Do you recline in Economy on your flight?
Feb 18, 2020, 8:43 am
#61
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: It's hot here
Posts: 4,285
Same. I don't find it very comfortable unless I'm trying to sleep. I only recline on international flights, really. In general, most people on those flights will also recline so we are all still equal in the amount of personal space we have.
When I used to work a lot on transcon flights and didn't know if an upgrade would happen, I would book the row right behind the exit so I couldn't be reclined into. I was going to be on my laptop the whole time so I planned for it when possible.
When I used to work a lot on transcon flights and didn't know if an upgrade would happen, I would book the row right behind the exit so I couldn't be reclined into. I was going to be on my laptop the whole time so I planned for it when possible.
Feb 18, 2020, 9:26 am
#62
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2006
Programs: AAdvantage PP
Posts: 13,913
As soon as the wheels leave the ground although I do it slowly. That's what the recline button is there for, to recline your seat.
Feb 19, 2020, 2:29 pm
#63
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: MDW/Chicago south suburbs
Programs: Delta Skymiles
Posts: 34
I’m really not sure what the whole debate is about. Seats recline, so I’m not sure when it became taboo o actually use the recline that comes with the seat.
Im not rude for reclining. I do try to be polite - for example, recline slowly. I do put my seat back up for meal service. But I do not have a problem with using the recline feature, and I’m. not going to ask the person behind me if it’s ok. I don’t even recline all the time. Those who don’t want a reclining seat should choose a carrier where they don’t exist - is it Spirit or Frontier (or maybe both)? Or select a seat in a row where the person in front can’t recline.
in one of the articles (maybe the Washington Post), there was someone complaining in the comments that they were 6 foot 4, and that the person in front of them shouldn’t be reclining, but instead by a seat in F. So now me, who Id call average size, is supposed to pay for F because someone behind me might be 6 foot 4? No, if you are taller, and aren’t comfortable in an E seat, you are welcome to buy E+ or F yourself, where you will be more comfortable. I’m nice, but don’t have the luxury to even buy F for my own want most of the time - so I’m not going to do it to do it for someone I don’t know.
Whenever this debate comes up, I also like to point out that the recline here in the US isn’t actually that much. I know from my experience on airlines like TG and SQ, the seats can recline much further back than on UA - I haven’t measured - but I’d guess it’s about twice as far. So when you are sitting on a 6 hour red eye from say, BOM-BKK, and have the pax in front of you fully reclined the entire flight (including during meal service), it’s actually much more intrusive than say, on an SFO-EWR red eye here. In a case like that, I’m not happy, to say the least, or particularly comfortable, even as a person that doesn’t have particularly big measurements either way. But it is what is - it’s a few hours of my life and I’ll get over it
Im not rude for reclining. I do try to be polite - for example, recline slowly. I do put my seat back up for meal service. But I do not have a problem with using the recline feature, and I’m. not going to ask the person behind me if it’s ok. I don’t even recline all the time. Those who don’t want a reclining seat should choose a carrier where they don’t exist - is it Spirit or Frontier (or maybe both)? Or select a seat in a row where the person in front can’t recline.
in one of the articles (maybe the Washington Post), there was someone complaining in the comments that they were 6 foot 4, and that the person in front of them shouldn’t be reclining, but instead by a seat in F. So now me, who Id call average size, is supposed to pay for F because someone behind me might be 6 foot 4? No, if you are taller, and aren’t comfortable in an E seat, you are welcome to buy E+ or F yourself, where you will be more comfortable. I’m nice, but don’t have the luxury to even buy F for my own want most of the time - so I’m not going to do it to do it for someone I don’t know.
Whenever this debate comes up, I also like to point out that the recline here in the US isn’t actually that much. I know from my experience on airlines like TG and SQ, the seats can recline much further back than on UA - I haven’t measured - but I’d guess it’s about twice as far. So when you are sitting on a 6 hour red eye from say, BOM-BKK, and have the pax in front of you fully reclined the entire flight (including during meal service), it’s actually much more intrusive than say, on an SFO-EWR red eye here. In a case like that, I’m not happy, to say the least, or particularly comfortable, even as a person that doesn’t have particularly big measurements either way. But it is what is - it’s a few hours of my life and I’ll get over it
Getting back specifically to reclining, is it truly a matter of airline seating being incompatible with the physique of at least some, or is it due to a failure to manage expectations? I have to disclose I'm not exactly the tallest person (I'm around 5'10"). If the complaint is reclining is doing to the person behind the equivalent of shoving 10 pounds into a 5 pound sack, that's one thing. It's another thing entirely if the person seated behind is expecting as much seating space as in their living room. There is something to be said for "thinking small" as the situation warrants.
