Tray table and reclining seat issues in Y [Merged threads]
 

Hello All,

Just came back from running the half marathon in Kona this past weekend. Ran into a bit of a snag with the gf on the flight back. We were seated in Econ Plus in 16A/B (I was in B). Anyway, I was trying to sleep, so I had the seat tray down and was leaning forward on my sweatshirt, using the tray and/or the back of the seat in front of me to lean my head against. Anyway, the guy in front of me chose to recline his seat back on me and on several instances, I had to re-adjust myself to get comfortable until I reached the point that I just got so upset I simply snapped the tray back into the upright position.

My gf immediately snapped at me and demanded I give the older gentleman in front of me an apology for seemingly jamming my head into the back of the person in front of me through the seat. I told her I was trying to sleep and that the guy should not have been reclining his seat into my head then.

After giving the gentleman in front of me an apology, and I don't really think he heard me, I got up and headed to the back of the Econ cabin to chat with the flight attendants back there.

I asked the flight attendant about it and she said that she frowns on people reclining their seats all the way for reasons of banging people in the knees and or really making life uncomfortable in general behind them. But she said that she was not in a position to tell people not do recline their seats like that in Econ/Econ Plus. Her recommendation was that the person seated behind the person doing the reclining should probably just politely ask the person in front of them to not recline quite as much. And I agree that I probably should have done that rather than just continue to just get comfortable and then whack the seat tray back upright in frustration.

Am I wrong to be upset? I know that when I'm on business trips on either United or CO I never do the recline thing as I don't want to be subjecting people behind me to the same thing I went through.

Have a great 4th this week!

Yes, you are wrong. While everyone appreciates it when the person in front of them does not recline, you should not expect them to always leave their seat in the upright position, and you certainly don't have the "right" to demand them to leave their seat up.

If you go in with the expectation that the seat in front of you will always be reclined, then you'll be pleasantly surprised those times when it's not.

I do not always recline my seat, but sometimes I do and will continue to do so as long as UA provides E seats that recline.

One of the joys of flying.

Don't seats recline for a reason? I'm a 100% recliner - only thing making E seats in general more tolerable.

Exactly, If the airlines didn't want people to recline, they wouldn't have recline seats.

Also, has anyone heard the latest about the 'knee defender' - legit or not?

The knee defender has been around for awhile. It is prohibited on United.

i was in the gentleman's shoes a few years ago on my way to SYD. a child was in the seat behind me in Y with a brand new portable dvd player to pass time on the trip. i wanted to sleep, so i reclined, which did not allow the child an optimal angle to view his dvd. his mother angrily demanded that i not recline my seat (she even asked the FA to order me not to recline).

basically, tough luck if you do not want the person in front of you to recline. such rules, requests, or knee defenses are wholly self-interested. as i said to the mother above, 'would you keep your seat unreclined for a 14 hour flight if i were behind you?' of course not was her reply. exactly i said as i kept my seat reclined and went back to sleep.

Is it April 1 already?

Glen

I always recline when flying, too. It's more comfortable when I'm trying to sleep.

Huh? Are you questioning the existence of the knee defender or questioning if it is prohibited by United? It most certainly does exist... Google it.

I've read postings here from FA's (been awhile) stating that it is also prohibited. Obviously they don't make announcements about it, and in many cases its usage may not even be discovered if the person whose seat is not reclining doesn't say anything... if my E seat didn't recline I would certainly investigate that possibility and have the FA tell the person behind me to remove it!

I choose not to recline because I am more comfortable in the non-reclined position. However, I do not begrudge the person in front of me reclining as that is a function of their seat and they are entitled to use it as they see fit. However, if they get up to leave their seat without returning it to the upright position, I politely ask them to do so while they are gone.

I'm surprised at all the people saying the OP is so wrong. There is nothing wrong with *politely* asking the person not to recline so much. Of course, the choice to recline or not remains with the seat owner.

To the OP, if you had your head down when the guy reclined, you were under no obligation to apologize to the guy for momentarily poking his back with your head!



Generally I find some seat recliners to be touchy-angry people. I recline sometimes and don't other times. Notice how quickly, every time the issue arises, 100% recliners are quick to say, and I paraphrase "I always recline and it's my right, dammit, leave me alone about it!!!"

The funniest is on the planes where the seats in front of the exit row don't recline. About a year ago I was in the exit row and a woman in front of me wanted to recline. I watched her grip the arm rests and push backwards, over the course of several minutes she started using more force until she was flopping around like a fish out of water. She gave me several looks as if I was blocking her recline and even called the flight attendant and, in a hushed discussion, insinuated I was the problem!

Every time the knee-defender comes up its good clean fun:p

I think my favorite thing I read regarding it was when someone suggested users of this product also invest in a "face-defender":D

I agree. I took a flight a month ago I had the reclining exit row window seat. Apparently, the woman in front of me specifically asked for a reclining seat, and wanted exit row too, and was giving the first roll of exit seats (window seat does not recline). She actually had the gall to have the FA ask people to move :rolleyes: . I never got asked - I guess my expression of mixed disgust and amusement said it all :p

Yes you are wrong. You are not supposed to sleep with your head jammed against the seat in front of you. And once the plane has taken off the seat is supposed to be leaned back from the "crash landing" position.

If you wanted to sleep, you should have leaned your seat back all the way.

I tend not to recline either as I feel more comfortable in an upright position ; in fact if it were possible, I might opt for the jump seats, they have an nice upright position and allow a lot more freedom for moving. I usually don't manage to sleep on a plane anyway.

Anybody else who likes to use his seat like a prayer stool? Sitting on my knees for a minute or so makes for a nice change of position.

Unfortunately I get somewhat claustrophobic if I don't have sufficient space in front of me, so tend to walk around quite a bit if that happens (i almost always manage an aisle seat ; don't mind getting up, to the contrary).

With insufficient space in front of me I need to grab the seat in front of me to get out of my seat. Distance between seats make this necessary if the passenger in front reclines, so I guess he won't have any objections. Seats were designed this way after all.