Live, Interesting Seat Recline dispute, what would you do?
Nov 7, 2011, 8:20 pm
#61
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Some day soon...
Original poster will fly somewhere seated in row 4 and need to get some work done. When the person in front reclines, I'd love to hear OP's proposed solution...remember, HE is now in row 4 and NEEDS to work...What will HE do to resolve the rights of row 3???
Nov 7, 2011, 8:35 pm
#62
Original Poster
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I have sat in row four on the 321 and worked with my laptop while row three was in full recline without complaint
Nov 8, 2011, 7:50 am
#63
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Similarly i want to know if the 4D lady is in row 3, Would she be so considerate about row 4.
What i am surprised is why can't she politely request first then do the air venting. In that case i would support her, not otherwise.
Nov 8, 2011, 10:02 am
#64
Join Date: Jan 2011
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I am currently flying CLT – LAX on a US Airways A321. I am in seat 3D and once I began working on my laptop I reclined my seat. Within a few minutes of this, the passenger in 4D turned her air vent on my head, presumably to protest me having my seat reclined.
I summoned the flight attendant and asked him to ask the passenger behind me to take her air vent off my head. He asked her and she complied. About fifteen minutes later, the passenger in 4D got my attention and said, “if you continue to shove your head into my lap, I will turn my air vent back on you.” I replied, “what are you talking about?” She replied, “your seat is reclined too far, do you want to switch?” I responded, “no, this is my chosen seat”. I know that row 4 on the A321 doesn’t recline as far.
I then summoned the flight attendant again and noted to him what she had said to me and her threatening tone. She then spoke to him. He came to me and said, “She has taken her air vent off you, wouldn’t you be so kind as to not recline your seat? No other passengers are reclined.” I responded, “while I am working I want to have my seat reclined, I don’t see why this is a problem. I am 6’ 4” and fly enough to be a Dividend Miles Platinum and this has never been an issue in the past.” He responded, “well in that case I can’t stop her from putting her air vent on your head.”. I replied, “if she continues to do that, I will get out my camera phone and take her picture and post it on flyertalk.com and note that this is a passenger who puts her air vent on other passengers.” He paused for a moment and said, “if you take a picture of her, I will have the police meet this flight in Los Angeles.”
At this point, I continue to work (save for writing this post), and she continues to have her air vent on my head. I will wait to take her picture until I am finished with my work. I believe it is totally within my right to take a picture of other people in public (but I could be wrong, I am not an attorney). Also, note that as far as I can tell, she does not have any sort of medical condition or injury. I would be more inclined to suck it up if she were injured. Neither she nor the flight attendant noted she had any condition.
Have you had similar frustrating discourse with other passengers? So my question for you is, what would you do?
I summoned the flight attendant and asked him to ask the passenger behind me to take her air vent off my head. He asked her and she complied. About fifteen minutes later, the passenger in 4D got my attention and said, “if you continue to shove your head into my lap, I will turn my air vent back on you.” I replied, “what are you talking about?” She replied, “your seat is reclined too far, do you want to switch?” I responded, “no, this is my chosen seat”. I know that row 4 on the A321 doesn’t recline as far.
I then summoned the flight attendant again and noted to him what she had said to me and her threatening tone. She then spoke to him. He came to me and said, “She has taken her air vent off you, wouldn’t you be so kind as to not recline your seat? No other passengers are reclined.” I responded, “while I am working I want to have my seat reclined, I don’t see why this is a problem. I am 6’ 4” and fly enough to be a Dividend Miles Platinum and this has never been an issue in the past.” He responded, “well in that case I can’t stop her from putting her air vent on your head.”. I replied, “if she continues to do that, I will get out my camera phone and take her picture and post it on flyertalk.com and note that this is a passenger who puts her air vent on other passengers.” He paused for a moment and said, “if you take a picture of her, I will have the police meet this flight in Los Angeles.”
At this point, I continue to work (save for writing this post), and she continues to have her air vent on my head. I will wait to take her picture until I am finished with my work. I believe it is totally within my right to take a picture of other people in public (but I could be wrong, I am not an attorney). Also, note that as far as I can tell, she does not have any sort of medical condition or injury. I would be more inclined to suck it up if she were injured. Neither she nor the flight attendant noted she had any condition.
Have you had similar frustrating discourse with other passengers? So my question for you is, what would you do?
1. It is ALWAYS your right to recline your seat. It's your seat...whatever control you have over it, you have a right to use, just as the person behind you had a right to recline their seat.
2. Why on earth would you call the FA? You're doing something that annoyed her, she's doing something that annoyed you, so now you're going to get the FA involved to tell her to stop her annoying thing (even if your request is justified) while you refuse to stop your annoying thing (even if it's within your right to keep doing it)? You have to know that was just going to make the situation worse.
3. You say "I responded, “while I am working I want to have my seat reclined, I don’t see why this is a problem. I am 6’ 4” and fly enough to be a Dividend Miles Platinum and this has never been an issue in the past.” He responded, “well in that case I can’t stop her from putting her air vent on your head.”. I replied, “if she continues to do that, I will get out my camera phone and take her picture and post it on flyertalk.com and note that this is a passenger who puts her air vent on other passengers.”
What, are you three years old? First of all, what does your status have to do with anything? I think you're trying to say you fly a lot and have never had a problem, but you just sound like a jerk when you say that. And second, telling the FA you're going to take her picture and put it on Flyertalk? Really? Actually, I'm going to amend my earlier statement and ask, what, are you two years old? How childish can you behave?
