Seat space has been a major problem with all airlines for the last 2-3 decades (de-regulation?). I would love to see 10% of the coach seats removed and would gladly pay a 10% increase to ticket prices.

A few things to add...

First, the solution to the reclining problem is certainly not solved by moving to first class. While there is more seat pitch there, most offer a significant increase in recline that offsets the seat pitch gain. On many US flights (domestic) this is often the case.

Second, rather than knee the seat in front of you, you should get an 18-month old (mine for instance) who believes it a challenge when the person in front of her leans the seat back. It's really simple...lean back, kick...no lean back, no reach and thus no kick.

About a month ago, the only person within 6 rows of us who was reclining was in front of my daughter (he was in the bulkhead row). Despite the constant kicking, he insisted on leaning the seat back...I hope that he feels he "won" the battle.

The truth IMHO is that we need to be a bit more accomodating of our situations and a lot less entitled to our likes and dislikes. These conflicts, as many of you know, is not reserved for cattle class as: the entitled, the loud talker, the snorer, the seat grabber, the bathroom occupier, the flight attendant abuser, the laptop banger, the shade opener during the movie guy, and the drinker (not mutually exclusive of the loud talker) are in every class of the plane.

There is a simple need to migrate to the middle when we travel with so many people together.

Oh, I forgot to mention that as someone who has travelled in a private jet (less than 5 times) while it is always better than commercial...there is still preferred seating.

What a load of old cobblers! This is one the worst examples of a fact I have ever seen. Why would they make the seats with a recline function if it was never to be used? Why would we be asked to please raise our seat-backs if they should not have been down in the first place?

I do consider the person behind me however - I generally will wait until I see several others putting their seats back, and then I will slowly put mine back to some degree. If I am on a domestic flight that degree will likely be a lot lower than if I am on an international flight. This I do only because I am a decent person though, and not because I feel that I could not use the built-in function of the seat to its full extent if I so wished.

I also have my limits however. If I am on a 14 hour flight to Sydney or Johannesburg etc, you can be bloody sure that I will not be sitting ram-rod straight for the duration of the flight. Any passenger behind me (and their laptops or games or kids) can go straight to hell for all I care at that stage.

After going back over everything and reading all of my posts, I don't believe that I, or anyone for that matter, ever threatened to kick you, or anyone else, in the back.

If you look at my original post, I mentioned pushing on the seat back while getting up, putting things in and out of the seat pocket, playing with the tray table, and coughing. I don't believe that I ever mentioned kicking; that's something that either you or someone else misquoted me on.

Now, I am a reasonable person, for the most part. If I'm working on my laptop and somebody needs to recline, then I'm happy to try and work something out with them-- just so long as I can still fly in (relative) comfort and be able to use my laptop. If that means switching seats, as one other poster mentioned, then that's fine. If that means coming to a compromise where the person reclines a little and I sit with one leg in the aisle and my laptop sitting on it, like I did on my PHX-PHL leg the other weekend, then that's fine.

HigherFlyer, after looking at all the posts between us, I really think we started out on the wrong foot here. I think you started thinking I said something I didn't and taking a position on it, and then I responded in kind. I have no problem with people reclining in front of me, just so long as it's not causing me discomfort, and so long as I can still do the things I want/need to do.

As I've been saying in other posts all along, one person's right to recline does not/should not/(and in my case) will not trump another's right to a pain-free voyage. Perhaps seats are capable of reclining all the way, but that still doesn't mean that people should recline all the way and not respect others' private space, needs, and wants.

I'm sure I'm not the only one on this board that feels that way. From your posts, it appears the one thing that we both agree upon is that each person has a right to some personal space while on the plane. As long as those who want to recline and those who do not want to recline keep this in mind, I'm sure a compromise can always be worked out. It's only when people forget this that trouble starts to brew.

I was waiting for a connecting flight in singapore to frankfurt
There was this old german guy demanding to the superviser that he be upgraded because he was from a "Better" country.

They ended putting him in the window seat in a 3 configuration (2 people between him and the isle)

problem was that this was 3 rows away from me

Have you tried offering just one person 10% of the ticket price to get 10% more room (compared with the seat in front reclined) just for yourself?

If someone finds they can't recline (for any reason), what's wrong with asking for miles or a voucher? If someone finds they can't use their tray table (for any reason), what's wrong with asking for miles or a voucher? I did not say your request would or would not be granted.

The fact that the recline exists gives the person seated there the right to recline. It is up to the airline, not the person behind, to say no to that and occasionally the airline does say no to accommodate a baby seat behind or someone who is disabled behind.

I suppose a case can be made for someone behind who must occupy the space and cannot permit the recline but the desire or need to use the space does not trump the recline.

With everyone simply sitting back motionless, there are very few instances (I think knees and baby seats are the only instances) when anyone else's recline would cause discomfort and if your situation is not one of those instances, you have no case against the recliner.

It is the responsibility of any passenger in the way, whether beside or in front, to yield to someone wishing to go to the rest room.

Travel tips:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/travel.htm

If you pull the tray table towards you, will the laptop sit open on the tray table without falling?

Keep in mind that the Knee Defender (tm) defends knees only, not laptops or drinks.

What good is seatguru.com if you use that to help select seats that do recline and then you find you cannot?

I have had that happen on BA as well, but then again BA inter-European flights are so tight between seats, even with your seat upright you willl have the newspaper from the person behind you rubbing against the back of your head. And this is in BC -