

ni2mi2

OP - As most folks mentioned I think you handled the situation well. ^

Instead of letting your adrenaline decide on the course of action, I think you earned more respect from everyone on the flight by your actions.

Karma is a b**ch and is real - you can comfort yourself that Captain No-Recline would one day face his destiny when he tries to pull such a stunt with a federal marshall and find out the consequences of causing disruption in an airline.

StayingHomeIsBetter

Not intending my earlier response to be taken as a flame.

I have sometimes posted something that was just too nuanced, and have been taken seriously when I was only joking.

anaggie

in the great state of TX...anyone who assualts you (any sort of physical touch -- he did touch the OP's arm ), you can beat them up and claim self defense !!

breaking a wrist or arm is harder than most people think -- as you have to stabilize that arm and then break it. Most people are not going to wilingly let you hold their hand while you try to break it. But hyperextension is very easy and that person will feel much more pain in the long run !!

and this is how I know !!

Martial arts teaches you all sorts of small movements that can stop someone in their tracks !!

alison11

Just to put this in perspective, what if YOU were the one assaulting the long-legged man? Would you expect to be called accountable?

anaggie

yes...If I was assualting someone, I would expect to be held accountable.

But that is me. I know what a "physical" assault contains and I do not cross that fine line in the sand !!

FWFlyer

On one flight a few years ago a very tall gentleman behind me very politely asked if I could pull my seat forward because he was uncomfortable. I was happy to comply, given the nice way he asked the question. A short time later as the beverage cart came through, I was purchasing a beer and he spoke up and asked to pay for it! An offer I gratefully accepted.

So good deeds do occasionally get rewarded.

davetravels

Background info:

PIT airport - 20ish years ago. I own a limo company. I was driving at the time - don't much anymore. At the old TWA (west) terminal - to date myself! This is back when we met all pax at the gate.

Standing at the gate waiting for a customer - - pax coming off the plane. Two men, both in business suits walkiing down the ramp from the gate door. One says to the other one - - I told you not to put your seat back!! - POW! He PUNCHED the other one!! The other guy seemed more docile and didn't really know what to do! In seconds, they were rolling around on the floor going at it!! (The first guy seemed tipsy to me) Before you know it, the county police hauled them BOTH away to sort it out!!

My personal opinion of the OP is that you did the right thing - and so did the FA. If he disobeyed after a FA lecture, then I'd say to escalate it.

50/50

OP - well done. The aggressor was clearly out of line. I too would not have pressed charges unless he hurt me (ie, could still feel physical pain a couple mins past the incident).

As a 6'3" guy who is all legs, nothing irritates me more than those who recline in front of me on a 1 hr commuter flight and then sit forward (working on a laptop or reading a book, etc) for the duration of the flight!! I have asked the person in front nicely many times, with maybe a 2-in-5 success rate. (not saying this is the case in your example at all!)

At the same time, I have been blamed for blocking countless times, but I always have to calmly responded its beyond my control as when I sit straight up with hips back, my knees are less than 1" from the seat back as a matter of course. Mostly they "understand" and take the inch (half-recline).

The worse seat I have ever experienced is the 2nd row of coach on a Delta 757 (exit row). These are the worst seats ever devised for knee space.

Mostly, I just end up being uncomfortable. Suppose genetics is a b*tch.

DesertNomad

I would not have pressed charges. There are far more than enough useless lawsuits in America. Perhaps it has gotten even worse as I have not lived in the US since I left more than 7 years ago.

What is it that makes America so litigious?

Janus

$$$
...and more...
$$$

Surgee

I agree entirely. As much as I do not condone this a$$hole's actions, the OP should have kindly asked the man to allow you to recline, and when he refused, notified the FA. It's always foolish to play Sherlock Holmes and do your lavatory reconnaissance trip, and it probably came off as very aggressive when you pushed the seat back the minute he stood up to let the inside seat get out. Again, this doesn't in ANY WAY excuse his actions, but nipping it in the bud from the start could have prevented any escalation.

The refusal to let you recline falls into my broad definition of "suspicious activity" and I'm always one to report suspicious activity. A quick early word from the flight attendant and maybe this man would have seen the light early. And for all you know, he's been 2nd/3rd/4th guessing his actions ever since. Hopefully he's at home thinking "why was I such a d-bag to that nice gentleman on the airplane" -- lesson learned there. Actions inexcusable, he's a human being too.