Doc Savage

...and they are too scared to do it anyway when they hear you growling.

Annalisa12

[QUOTE=burbuja0512;24680323]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.

QUOTE]

In a perfect world, we'd all be in fully flat seats and paying economy prices to do so!!!

brendog

Deleted

dvs7310

I only take issue to people putting their stuff under their own seat instead of the seat in front of them. This only seems to happen in Asia though in most cases I've encountered it. They don't do announcements here to put only one item overhead and one under the seat in front of you, so people in North America are trained and people in other parts of the world don't consider that tall people actually use that space for their legs.

florin

I wish airline etiquette were somehow presented to pax, so that we all have a set of guidelines that would manage our expectations. If they can put the terrible airline magazines in the seat pockets, along with the safety cards, how about some simple considerations?

Recline: opinions vary, but since recline is available on seats and it's the person reclining who controls that, I believe it's within his/her right to use it. It's polite to recline gently (just in case).

Space under the seat: this belongs to the pax seating behind; it's where the legs and/or hand luggage go. If you tend to sit with your legs under your chair, you should yield to the pax behind.

Using a seat for balance: when moving in and out of the row (e.g. going to/from the window seat), it's polite/nice to lean on your own row of seats as opposed to using the seats in front (i.e. pulling on the seat backs) for balance. That way you don't bother anyone.

Etc.

ft101

The space in front of you is a feature of your seat as well, so you equally have a right to use it.

I tend to agree with your point, but your argument doesn't hold water.

Efrem

However, the space in front of you ends where the seat in front of you begins - and that location is up to the person sitting in it. You do not have the right to say where it should be. The fact that it is in a particular position when the seat is upright for takeoff is irrelevant. It doesn't have to stay there for the duration of the flight.

Dodge DeBoulet

The only physical mechanism available to control the space in front of you is your very own recline button. If space is lost when the person in front of you reclines, press it. Like magic, your space has returned!

TomA

I had a guy say that once. I reclined while he was in the toilet, yet magically he still fit in the seat when he returned.

Tchiowa

If I were sitting in front of you I'd recline. You can recline yourself and you can put your feet under the seat in front of you which moves your knees out of the way.

AldoNOLA

NB: I'm not asking about one should or should not recline. I would rather settle Mideast conflicts than take on that debate in the FT universe. I am looking for practical advice on how to gently persuade one person to change their habit by providing them enough information.

My typically sympathetic and empathetic wife immediately and fully relines her seat and keeps it there as long as possible. She is 5'3 so it is not a matter of her needing legroom, she just has always done it. I am 6'3 but haven't been able to convince her how big a deal it can be when someone in front of me reclines. On a few occasions someone has objected politely but she politely insists and carries on.

I have searched for threads or articles on how to craft calm, reasonable arguments. Any advice?

will2288

Have her fly Spirit. Spirit for her will be closer to what tall guys face in normal Y seats.

At 6'4'', I find reclining doesn't give me more legroom but helps my back feel better and I am more comfortable overall. I think your wife should recline if it makes her more comfortable.

nerd

It's really not clear what argument you're trying to make, though.

AKCuisine

The answer? "It depends ... "

If you're in front of me and gently recline - when it isn't meal time - then I'll probably not mind too much.

But if you slam your seat back into my face as we turn on to the runway for take off then I'm probably going to forcibly shove your seat back into the upright position. And think about rapping the top of your pointy little head, too

Oops, sorry. That little tirade was directed at the bloke who was in front of me on the ANC-SEA flight this morning ....

Often1

There is no argument to make to your wife. If it makes her more comfortable and she's not doing it at a time when she is prohibited from doing it, it's tough for the guy behind her.

It's off course a courtesy to either warn the guy behind or do it slowly, but it's hardly a requirement.

If you are a COS (width or length) and don't fit your seat space, that's on you.