I tend to recline only on night flights, when everyone else is also trying to sleep. I'm OK with others reclining in front of me. I admit that it increases the cramped feeling in what is already a confined space. If existing in a reduced space for a few hours is what I need to do to afford to fly, that in my book is a great tradeoff.
Feb 21, 2020, 6:55 pm
#65
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 167
1. Not on flights <4 hours
2. Not during takeoff, landing, or meal times
3. I always tell the person (I don't ask permission, I inform them)
If you're flying AKL-SYD you don't need to effing recline your seat.
2. Not during takeoff, landing, or meal times
3. I always tell the person (I don't ask permission, I inform them)
If you're flying AKL-SYD you don't need to effing recline your seat.
Feb 21, 2020, 7:42 pm
#67
Join Date: May 2019
Location: RTW
Programs: Delta PM, AA PlatPro
Posts: 406
Never recline unless it’s in J where it doesn’t impact anyone else.
I think it’s impolite to encroach on others.
I think it’s impolite to encroach on others.
Feb 21, 2020, 7:57 pm
#68
formerly known as Tad's Broiled Steaks
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,412
1) earn more dough
2) where possible, fly airlines with seats that don't recline (e.g. Frontier, Ryanair)
3) hope that if someone does recline, that it stays that way (e.g. it's a tease to put it back during meal service)
4) find IFE that ignores the imminent seat recline
5) would be nice if carriers had sections where seats don't recline... Economy +-?
Feb 22, 2020, 5:27 am
#69
Suspended
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Ontario, Canada
Programs: Aeroplan, IHG, Enterprise, Avios, Nexus
Posts: 8,355
Reclining your seat is not unsafe or dangerous. Nor is the seat recline usage limited by law.
Feb 22, 2020, 10:35 am
#70
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: London & Sonoma CA
Programs: UA 1K, MM *G for life, BAEC Gold
Posts: 10,224
I only recline on longhaul flights during sleep periods and very occasionally on short haul when the person in front has reclined into me. My pet hate is the jerk who slams the seat back.
Feb 23, 2020, 1:35 pm
#71
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: LAX
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium, AA Lifetime Gold, UA Premier Silver
Posts: 188
I always recline as soon as we're wheels up. The idea of asking the person behind me is laughable.
Feb 23, 2020, 4:26 pm
#72
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: En Route
Programs: Many
Posts: 6,798
I'm 6'4'', do I LIKE when the person in front of me reclines? Absolutely not. Is it their right to do so? Damn right. I will recline my seat whenever I feel like it. If the recline feature wasn't meant to be used, it wouldn't be part of the seat design. I've been on plenty of intra-euro flights where the seats are not designed to recline, if that's the way airlines feel they can install those seats. As long as the seats are designed to recline, no one should have any concerns about doing so. This is more about cry baby people getting angry that everyone else on the plane isn't respecting their preferences and worrying primarily about their comfort. You would have never seen this sort of infantile crap years ago.
Feb 23, 2020, 4:27 pm
#73
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Location: En Route
Programs: Many
Posts: 6,798
Feb 24, 2020, 2:00 am
#74
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Dallas, TX
Programs: AA EXP, Hilton Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 169
If it is a short duration flight (1 - 1.5 hours), I can get away without reclining. However, if it is a longer flight then I will recline and I dont think I will ask permission but will check if the person behind me is tall and might need the extra room for his/her knees.
The airlines have had their say and crowded planes with extra seats and taken away leg room. Advocating for taking away the recline feature is a bad idea. I rather we push back and ask airlines to remove the one row and make room for all seats to have the minimum recline space and all be allowed to recline.
In the case of the AA flight, while I do not condone the action taken by the guy in the video, to be fair he was sitting in the last row and he did not have any recline space. All passengers paying the same fare - why do some get the extra perks while others dont?
Feb 24, 2020, 7:58 am
#75
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 14
Just travel frontier...those seats do not recline, lol. Ask me how I know!