Consolidated thread: Seat recline etiquette.
Jul 26, 2012, 2:26 pm
#46
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Turn your knees to the side. Can be done. And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, if you're THAT big (and no, most people are not), you need to sit in the bulkhead.
Jul 26, 2012, 5:40 pm
#47
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Which is not allowed if you have kids and most people say it's not courteous to sit in first with kids either. Personally I think airlines should disable recline in coach.
Jul 26, 2012, 5:55 pm
#48
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Jan 8, 2013, 11:04 pm
#49
Join Date: Jan 2011
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Reclining seat rules
Can someone point me to a thread or tell me what the rules are for reclining my seat?
I am traveling my first transpan flight in economy, and I planning to recline my seat all the way back, for most of the flight.
On one flight I took - I can't remember the route now, but I started to recline, and a man tapped my seat and rudely said "Excuse me", and points to his knees as if I was an idiot, and the whole world should know that he was tall.
So, is there a thread on this, and if not, what's the rule? If someone is tall, can I recline? If they try to stop me, what will be the FA or purser's decision?
Thx.
I am traveling my first transpan flight in economy, and I planning to recline my seat all the way back, for most of the flight.
On one flight I took - I can't remember the route now, but I started to recline, and a man tapped my seat and rudely said "Excuse me", and points to his knees as if I was an idiot, and the whole world should know that he was tall.
So, is there a thread on this, and if not, what's the rule? If someone is tall, can I recline? If they try to stop me, what will be the FA or purser's decision?
Thx.
Jan 8, 2013, 11:13 pm
#50
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It's generally considered gauche to cause physical pain and damage to your fellow travellers simply because you want to be comfy. Doing so deliberately is outrightly sociopathic, IMO. If it happens that you've got someone tall behind you and you paid for a Y seat on a low pitch airline then, IMO, that's simply one of the risks of the situation: you might not get to enjoy all the "comforts" you paid for. After all, everyone in Y is in it together.
Jan 8, 2013, 11:22 pm
#51
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The rules are somewhat carrier dependent. Many FAs will tell you to un-recline for meal service, even if you are not eating. Your seat must be upright for takeoff and landing as well as on the ground for most carriers. It would not be wise to get into a fight with another passenger over the issue, although many FAs will side with the person who seems more polite and reasonable. YMMV.
Jan 8, 2013, 11:23 pm
#52
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Reclining seat rules
Ridiculous. A tall person should take his situation into account before purchasing a ticket for a seat in which HE KNOWS IN ADVANCE will inconvenience someone else. This is true on any flight, but especially a TPAC in which HE KNOWS people will need to sleep but selfishly chose to save himself a few bucks instead.
Jan 8, 2013, 11:24 pm
#53
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Ridiculous. A tall person should take his situation into account before purchasing a ticket for a seat in which HE KNOWS IN ADVANCE will inconvenience someone else. This is true on any flight, but especially a TPAC in which HE KNOWS people will need to sleep but selfishly chose to save himself a few bucks instead.
Not everyone can afford business class, let alone first.
Nonetheless, reclining is necessary to sleep in Y.
Jan 8, 2013, 11:32 pm
#54
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If the airline wanted the passenger behind you to have any say in your seat recline, they would have put the button on his armrest.
Most FAs request seats forward for mealtime on a long haul flight. This is a reasonable request as it really is quite difficult to eat otherwise. Beyond that, recline away.
If the person behind you is exceptionally tall, they can always buy a seat with more legroom. It really is no different than a wide passenger not fitting in a narrow seat. Products like E+ and Economy Comfort have made legroom more widely available at much lower prices than Business Class.
Most FAs request seats forward for mealtime on a long haul flight. This is a reasonable request as it really is quite difficult to eat otherwise. Beyond that, recline away.
If the person behind you is exceptionally tall, they can always buy a seat with more legroom. It really is no different than a wide passenger not fitting in a narrow seat. Products like E+ and Economy Comfort have made legroom more widely available at much lower prices than Business Class.
Jan 8, 2013, 11:33 pm
#55
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Generally speaking you should have your seat forward seat during meal service and during take off and landing. Otherwise it's ok to recline at other times as long as you don't slam your seat back.
IMO if you have long legs and are seated in Y then you might not get to enjoy all the comforts you paid for if the passenger in front avails of the recline function that they are perfectly entitled to. After all...
It's generally considered gauche to cause physical pain and damage to your fellow travellers simply because you want to be comfy. Doing so deliberately is outrightly sociopathic, IMO. If it happens that you've got someone tall behind you and you paid for a Y seat on a low pitch airline then, IMO, that's simply one of the risks of the situation: you might not get to enjoy all the "comforts" you paid for. After all, everyone in Y is in it together.
Jan 8, 2013, 11:35 pm
#56
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~
Ridiculous. A tall person should take his situation into account before purchasing a ticket for a seat in which HE KNOWS IN ADVANCE will inconvenience someone else. This is true on any flight, but especially a TPAC in which HE KNOWS people will need to sleep but selfishly chose to save himself a few bucks instead.
It's all a balancing act. To suggest that the person being caused physical pain and potential damage simply so that another person can be comfortable is somehow to blame for her/his situation due to his lack of willingness to spend money to overcome genetics and airline pitch calculations is ridiculous.
Rights bring obligations. They don't exist in isolation of each other. "Not being douche to your fellow passengers" is not, IMO, an unreasonable obligation to tie to the "right to recline."
Jan 8, 2013, 11:36 pm
#57
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The tall person is SOL. I'm tall. My comfort on long flights is my responsibility, not my fellow passengers. Hence why I fly no less than Y+. That said, consideration goes both ways.
Jan 8, 2013, 11:36 pm
#58
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Ridiculous. A tall person should take his situation into account before purchasing a ticket for a seat in which HE KNOWS IN ADVANCE will inconvenience someone else. This is true on any flight, but especially a TPAC in which HE KNOWS people will need to sleep but selfishly chose to save himself a few bucks instead.
Not everyone can afford business class, let alone first.
Jan 8, 2013, 11:38 pm
#59
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It does, and unfortunately on a long (I saw him in another thread), long flight such as the one that the OP is embarking on, everyone is going to want to recline.
Jan 8, 2013, 11:41 pm
#60
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It works both ways, as I told a nice old biddy last week when I was stuck in cattle class on Southwest for 3 hours and she thought she should recline her seat during taxi, take off, and the entire flight: she can recline all she wants, but I can't change the physical length of my legs so if she wants to go back that far then she's going to have my knees in her back for the whole time, and I will be standing up quite often (& did) to relieve the pain she's causing. She could have come back only half the distance and it wouldn't have been a problem for anyone.