Yet the issue is that the man in front reclined his seat during takeoff. This thread isn't about a man who reclined his seat at 35,000 feet. On that part, we agree more than we disagree. Yet at takeoff, that seat must remain upright. The FA can't possibly know unless the passenger affected notifies him.

Efrem, I think if you re-read my post, you'll discover you're not disagreeing with me. Or maybe I wasn't sufficiently clear. But I didn't raise any objection to the normal and polite use of the seat recline that you describe. My problem is with the person who insists on reclining the seat even when he or she knows that doing so is causing pain or significant discomfort to someone else, particularly when you consider the near imperceptibility of the comfort provided by the recline of a Y seat.

And yes, I suppose "wild animal" was a bit over the top, even in the gratuitous case I applied it to. Sorry about that.

The person in front has the right to recline the seat back. The person behind does not have to be extra careful not to touch it.

Both the person in front and the person on the side have the duty to let another person get out to use the rest room or be buffeted as the other person climbs over.

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

Don't do them??? for some of us (tall pax) there's no option unless we are to sit completely still for the duration of the flight, even then, our knees are against the seatback. I am not trying to be rude, I just have no choice but to "kick" just to shift my legs.

If I end up in Y, I do try to ensure I get bulkhead, exit or E+ ion UA. But I do agree that politeness/common decency is required in a cramped coach cabin.

No you were not rude but cheap, you should have flown up front with more leg room.

That just made my world a whole lot simpler.

People in Y = Cheap
People in J/F = Not Cheap

I didn't realise demographics was so simple

Putting your knees at the back of the seat is obnoxious? My knees can't help but be at the back of the seat in coach -- I'm 6'3". Where do you propose that I put them?

I'm sorry, I think you misunderstood me. What I meant was when you slide back in your seat and wedge your knees on the seat in front of of you. Not when you're just sitting proper and can't help been too tall for the seat.

Analise, what might have stood out for you and Aviatrix might be that the man reclined his seat during takeoff, and I agree with you that safety is a predominant issue.... in general. However, it is NOT the predominant issue of the *specific* poster who started this *specific* thread, and as the thread initiator, the definition of what is 'the' issue is up to Amarain, not to the respondents. It is unfair to commandeer a thread on the pretext that one is serving a higher moral cause, and in particular it is unfair of anyone to imply that others are indifferent to said moral cause simply because the latter are attempting to answer the question as it was asked, and to address 'the' issue....as it was defined by the OP.

As Efrem pointed out, the context of the original post makes it clear that the issue AS FAR AS THE OP IS CONCERNED is that of propriety. A compelling case can be made for the notion that safety trumps propriety as a matter of priority, but this thread is not titled "Was he acting unsafely?" but "Was I rude"? Furthermore, Amarain does not inquire about whether it is rude to worry about a man's violating safety; he or she did not kick the back of the seat as an expression of alarm over the man's indifference to safety. Rather, Amarain maintains to knock said seat was accidental and the product of spatial limitations. That the man was reclining illegally during takeoff in this particular instance was not the main injury as far as the OP was concerned, but rather the salt that was rubbed into it.

I am not being facetious, nor am I trying to be disagreeable. But, I have been flying for a few years and always wondered what the safety issue was that is involved with the seat not reclining during takeoff and landing. I have never been so bold as to ask a flight attendant -- as I would just assume that I would get a canned answer.

Clearly, some of the folks here seem to think that the pre-takeoff recline is of the most significant consequence from the OP. One poster said something about putting people's life in danger? I don't know that I have ever seen news reports of airplane passengers killed because their seats were not in the upright position.

Stevekoe

It was I, who wrote about putting other peoples life in danger. What I meant by that, and as far as I understand it, this is also the reason why the seats have to be in an upright position, was; when your seat is down it is harder for the people behind you to get out. Therefore, if there would be an emergency, the whole cabin dark and perhaps with panicing people, rasing their seats is probably not on anyone's mind. So the reclined seat could hinder people from getting out in an emergency situation.

Maybe this is because the FAs usually make sure the seats are up?

You want to be able to evacuate the plane as quickly as possible in the event of, for instance, an engine fire during runup. However, like most of the in-cabin safety precautions, they are extremely unlikely to make a difference in anyone's actual risk of surviving the flight.

QL

if you do want to recline your seat during takeoff, you could always try the new Virgin Suite:
http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb...efaq/index.jsp
I understand that they have a built in airbag with the seat belt.

It is quite possible that you were not rude to begin with. It's also quite possible that the other guy was rude. However, you admit to behavior that IS nasty.

This entire thread is caused by the main issue that was recently litigated by a Tall Club out in California which IS: Tall people have a feature (being tall) which is NOT changeable physically, similar to african-americans (who can't change the color of their skin) or other features. We are tall--we can't help it. Why should we be penalized by the airlines for that? Or incur the wrath of a fellow passenger?
She is tall, she can afford a coach ticket. She shouldn't be raped by first-class fares and punished for this feature.
What do you suggest she do? Have her knees surgically removed so she can be 3 inches shorter?