Keep your seat reclined, don't act like a todler, and totally ignore the woman behind you.
Nov 8, 2011, 10:06 am
#65
Join Date: Jan 2011
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Also, who are these people who complain when someone reclines a seat into your lap? Have you never been on an airplane before? You don't control the person or the seat in front of you, so the possibility that someone is going to recline their seat is a fact of life, and out of your control. Get over it.
Nov 8, 2011, 10:47 am
#66
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Also, who are these people who complain when someone reclines a seat into your lap? Have you never been on an airplane before? You don't control the person or the seat in front of you, so the possibility that someone is going to recline their seat is a fact of life, and out of your control. Get over it.
Some of the newer seat designs have a sort of clamshell design which allows significant amounts of recline without much bother to the passenger behind.
Nov 8, 2011, 11:59 am
#67
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I don't like it when the person in front of me reclines but I don't try to stop or block them from doing it. It's just a sad fact of airline travel that sometimes you get a recliner in front of you. I do try to sit in row 1, or the second of the exit rows in planes where the first exit row does not recline, and when I'm in row 1, the lack of easy overhead storage for both of my bags is the price I pay for not having someone recline at me. That said, there is a bit of reclining etiquette which is sometimes lost on the recliner. Move your seat back gently, and allow me a half-second to rearrange objects that might get in the way. Don't smash into my laptop or my coke. If you turn around and let me know you're getting ready to recline or ask if I mind that you do, you'll never get anything other than a cheerful "make yourself comfortable" out of me. But if you act like the plane is a leg press machine from the gym and try to f-o-r-c-e that one last quarter inch out of the chair, and make a big show of it, I don't always have the same bright attitue. There definitely have been times when I've felt like kicking the recliner squarely in the back, not so much for the recline, but for the way in which it was done.
Nov 8, 2011, 12:15 pm
#68
Original Poster
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correct... I didn't intend it to "flaunt" status (though in hindsight I see how it could have been perceived that way)
I continue to believe that the threat of "taking her picture" was a key driver if not THE key driver from having her remove the air vent from blowing full volume on my head.
I continue to believe that the threat of "taking her picture" was a key driver if not THE key driver from having her remove the air vent from blowing full volume on my head.
Nov 8, 2011, 2:50 pm
#69
Join Date: May 2006
Location: MLB
Posts: 445
This is so ridiculous, I'm actually in a bit of shock that anyone is arguing the Row 4 pax had a right to aim her vent onto Row 3. If she didn't want the air on her, the logical thing to do is turn it off, not aim it at someone else; it was clearly meant to be malicious. I'm surprised the FA actually took her side here. If USAirways via its FA employees is intolerant of seat reclining, then it shouldn't have seats on its planes that recline....
Nov 8, 2011, 7:50 pm
#71
Formerly known as MLW20
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I think it is your right to recline your seat. If it wasn't meant to go back it wouldn't have that option. However, the air nozzle is a hilarious way to annoy someone out of reclining...
Nov 8, 2011, 8:51 pm
#72
Join Date: Jan 2009
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Saw Lucky's blog and came to see the 2 threads on US today.
At least this one is still going strong.
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemil...e+at+a+Time%29
The other thread-
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/us-ai...ld-you-do.html
At least this one is still going strong.
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemil...e+at+a+Time%29
The other thread-
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/us-ai...ld-you-do.html
Nov 8, 2011, 9:31 pm
#73
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: DCA
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"No one likes a tattle-tale." It was true when you were 7, and it's still true today. There is simply NO reason that two grown adults cannot resolve a dispute over something as minor as seat position without having to engage a third-party mediator. Engaging a third party sends a message that you are not interested in resolving the situation directly with the other passenger. Good manners and an honest attempt to find some common ground will go a lot further. People work these things out amongst themselves EVERY SINGLE DAY without having to involve the flight attendant.
In my opinion, the OP behaved exactly right.
1) He has a right to recline his chair. Everyone does. This is especially true in first class (on a 321 at that!) where there is plenty of room for a chair to recline and not be in the space of the person behind. I really have no idea how his reclining could be so offensive to someone sitting behind him (especially if it is true that it was not fully reclined) that she would need to RETALIATE!
2) The person sitting behind him was **extremely** rude, and purposefully so. There is little use in speaking reasonably to someone like that, and yet the OP did anyway. He offered to change his seat with hers. That would have resolved the issue in its entirety. Yet she refused. Is there any good reason not to accept moving to a seat one row more forward if it would resolve the issue?
3) Picking a fight with a fellow passenger is a terrible idea. The absolute best way to resolve a dispute with another passenger is to bring the dispute to the attention of the flight attendants. IN fact, it might be only suitable way to resolve a dispute with a person that has chosen to be rude. The instant that the OP tried to resolve the dispute and did not have success, he should have, and correctly, tried to get the flight attendant to solve the problem for him. (Think what would have happened if he had told the lady "ma'am, do not point the vent at other passengers. He has a right to recline, and if you continue to do so, the police will meet you at the terminal.")
So here's my question to you: what kind of response would you expect the lady in 4D to give had the OP said "excuse me ma'am, can you not point your air vent at me?"
Last edited by dml105; Nov 8, 2011 at 9:53 pm
Nov 8, 2011, 10:05 pm
#74
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However, as noted in the OP's quote below, she offered to switch and he refused...
Nov 8, 2011, 10:44 pm
#75
Join Date: Sep 2010
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I still solidly side with the OP. It is his right to recline his seat. It is not her right to aim her vents at him. And disputes should be resolved by the staff, not the passengers.