To recline or not to recline... that is the question

[Jobu]

So which is it? Travelling in economy, say 3+ hours, person behind you, do you recline? Seems like there is a real stigma surrounding recliners!



JOBU

 

[Mal]

Nope there is no stigma except in the following situations:

1). Pax infront does not decline during meal service. Some of the smarter FA's will actually tell the pax to decline at this point.

2) The pax behind wants to use a laptop. If their company expects them to use a laptop then they should be flying in business class..... Why blame the pax infront for the airline's need to save money and play sardines?

I'm never comfy with my seat fully back. I tend to just recline it a few inches.

 

[JohnK]

I will only ever recline if the person in front of me forces me into it. Wish this feature was totally taken off all cattle class sections. Business and first class is fine as there is plenty of room.

I hate it when people recline when they are not forced into it. Show some consideration for fellow passengers is my motto. Just two very recent examples. Some people.... oh...

SIN-BKK on Finnair Dec 26, lucky only 2 hour flight, 2 ladies (term used very loosely) and 2 children seated in bulkhead row with me in the row behind. As soon as the seatbelt sign went off I could see that lady wanted to recline seat. It took her over 10 minutes to get seat reclined as I had my knee on her seat with as much force as possible. She couldn't work out problem and almost gave up but I got tired of the game and let her recline. She kept the seat reclined throughout the flight and virtually had to sit upright, with no back support, for meal service. Why would you recline when seated in bulkhead row is beyond me?

SIN-BNE on QF Jan 4, yesterday, again lady (can think of other names) in front of me with 3 children next to her but lucky no one seated next to me. The person in front of her did not recline seat for the entire duration of the flight yet this lady reclined her seat fully throughout the flight. She also reclined fully the seats of her children while they were sleeping. These people have no consideration for anyone around them. Selfish. I moved to the next seat and managed to move seat forward with my knees to give me a little more room. There was 2 people behind me and I could see that they were awake for the whole flight, watching movies and playing games and I did not want to spoil it for them.

 

[Mal]

There are always products like "Knee Defender" http://www.kneedefender.com/ to assist if you really want to block the infront pax from being able to recline.

Some of the products available allow you to give a rating to how much you want to block the pax infront...

 

[oz_mark]

I will only ever recline if the person in front of me forces me into it. Wish this feature was totally taken off all cattle class sections. Business and first class is fine as there is plenty of room.

I hate it when people recline when they are not forced into it. Show some consideration for fellow passengers is my motto. Just two very recent examples. Some people.... oh...

I tend not to recline, unless an overnight flight where it is a _little_ easier to sleep with the seat reclined. I don't think they should remove the recline altogether, but they should not let seats recline as far as they do now.

 

[one9]

I will only ever recline if the person in front of me forces me into it. Wish this feature was totally taken off all cattle class sections. Business and first class is fine as there is plenty of room.

I hate it when people recline when they are not forced into it. Show some consideration for fellow passengers is my motto. Just two very recent examples. Some people.... oh...

SIN-BKK on Finnair Dec 26, lucky only 2 hour flight, 2 ladies (term used very loosely) and 2 children seated in bulkhead row with me in the row behind. As soon as the seatbelt sign went off I could see that lady wanted to recline seat. It took her over 10 minutes to get seat reclined as I had my knee on her seat with as much force as possible. She couldn't work out problem and almost gave up but I got tired of the game and let her recline. She kept the seat reclined throughout the flight and virtually had to sit upright, with no back support, for meal service. Why would you recline when seated in bulkhead row is beyond me?

SIN-BNE on QF Jan 4, yesterday, again lady (can think of other names) in front of me with 3 children next to her but lucky no one seated next to me. The person in front of her did not recline seat for the entire duration of the flight yet this lady reclined her seat fully throughout the flight. She also reclined fully the seats of her children while they were sleeping. These people have no consideration for anyone around them. Selfish. I moved to the next seat and managed to move seat forward with my knees to give me a little more room. There was 2 people behind me and I could see that they were awake for the whole flight, watching movies and playing games and I did not want to spoil it for them.

I find your thinking arrogant and selfish. when someone flys in economy, they are entitled to recline their seat if they wish. i believe it is courtesy to put your seat upright during meals.

If you purchase an economy ticket, you fully understand that there is a very small amount of space. You understand that if the passenger in front of you reclines their seat, there is even less space. if this is something you are not willing to accept, then you should not fly economy class. Simple.

Elderly people, fat people, people using laptops etc. should either accept the lack of space or they should fly business class. It really is simple.

Personally, if i have to fly economy class, I usualy only recline a few inches as I find it uncomfortable when fully reclined on the angle in economy.

 

[JohnK]

I find your thinking arrogant and selfish. when someone flys in economy, they are entitled to recline their seat if they wish. i believe it is courtesy to put your seat upright during meals.

You are entitled to your opinion as is everyone else.

Although I find it rather odd that you are calling me arrogant and selfish for not wanting to recline and ruining the flight of the person sitting behind me.

 

[one9]

I clicked on a few other forum links and I can see there is very strong feeling from both sides about this device and the issue of recling seats.

I personally feel that the airlines made the seats to recline, and when you purchase your economy class ticket you are aware that the person in front of you has the ability and right to recline. If you are not willing to accept this, you should fly business or first class, or use a different method of travel such as a boat.

