LTN Phobia

Neither am I too tall to fit in a seat with a recliner in front of me, and neither would I pass on my problem to them.

Even when there is specific instruction/request from cabin crew to put their seat back upright during meal time, I tolerate the person in front me reclining, mainly because I cannot be bothered wasting my time or energy arguing with someone who has no consideration towards others (it is a clear lack of consideration when someone reclines/remains reclined when there is crew request not to do so, in the absence of a good reason). Frankly, it's their loss as they will sooner or later suffer a disadvantage for being inconsiderate.

CitizenWorld

I suppose while I won't deliberately give grief to others if I can prevent it, I won't tolerate it from others either. Meal times meal seats upright, it's no big deal to have a chat to the FA when the trays come around.

KMC513

I've been debating this question with people recently and wanted to bring it to the FlyerTalk community.

Say someone reclines his/her seat, and the passenger sitting behind (who has now lost legroom) asks him/her not to recline. Whose space is that to claim? The person who wants to recline or the person who wants the legroom?

burbuja0512

I really hate this question because in a perfect world, no one would recline. However, until the airline stops making reclining seats, it's perfectly acceptable.

It's much more polite not to recline on short flights so that the person behind you can actually use a laptop, but I seriously doubt anyone has the right to say anything.

I have heard announcements when food is being served (int'l flights only) asking passengers to please refrain from reclining through the duration of food service, but that's about it.

onobond

Yes, this is the common rule. If you can't accept a recline from the seat in front of you, get a bulkhead or a C/F seat

State of Trance

My opinion is that whoever controls the recline button has the right to recline if they want (i.e. the passenger in front). Proper etiquette however should be that the reclining passenger does so in a slow and controlled manner rather than jamming the seat right into the knees of the passenger in back.

This is one of the reasons why I prefer fixed-shell seats in Y, where one sacrifices their own legroom in order to recline, making this a moot point. Unfortunately, it seems like the few airlines still using them are replacing them with traditional reclining seats.

Paul56

One can ask the person in front to not recline, but you can expect some
push-back from some people on that request.

The airline provides seating that reclines therefore it is the seat occupants
right to use the full function of that seat.

The debate over this will continue to rage until the airlines come up with
a better solution for passenger comfort.

will2288

Exactly. You have every right to use a feature of the seat you paid for.

Redhead

Welcome to FT. If you use the search function you can see that this topic is a "favourite" one to debate. Many strong opinions on both sides.

Yep, if the seat allows you to recline, then you are able to recline. The slow and smooth element is just, IMHO, basic politeness

emcampbe

Semantics, perhaps, but traditional economy seats that recline don't take away legroom of the folks behind, but really space directly in front of them usually around chest-level, as the seat reclines back from the top. Chest room, if you will - not sure if there's an official term for that. It definitely feels like less room if you are sitting behind someone reclining, but that can vary considerably by the way the recline is allowed.

Despite some headlines of planes on US carriers being diverted over recline arguments, IME, the U.S. carriers have seats that recline way less than Asian carriers. I've had people recline fully in front of me in Y on TG and SQ, and it's way more recline than in any Y cabin on any U.S. carrier I've been on.

I have no problem reclining myself, nor do I have a problem with someone else in front of me doing so, so long as it is done properly - don't abruptly jam the seat all the way down as quick as possible - simply make sure you do it slowly and smoothly. I realize it's not always that easy.

The shell seats that some carriers are installing I think are trying to avoid this debate - there is no actual "recline", but the seats slide forward instead. IMO, the seats are way less comfortable, when reclined or not - at least on the NH and CX seats I've sat in. Would rather have someone recline in front of me full on than sit in those seats again.

And yes, I do think that it is common courtesy to put your seat up during meal service - I always do that.

Tchiowa

Phrasing the question about "legroom" is misleading. The seats recline at the top, not the bottom.

The person sitting in the seat is entitled to recline to the design limit of the seat.

Doc Savage

Just get a pair of these, OP.

http://www.kneedefender.com/

State of Trance

And get kicked off your flight like this passenger

gobluetwo

see the master thread here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...etiquette.html

brendog

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