Although this topic was quoted in an AP news story, I am unable to find it here.

The airlines sell us a seat with a minimal amount of room. When the boor in the seat in front of us takes a snooze, we lose a good third of our precious space. The airlines ignore the safety hazard of this practice which restricts any movement in and out of the seats, especially for the passenger stuck in a window seat.

I say if Mr. boor wants to recline he should pay first class or business fare and go consort with his fellows. We in Cattle Class don't appreciate having to pry our meager pretzel meal out from under an intruding seat back.

On a flight from Chicago to Frankfurt I had to put up with this for more than eight hours. Solitary confinement cells have nothing on a hapless passenger trapped by a space thief. You can bet that he had my knees in the small of his back for most of the trip. The flight "attendants" won't do a thing about it.

I can proudly say that in all my flights I have never imposed on a fellow passenger's privacy in this fashion. The FAA needs to ban reclining seats as a safety hazard.

I believe they should split the plane down the middle, one side reclines and one side doesn't. This way I can be in the side that doesn't along with all the other people who are willing to give up reclining to know the person in front of us won't be able to either.

So...

If a passenger is 'so rude' as to use the capability of the seat as provided by the airline, this passenger is a "boor" and inconsiderate?!?

Perhaps those who are so easily offended by their fellow passenger should be the ones to buy a first class ticket. No loss of personal space there...

When someone relines in the seat in front of me, I generally try to make a pain of myself until they get the message...

(1) I find that I need to get up and move around every 10-15 minutes. This, of course, means that I have to lean HEAVILY on the seat in front of me when getting up and sitting back down.

(2) I usually find that I am more interested in putting things in and out of the seat pocket in front of me. This usually involves jamming something bulky in there.

(3) If there's enough room available, I'll also begin to feel the need to put my tray table up and down a few times.

(4) Sometimes I begin coughing toward the seat while leaning forward, but only with the most inconsiderate of recliners.

That usually sends a message to those that feel they have a right to take the space in front of my face.

For more on this topic, do a search on "recline" in this forum. There is also a 6 paqe thread here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...ML/011618.html
regarding the "Knee Defender" that covers this topic extensively.

You are correct. I can't even begin to imagine why anyone would recline their seat. It boggles the mind that no one has thought to tell the seat manufacturers that they added that option in error.

[This message has been edited by Mrukk (edited Dec 02, 2003).]

Why don't YOU purchase a seat in First or Business if you are concerned about space ? It's called cattle class for a reason....

I am disabled. I need to recline or suffer severe pain. If you try ANY of the above cr&p behind MY seat I will have you arrested for assault. If you don't beleive me, just try it. By the way, I DO have a right to the space where my seat reclines, unless the flight attendant has a specific reason why not. If you think you should own the space in front of your seat, perhapse you should get your own plane.

Flying BA, I thought it was nice that the FA's insisted that those who had reclined their seats had to pull them back up during meal service. Otherwise, it's near to impossible to eat.

Outside of that, though, every person should be free to recline their seat. Just because one is in Y doesn't mean you shouldn't have the ability to make the flight as comfortable as possible.

While I synpathise with your situation, I reserve the right to have you arrested for assault if you come crashing back into my knees and leave me bruised.

Go ahead and try. I have a right to recline unless the FA says otherwise. If you want legroom you will have to pay for first class. That's the way the airlines want it. They want you to be so uncomfortable that you are willing to pay three times the coach price for legroom. If you don't like it, complain to the airlines, not the passenger in front of you.

I generally prefer to not recline.

If the person in front of me reclines, I immediately recline. If the person in back of me then comments, I reply that it's domino effect and to speak to the person in front of me.

For me, a big part of the problem is that the seat back in front intrudes into my space without notice. The suddenness is so invasive my immediate reaction is strong anger and retaliation strategies instead of a calmer compromise/mediation approach.

What bothers me even more is woman with long hair whose hair is over the seat back in my space and men who cross their arms behind their head and rest a hand on the seat back.

Space/territory becomes even more important when one is herded through impersonal boarding processes.

Sylvia, flying international Saturday in coach

I would welcome the opportunity to have the police laugh in your face. I seriously doubt they would do anything. The only time that anything like an arrest would happen is if the FA on the aircraft ordered me to stop and I ignored it. And if that happened, I would simply tell her that I too had a medical condition that required getting up and down frequently, which would probably result in getting me reseated.

If you decided to persist in your "complaint" at that point, I would welcome a police presence at the gate, as the problem would be solved quickly and in my favor. And then the fun would begin, as I would happily initiate as many civil actions against you as possible. Payback can be hallacious; I suggest you remember that when trying to assert your reclining "rights".

The fact still remains that the space behind and in front of your seat is shared space, and the person sitting behind you has the right to some of it too. Just because you have a disability does not mean that you have the right to get your way 100% of the time.

I happen to be rather large person (tall and overweight)-- that can be considered a disability too. I think that the airlines have an obligation to accommodate me too. They should always provide me with a first class seat at no additional charge over a deeply discounted economy ticket, so as to accommodate my disability.

If you think you have an absolute right to stick your hair within inches of my face, then perhaps you should get your own plane too. When you buy a plane ticket and get on an aircraft, you have a right to get from point A to point B. That's all the airlines have sold you, and that's all you're entitled to. There is no specific guarantee on your ticket that you have the right to recline your seat; you can only do it because the person sitting behind you is nice enough to let you do so.

I think this is one area where we're just going to have to agree to disagree, as further discussion with me from your perspective is useless. I have just as much of a right to fly in comfort as you do.

If this were true the airlines would not advertise seat pitch. If recline is not part of the service, why do the airlines compensate passengers when seats do not recline properly? I received 1000 miles in my NW account when my seat would not recline. The airline called it "Loss of service compensation". That means reclineing seats ARE part of the coach class service I should expect, unless I am seated in a row which specifically does not recline.

So because you are fat you beleive you have the right to kick a disabled person in the back? What a fine citizen you are.