JS. ***WARNING***

Mrs Taupo, Mini Taupo and I will be travelling YVR-LAX-AKL, we are likely to recline. Consider this your warning of an impending recline.

If you don't like recliners in front of you, get a bulkhead seat or buy First Class.

My 9 year-old nephew is generally considerate and empathetic; he's been trained to behave in public and gets along well with people of any age. That said, if he gets on a plane where there's a button to make the seat go back, you can bet he'll try to use it. It's natural for kids to fiddle around, explore their environment & try to take full advantage of every opportunity. This is not rudeness, it's curiosity, excitement, and a simple lack of awareness. Most adults who fly are not aware of how the seemingly innocent act of reclining a seat might affect someone else. A child certainly shouldn't be expected to have this degree of enlightenment. Out of consideration for others I would restrict my nephew from reclining unless he complained of being uncomfortable fully upright, but I would not blame any child for doing what would seem to be most natural in the situation--there's a button, push it. The seat goes back, move it. You meet resistance, push harder. If you want the kid to behave any differently, someone will have to instruct him/her.

For many many years my husband and I traveled with 4 young children. We believed that opening up the world to them was a great lesson. Indeed, it was. We never taught them reclining or non-reclining lessons. We just let them be. They reclined when they wanted to lie down and sat up when they wanted to watch the movie. My guess is that if someone with big knees attempted to sabotage their recline that person would have had 2 very protective parents to deal with. Quite frankly, I find this discussion a bit absurd.

Well put.

The airline would not have made the seats reclineable, if people shouldn't recline them.

Problem:

A. I love to recline.

B. I don't like to be reclined upon.

Solution:

Always make sure to book seat 1A. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...um/biggrin.gif

Works for me.

Taupo - JS is only concerned if mini-you reclines, not you and Mrs. you.

I wonder what the "age of reclining" is. Is it 16, like driving or 18 like voting. Perhaps 21 like drinking? http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

Why do people in F recline? So they can lie flat! Has nothing to do with knee room.

I'm quite small, and find that if I sit in the seat when it is straight, I slide down the seat as they are generally too big for me. If I recline a bit, then I "stay" in place much better, and get better back support. Maybe they do too? Just as seats weren't designed for really tall people, they aren't that well designed for short people either.

I have found that if I don't recline I feel like there is a metal rod up my spine. It also causes me some neck pain. The seats tend to push my head forward just enough to be bothersome.

I can't use bulkhead seats because I must have my laptop underneath the seat in front of me. The one time I got stuck with bulkhead because that's all that was left, I hid my laptop on the floor. Had I been caught, I would have switched seats or taken the next flight.

It's not because I need to have easy access to my laptop on the plane (I never use it in flight). Corporate policy requires me to keep my laptop under my personal control at all times.

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"Yippie-kay-yay, Mr. Falcon!" -- John McClane, Die Hard II As Seen on TV

Sabotage? If I'm sitting behind you (and the seat next to me is occupied), you CANNOT recline. It is physically impossible.

As a "very protective parent", exactly what would you do if I sat behind your child? Amputate my legs below the knee?

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"Yippie-kay-yay, Mr. Falcon!" -- John McClane, Die Hard II As Seen on TV

My car comes with a horn. Does this make it OK for me to "sit on the horn" at all times while driving?

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"Yippie-kay-yay, Mr. Falcon!" -- John McClane, Die Hard II As Seen on TV

I am equally "concerned" (more like "pained") if anyone in front of me reclines, regardless of age.

I just wanted to know if I was alone in my theorization that it is unnecessary for kids to recline. Apparently I am.

That's what I really wanted to know. At this point I remain unconvinced that it is necessary for kids to recline in order to have a comfortable flight, but I am reading all these posts with an open mind.

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"Yippie-kay-yay, Mr. Falcon!" -- John McClane, Die Hard II As Seen on TV

My theory on all this is really simple:

Airlines wouldn't give people a recline function if they didn't allow them to recline. Indeed; as a safety issue, some rows in front of exit rows are mechanically altered to prevent reclining; in that circumstance the airline is explicit is denying the right to recline.

The 'please do not recline for t/o and landing' speeches are implicitly saying that the airline is perfectly happy to let anyone recline between those times, regardless of who is behind them.

As far as I am concerned: If you are unable to fit into a Y seat without adversely affecting your neighbours (ie. Overweight enough not fit in your seats & thus monopolise someone else's seatwidth, or tall enough / antisoical enough to prevent the person in front reclining), you should buy C or F tickets. If you can not afford to fly in the premium cabins that often, you should cut down your travel.

IMHO, Bottom Line: Other people buy their tickets in the expectation of certain space (Including recline - I wouldn't buy a ticket in Y if the fare rules said: "No recline allowed"); and your physical size / shape is not a valid excuse to deny them this without their explicit consent, if there are facilities (albeit more expensive) available where you wouldn't cause this loss of alloted space to other travellers (e.g. C or F).

In economics speak: If you cause a negative externality (in this case loss of recline to others); you should be liable for it. Just as if you run over someone's prize roses - you should pay.

Regards,
Alex

PS> I remember someone once posted that when they were medically evacuated from Austalasia to the UK, their insurer bought them a block of six seats and had the airline fold them down, to make the ultimate "bed in the sky"; I wonder if buying the seat in front of you might be an option, if the airline was willing to fold it down for a fee?

[This message has been edited by alexwuk (edited 10-21-2003).]

I don't think my boss would go for that.

You do bring up a good point on compensation -- should the person in front of me desire compensation for being unable to recline, they can take it up with the airline, and I'll be their star witness. I am certainly not going to pay, because it is NOT my fault that I'm tall, and it is NOT my fault that the seats are too close together.

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"Yippie-kay-yay, Mr. Falcon!" -- John McClane, Die Hard II As Seen on TV