I agree with robb about this. But more to the point, I have never
understood why the airlines don't just designate the left half of the plane
as "recline ok" and the right half as "no recline" (or do it by rows as long
as the "no recline" is in front). Why shouldn't everyone be able to be
satisfied in this way?

I'm a non-recliner, and I don't like being reclined upon; any reasonable
recliner doesn't mind other people reclining too. Shouldn't we be able
to group thusly? The airlines could even do it with the current [unused]
smoking/no-smoking sections and they wouldn't have to reprogram any
software.

My pet peeve in this context would be a recliner who is hoping to be a
'free rider' on a non-recliner in front of him/her. I.e. someone who wants
the extra space of nobody taking the leg/head-space in front, but who
wants also to lean back.

--LG

Are you sure it was a true story? ;)

http://www.snopes.com/travel/airline/obnoxious.asp

(Read a bit down the page for the relevant story...)

--LG

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm far from flexible enough to be able to look behind and scope out the extent to which the space behind the seat is occupied. I think the courtesy obligation is discharged by reclining slowly and immediately stopping if resistance is felt.

I had no reason to doubt it. It must have been quite a few years back when my colleague was still a Senator and in-flight upgrades because of double-seat assignments seemed more frequent then they are now. Not sure if it could happen these days.

HTB.

I'm all for compromising given that an airplane is a quasi-public space and pretty confining, regardless of class of travel. For a daytime flight of a few hours, if I am asked to recline only partially, I may be willing to accommodate such a request. However,

- If one's legs are so long / person is so big such that I am unable to recline at all regardless of my intent, then that is not a compromise -- the person behind me is dictating my behavior. That is rude.
- On a red-eye flight, there is a general expectation that one will be able to recline to the maximum extent. For many people, it is not just "comfort" but whether they can get some sleep or not. I would not be very interested in compromising in this situation.

Alan,

Please clear this up for me. Your first bullet appears to say that the person behind you having legs too long or being so big is rude behavior. That's not what you meant, is it? How would they control the length of their legs or their size, within reason?

I personally don't know anyone who can control the length of their legs. If someone's legs are so long that the seat occupant directly in-front of them cannot recline, then they should either find a new seat or upgrade. If a First or Business class seat does not suit them, they should drive, or look into fractional jet ownership.

Why should the onus be placed on the victim?

Why should someone not be able to recline, a feature of the seat they were sold, because of someone elses "issue?"

It is rude in the sense of presuming -- beforehand -- that the large person's need is more important in occupying the space at issue. The large person needs the space because, well, he/she is large. That is an admittedly compelling need. But the small (or large) person in the seat in front on a red eye flight may have a compelling need to sleep to have some rest prior to an important business meeting or interview in the morning.

I guess where I was going is:
- sometimes compromise can be achieved and that's great when it can be
- there are some circumstances in which a satisfactory compromise cannot be achieved and in those situations, it is the large person who needs to take the action (or be compelled to take action by the airline), whether it is switching seats, purchasing a second coach seat, obtaining a seat in a higher class of service, taking a later flight, or using an alternate means of travel.

Even worse than leaving the lav in bad shape is when somebody sits in there for 15 to 20 minutes doing whatever they are doing in there. Do these people think they are at home???

Just reading through all these pet peeves and agreeing with many, I have to say that the vast majority come down to one thing:

Lack of consideration for your fellow human being.

Many of these pet peeves would go away or be minimized if we all just thought, "What effect will my action(s) have on passenger(s) around me?" Of course things still happen that are out of our control, but even in these cases a polite, "Excuse me," goes a long, long way.

When did we lose the ability to empathize?

I'd have a lot more patience with the child who keeps throwing their toys at me and waking me up if the mother apologized and looked like she was trying to stop the child or with the guy yanking on my headrest to help himself up if he said, "Sorry about that, I have arthritis/gout/a peg leg, y'argh matey."

As it is, these things happen without so much as an apologetic nod.

I guess all we can really do as frequent travelers is realize that most of the people that drive us crazy have no idea they're doing so and try to set an example for them to follow. I think I just found my 2011 resolution!

-Y pax who use the F lavs.

-Pax who use other pax seat backs to get up or sit down.

-People who dress like slobs when flying, especially in F.

-People who put their feet up on bulkheads for the whole cabin to see.

-People who walk around the cabin in socks then sit in the seat with their feet in the chair. Usually women are guilty of this.

-People who let children run rampant on planes. Turbulence usually solves this problem.

This is my biggest pet peeve. I hate sitting there relaxing with my head back only to have my head snapped forward by someone grabbing and letting go of my seat.

Pax (usually teenagers or young twentysomethings) who have the volume on their iPod cranked up so high that you can hear it through their earphones while sitting next to them.

The nosy jerk who won't stop peering at your laptop screen over your shoulder. Sure, they make screens to keep those types from seeing anything, but you know what'd be even nicer? Minding your own business. I once had a seatmate not only spent the entire flight blatantly staring at my laptop, but actually had the audacity to suggest a line change for the script I was working on. I was dumbstruck, said thanks, and just shut the whole thing down.

People who place their carry-ons under their own seat instead of under the seat in front of them. This includes the guy who placed his drink under his seat and I accidentally kicked it over.

Crowding the baggage carousel. In the new Anchorage terminal, they have a line on the floor a couple of feet back with signs telling people to stand behind the line until they see their bags. It seemed to work very well.

Airlines not enforcing their boarding procedure. In Helsinki, I was waiting to board an A330 to JFK, and they announced that they would be boarding by row numbers. At that point, just about everyone lined up. I stayed seated. When they called my row number, which was in the back of the plane, I went up to the front of the line, and the agent said I had to go to the back of the queue. I told him that he had just called my row number. He told me to sit in the seat right next to him, and made me wait until the entire queue of 200+ passengers had boarded.

People who repeatedly cough or sneeze without covering their mouth.