Is Peter Greenberg responsible for the current Knee Defender mess?
 

Peter Greenberg wrote an article in June about the knee defender. A few weeks back, he Tweeted that article. Ever since then, we've been reading about knee defender in-flight problems.

Is Peter Greenberg responsible for the current flareup of issues?

Read this. http://petergreenberg.com/2014/06/06...e-coach-seats/

dh

From what I have read, most airlines have banned the use of the knee defender. From a segment on the local news, they said that sales spiked after the incident where the plane was diverted. I doubt Peter Greenberg's article really contributed to it.

I'd say the morons who use Knee Defender in violation of airline rules and the rights of other passengers are responsible for the current flareup of issues.

Is Peter Greenberg responsible for the current Knee Defender mess?
 

If most airlines ban it, then these people are wasting their money. The only person who's profiting from it is the guy who invented it. Of all these people who yell "no recline," I wonder how many of them have ever flown a 10+ hour flight across an ocean.

I wonder if the people who use this device also recline their own seat during a long flight. :rolleyes:

In other thread a guy wrote he observed only 10% pax recline their seats.

I'm pretty sure I'm not taking the same flights than this guy.

Yes, let's blame the people using Knee Defender and not blame the stupid crud that is the airline's ever greater quest to shove more and more seats closer and closer together so they can make those extra bucks.

You are more than welcome to not fly on any airline in any service class who's terms of carriage you find unacceptable. But, if you DO choose to fly on such an airline in coach, you are accepting their terms of carriage, and need to observe them, because if your beef is with the airline, you have no business taking it out on the passenger seated in front of you, who is entitled to use the facility to recline their seat during the trip with the ticket that they have purchased.

In light of the fact that this device has been around for years, I did find it odd that there was so much media coverage about this. I've been reading and hearing about it everywhere including in the local press in China.

Slow news cycle?

Probably ^

So you object to airlines making as much money as possible as long as customers accept their terms. What alternative do you think the airlines ought to pursue instead? Do you believe they should voluntarily pull seatsets out of the planes, make everyone slightly more comfortable, and forego profit when history shows this to be bad business (TWA Comfort Class, AA MRTC, etc.)?

Exactly. Get mad at the public for not boycotting tight seats with bad pitch, but you can't get mad at the airline for not going against its own self-interest.

Sometimes I think an airline run by FTers wouldn't last a week in the real business world.

When this thing first came out a few years ago, several of the comments here were from folks who saw value not in preventing recline altogether, but in preventing sudden, quick recline which could bruise knees or damage laptops. If that's why you're using it, it still serves that purpose. When the pax or FA complain, you just take it off and are ready for the recline.

Maybe seatback reclining mechanisms need a warning beeper, like when heavy machinery go into reverse. Combine that with a mechanism designed so that it reclines at a steady, deliberate pace no matter how hard you push on it. That way someone has a fair chance to adjust knees, laptops, etc.

A number of years ago, my son gave me a set of Knee Defenders (really great name!) because he knew I kept getting hit by the rude person in front of me (I have a leg injury). I, OTOH, even on 13+ hour flights - three to four times a year - do not recline because I do not want to affect the person behind me. I have chosen not to use the devices because I felt they were ALMOST as rude as the person reclining without warning. Maybe once out of a hundred times, I have had the passenger in front actually tell me they are getting ready to recline - this was appreciated. If people would just inform, there would be no problem, fewer injuries, and fewer broken laptops - and no need for Knee Defenders.

Since there is a forum for discussing other travel blogs, I will move this there.

cblaisd
Moderator, Travel News