yknot

SHe didn't say the recliner caused it. He just ddin't move as they were treating him etc.

Boraxo

You've just given me a great idea. I will purchase 1000 of these devices and hand them out at the gates. Then the fun will begin. Eventually airlines will get the message and provide adequate legroom in coach.

Now if we could only find a device that would provide adequate seatwidth to accommodate the ever growing (no pun intended) obese clientele.

csb

Good points! I like to think that I am very considerate when I choose to recline. I never recline my seat in coach if the passenger behind me has brought food on and is eating. I always check that they don't have a laptop on the tray, and I recline the seat slowly and rarely all the way back. As I solely fly AA domestically, I'm sure that MRTC has contributed to the lack of confrontations!

Also, kneedefender users might want to be careful if you have a drink on that "locked" tray. Thinking about the Newtonian mechanics of such a hypothetical abruptly halted recline, I think that it should result in a lapful of hot coffee.

AllanJ

Looking at its website I found out that this thing is made of plastic. Which means it could suddenly split and then the seat where it is mounted could fly back with tremendous force, possibly breaking the seat hinge too.

The person in the aisle seat is supposed to let the person in the middle (or window) seat get out on request. This includes the person in the aisle seat in the next row forward if his seat back extends taht far back. The person in the aisle seat can then request to swap seats to avoid being disturbed again.

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braslvr

Me too. I have ALWAYS fully expected everyone to use the full recline of their seats. If the person in front of me does not, that's a bonus. As for me, usually my seat is fully reclined when I'm sleeping.

Until reading this thread, never in a million years would I have guessed anyone would think reclining an airplane seat would be rude.

I guess there must be a lot of rude folks out there because on most longer flights it seems to me that over 75% of seats are fully reclined at some point.

Mary2e

He didn't pass out from bruised knees. He passed out from eating bad food. The idiot in front of him, seeing the commotion going on didn't have the courtesy to lift his seat, even a little bit. Can you imagine a doctor trying to take your blood pressure or check your heart in the space left after someone is fully reclined?

Mary

JS

I'm 6' 3", and I've given up trying to keep people from reclining by sitting normally, where my knees are in the way.

I can't sit perfectly still like that for a long time, and one time this ***** in front of me just kept pushing and pushing and pushing! It was painful when she finally "broke through" and I yelled, "OW, God **** it!" Didn't phase her one bit. God **** foreigners!

I recognize that people have the "right" to recline. I also have the "right" to place my bare feet underneath their seat. It's a good thing the stench rises straight up. I can hardly stand it myself.

Four simple steps:

1) move carry-on back to the floor right in front of my seat
2) remove shoes
3) remove socks
4) place feet under the seat in front of me using socks as a cushion

It's a win-win situation -- I get to stretch out and relax my feet, and the person in front of me can recline.

I usually wear business casual on the plane, and for some reason, black socks make my feet smell (probably the material, not the color). White athletic socks don't, but that doesn't look right with black shoes and dark pants and a button-down shirt.

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

[This message has been edited by JS (edited 10-03-2003).]

csb

Should you be in an aisle seat with your kneedefender fully armed and deployed, I'm curious as to your thoughts on the rights (and safety) of the passengers in the middle and window seat. As I am sure that this gadget also ends up locking the tray into the down position, and blocking the exit of middle/window passengers in the event of an emergency, I have no doubt that the airlines and FAA are going to take a very dim view of its use.

So the real question becomes whether this Ron Popille wanna-be recoups his start-up costs from you guys before the FAA puts his arse out of business.

studentff

Inquiring minds want to know: what's the secret to doing this?

Another "retaliation" tactic, though it's delayed gratification, is to aim your air vent at the recliner's neck. Rumor has it this can give a nasty stiff neck over a long enough time.

Count me among those who think that willy-nilly reclining is rude. As I believe in "do unto others," I will only recline a tiny bit to sleep (just enough to unlock the seat), a bit more on an ocean-crossing or overnight if the person behind me is sleeping, or fully if the seat behind me is empty. And I always look behind me before I recline.

My worst two rude E- recliners were these. A woman on an ORD-FRA 777 who fully reclined at takeoff and didn't budge until ordered to by the FAs at landing. She was not sleeping either. Rude, loud, reeked of smoke, her stringy smoke-smelling hair was flailing in my lap, and wasn't very nice to the FAs either.

The second was on a ORD-LAX where this admittedly tall (probably about 6' 1"), extremely skinny girl (about 18) sat down in front of me, fully reclined, and then pounded on the seat four or five times to push it back a little more. She ignored the FAs request to put the seat up on landing and didn't even unrecline when she left the seat. To get out of my own seat and get my bag, I had to reach forward on to her armrest and unrecline it after she left. That was the first and only time I've intentionally kneed someone in the back, hard, and believe it, I did it to her more than once.

UALOneKPlus

I've got the solution!!

How about a reclining and a non-reclining section reserved on the plane?

fimo

To be frank, I have no thoughts on this. I don't fly US domestic (thank heavens!) & when I do fly economy, I get bulkhead seats (and not to mention I'm a 5'3" female....) so it's not a concern I would ever have. I merely posted that quote because there were way too many people claiming their rights to reclining or airspace yaddayaddayadda - which I find to be all rather silly. There are no rights to be staked.

In any case, that you even asked me such a question makes me wonder if you got the point of my quote. It goes both ways -- the crux is that one individual's right doesn't trump another's, but community rights trumps all.

[This message has been edited by fimo (edited 10-03-2003).]

Bluehen1

I had an unkindly recliner a few years ago on Northwest from CDG to DTW (the first and last time I flew NW overseas.. always took KLM after that). I had my laptop out after meal service to do some work and the gentleman in front of me slammed his seat back without even looking. When I asked him not to recline so far, I got an earful of the "I can recline if I want to" before I even had a chance to explain why I wanted him to inch up a bit. You can bet that every time I got up (and for some reason I needed to get up a lot more than usual) his seat back was pulled back. Oh, and even better, I also made sure that I got a bit of hair as well when I pushed.

That was my flight from hell. I was away from home on a one month business trip with three weeks in a Hungarian city where very very few people spoke English. Paris was my little treat and between this guy, no video in my portion of the cabin, and a seatmate that wanted me to wake them up about every hour just about drove me insane. I understood "air rage" at that point.

ChgoBob

Recliners belong in the cargo hold with the luggage and boxes. The temperature is more conducive to sleeping, no lights, and no smelly food or serving noises. Also, no announcements from the Captain that it's 72 degrees and raining, just when you nod out.


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Have a nice day flying United!
ChgoBob

1K wannabe

Is the laptop user who shakes the tray table and seatback with persistent key pounding and moving of the PC any less rude than the person in front who has reclined?

birdstrike

Methinks your complaint should not be with the recliners, but the airlines that ask that the recline function be installed. It -is- an option, you know.

So, here is a question: It seems like the people who are most rabid about the folks in front of them reclining are tall. It would also seem like those are the same people who would achieve some additional comfort by reclining themselves.

If you hate recliners, do you refrain from reclining?