prncess674

Totally agree! The airline gave my seat a recline feature and I plan on using it for the entire duration of the flight. If they didn't want me to recline during x and y time then they would program it as such. I work long hours and my company paid for that seat. If I choose to sleep in a fully reclined position during the whole flight you really can't say anything. Many times on early AM flights I recline my seat at the first possible moment to take full advantage of every sleeping minute. No, I don't slam it back, but no I am not asking you for permission.

Why is it because you are tall that I should NOT recline? Why does my height (5'3" female") factor into the equation. I paid for the WHOLE SEAT and plan to take full advantage of the WHOLE SEAT! Just like I am not going to raise the arm rest to accomodate an overweight person I am not going to not recline to accomodate a tall person.

Airlines give the choice of recline and I take full advantage of such perk. One low cost carrier in Europe disable the recline feature and that is there right, but if it is given to me as an option, I take full advantage.

generaltao

I don't think anyone is advocating a ban on reclining. But a reason why perhaps you should consider checking who is behind you before deciding to recline is quite simple. For those of us with long legs, it causes physical pain and sometimes injury when the person in front of us reclines.

I've suffered some pretty seriously bruised knees from someone reclining right into my knee cap.

On flights where meals are served, there's also a major problem for taller people. My arms are long, and that means my forearms are long too. That means that when the seat ahead of me is reclined, it is physically impossible for me to use a knife and fork to eat something out of the tray. I MUST pick up whatever container the food is in with one hand and scoop stuff up with a fork in the other.

Imagine, for a second, spending hours trapped in such a position. It's not a matter of "rights". It's a matter of simple courtesy. Of generous consideration for others. Not unlike the consideration you may have been shown by people who may have seen you struggle to get something into an overhead bin and volunteered themselves to help you.

Different statures have different challenges, and the travel experience is better for everyone when we show each other a little consideration, don't you think?

Will I help a shorter person or someone with difficulty raising luggage over their heads to get their bags in and out of bins? Yes. Will I ask a taller person behind me if I can lean back a little? Yes, sometimes with a warning that if the person in front of me leans, I won't have much choice. Will I give up a more desirable seat to that a parent can sit with his/her kids? Yes. I have kids too, and I am very grateful when someone extends me the same courtesy.

This has nothing to do with what the airlines sell you or whatnot. It's about how we as people treat each other. If someone asks me whether they can lean back, I always say OK, even though I'd rather they didn't. But I say thank you so much for asking, and can you do it gently please.

Non-NonRev

I am perfectly comfortable not reclining. Therefore, as a courtesy to the person in back of me, I only recline if the person in front of me does so first.

On those occasions, I do make a quick glance back before reclining, and then recline slowly.

PlatinumScum

So the general consensus seems to be that one shouldn't recline during meal service. I just flew LIM-MIA, and they served a "late supper" right after our 11:50 pm departure. I estimate that around 50% of the J PAX took advantage of it, and the rest went immediately into recline/sleep mode. (This was an A300, so reclining definitely does affect the space of the person behind you.)

Discuss ...

CopperSteve

I guess your flights are limited to the short-hop variety.

dd992emo

Well, yeah, I would prefer an adults-only, non-reclining, no overhead bins, no self-important business blowhards yelling into their cell phones, PSA-looking FAs, free cocktail service airline. Probably won't be seeing it any time soon, though...

prncess674

So you as a tall person have more rights to my space? So you are saying it is okay for you as a tall person to look back and see me a short woman and cock your seat back in full recline mode, but that I can't do the same to you?

j_the_p

Actually that's not what he's saying at all. He's talking about common courtesy towards fellow human beings. The courtesy to not recline during meals. The courtesy to ask the person behind you and to recline slowly instead of selfishly jamming your seat back with giddy abandon. Nobody is trying to steal your personal space.

If you look at his last paragraph, he's pretty clear with what he's suggesting:

s_flyer

i believe most new planes have designed their seats such that reclining reduces your own legroom, rather than the row behind you. this should alleviate any etiquette issues related to reclining. see page 2 here.

http://downloads.cathaypacific.com/c.../Olympus_y.pdf

nkedel

Asking the person behind you goes beyond ordinary courtesy; as long as they're not actively trying to sleep (I assume nobody is going to wake them up to ask) there's no harm in it, but it would seem a bit odd to me should anyone ever ask.

elCheapoDeluxe

Don't forget: The seat that doesn't recline unless you give lots of force, then it reclines all at once. I'm sure this would be the favorite of the OP.



I usually get the seat that reclines slowly over the course of 30 seconds even if you don't press the button.

FA: "Sir. Please place your seatback in the upright position for takeoff."

Me: "Ok"

One minute later.

FA: "Sir, you really need to place your seatback in the upright position"

Me: "I already did"

FA: "Sir, you need to do it now"

Me: "Here watch." (Raises seat. Sits down. Seat reclines)

FA: "Sir, you need to press the button and pull it forward"

And so on...

emanon256

Its about time. THANK GOD!!
I say this as a tall person whos knees get crushed, even in some Domestic F.

thegeneral

"I don't think anyone is advocating a ban on reclining. But a reason why perhaps you should consider checking who is behind you before deciding to recline is quite simple. For those of us with long legs, it causes physical pain and sometimes injury when the person in front of us reclines.

I've suffered some pretty seriously bruised knees from someone reclining right into my knee cap. "

If your ability to walk was truly in danger, then why are you still flying? I mean, complaining about one bruise is fine, but the others...you should have known better. You can always fly first on a carrier with enough legroom so this doesn't happen, walk, saill, take the bus, drive or take the train. That you choose to stick your knees in a position where they might be hurt is not anyone's issue but yours. Time to be a grown up and take some personal responsibility.

nkedel

Well, it might also be the airline's issue. If you're truly too tall for a reclining seat in front of you, and are not already an elite FF, you MIGHT be able to use that as an ADA reason to preselect otherwise-elites-only bulkhead seats.

Or not. That's between the tall person and the airline.

The fact that while as a moderately fat person I fit much less comfortably in a middle seat than a window or aisle where I can lean away from my neighbor does not entitle me to force my neighbor not to sit up straight. Similarly, my neighbors and my mutual comfort being increased by an armrest that does not go up does not automatically entitely me to one. One of the reasons I have worked so hard to keep PLT (and have earned lifetime GLD) is to make sure I can as far as possible keep to situations for seating where both I'm comfortable and I don't inconvenience anyone else.

And sometimes, it just doesn't work out. The single narrowest seat in terms of insufficient butt-room was in F, on an AA Fokker 100 (although I've never sat in a 2-side bulkhead on an 1-2 regional - the aisle side of that might be narrower, but the one-side bulkhead is definitely wider.) In those cases, you just suck it up, and contort yourself as best you can for comfort.

generaltao

Hmm.. no.

I was pretty clear that I was not approaching this issue from the POV of your 'rights' and my 'rights'. Technically, I have the right to walk up to you and call you a nasty name. There are other factors than my rights which would prevent me from doing so. Chief among them, civility, politeness and respect.

I don't think it's 'OK' or not 'OK' to lean my seat. I *always* ask. But the stature of the person behind me is a factor, yes. Let me ask you this:

Ever gotten into the back seat of a car that is being driven by a tall person? Ever had a tall person get into that back seat with you? Ever offered the tall person to let them have the front passenger seat, or offered to sit behind the driver and let them have the other side? If so, THANK YOU for your kindness. We taller people know that you would have preferred the extra legroom as well and are sincerely grateful for your sacrifice and consideration.

No obligations, no 'rights'. Just simple gratitude and simple courtesy. I can't help being tall any more than you can help being short. And I will gladly assist you when through no fault of your own, your stature puts you at a disadvantage in this world that is designed for 5'10", 175 lbs, right-handed adult males.