Whilst it is very rare for me to fully recline, if I tried to and was prevented to, then I would exercise my right to fully recline, whether that be forcing the seat back with large force, reaching over and removing the knee defenders or taking other appropriate action. I believe that such device just causes more conflict.

 

[one9]

it is good to see that if someone uses the device, you can simply put a lot of force back on your seat, and the device or table will fail.

because of this Northwest Airlines have banned the product:

http://www.allbusiness.com/periodicals/article/667207-1.html

 

[bigjobs]

i have had this conversation a number of times with people who do not seem to get it ...

"if you recline your seat that is your business. please also appreciate that where i point my air con vent and how fast i have it on is my business.

just as having your seat reclined is your choice, having my vent on full blast and pointing forward is my choice. if you do not like that then we can discuss our options."

"understand that you can have your seat where ever you like and i can have my vent anywhere I like.

needless to say i have had mixed reactions :twisted:

 

[jasonja3]

One9 Is it not arrogant and selfish of you to expect people to pay for business class seats, when not every one has the means or opportunity to purchase business??

I am 6'4", and travel mainly on smaller aircraft (Dash 8 & 737) and I can tell you without the seat reclined my knees are arleady touching the seat in front. Just because the function is there, it does not mean it can be used at the detriment to other PAX.

My expectation is that if the person in front wishes to recline, simply turn around to check, who is behind, and how will it impose on them. Common courtesy really.

And maybe by your way of thinking, elderly people should "just accept" there are no more seats on the bus or trains, while YOU remain seated.

I accept that everyone is entitled to recline (and an opinion). Everyone traveling in econ are squeazed in, it is simply about couresty and not selfishly adding discomfort to other PAX for the sake of your own comfort.

I agree with Oz_mark, the seats should recline, but not so far.

JJ

 

[serfty]

Passengers do have a right to recline, however they should not recline during meal service.

Other than that, when you do wish to recline and there is someone behind, do it slowly.

I prefer to recline when trying to sleep as it stops my head from lolling forward.

 

[icarus]

I have really mixed feelings on this, which is why I haven't voted in the poll.

I rarely recline in economy, except on really long-haul flights, when I am actually trying to get some sleep. And I absolutely hate, loathe and detest it when the person in front of me reclines.

At the same time, I recognise that although I hate the person reclining, it doesn't mean that they're not entitled to. They've paid for a seat that reclines. I've paid for a seat that reclines, and that includes the fact that people around me might recline.

Had a horrible trip from LA early last year where the person in front of me reclined even before we were off the ground and repeatedly had to be told by the FAs to bring her seat back up for takeoff, meals etc. But apart from that, she's entitled to recline, and that's just my bad luck.

 

[cssaus]

I somehow think that there is no real solution to this issue until such time as airlines consider increasing seat pitch in economy class.

I must say that when I travel on SIA and it comes to doing a meal service, the flight attendants do go down the aisles and politely ask people to put their seats upright. It's hard to refuse when being asked so politely by a cute FA. Sure saves the hassle of having to lean forward and ask the person in front to do it.

 

[MetroAir]

Do seats in economy recline???? :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[vt01]

These days during day time flights I only ever recline about halfway and never during meal time or afterwards until the trays have been collected.

If it's an overnight flight I would fully recline to sleep. This is most likely to be a minimum 7 hour international flight. On domestic I still stick to halfway as the longest flight would only be to Perth or Darwin and I'm not going to get any decent sleep anyhow. And I avoid redeye flights.

I also don't mind anyone else fulling reclining (apar from meal time) as it is their right.. I just choose not to do it when not trying to get a night's sleep.

On another slightly related topic, what about the night owls on overnight flights that don't sleep and leave their reading light on all night?

 

[Dave]

I rarely recline my seat unless I'm sleeping (and I don't sleep well on planes so that's not often)

But in general, it doen't bother me if the person in fromt reclines, with 2 exceptions:

1. If I'm trying to use my Laptop. (To all you who say that companies should pay for business class if they want their employees to work on the plane - have you worked out the extra per hour you pay for a business class flight? Are you really worth that much? Anyway, I like to use the time on the flight to write up the minutes of the meeting I was just at, otherwise I get back to the office and leave it for a week and can't remenber what happened))

2. If I'm on an international QF with the coughpy screens that don't tilt enough, so then I have to recline my seat to see the screen properly on the seat in front.

Having said that, I'm on the shorter side of the population, so I don't have knee issues.

 

[oz_mark]

i have had this conversation a number of times with people who do not seem to get it ...

"if you recline your seat that is your business. please also appreciate that where i point my air con vent and how fast i have it on is my business.

just as having your seat reclined is your choice, having my vent on full blast and pointing forward is my choice. if you do not like that then we can discuss our options."

"understand that you can have your seat where ever you like and i can have my vent anywhere I like.

needless to say i have had mixed reactions :twisted:

I like this I must remember it next time I travel.

 

[blundeni]

I never recline in Economy.

I think that it is rude to do so - there is not enough room for people at the best of times without someone stealing what little I have.

I actively push back when someone reclines in front of me, and try to make them as aware as possible that they are infringing in my space - politely of course - most people stop when asked

I think that most people simply dont think about what happens when they recline - I can't watch the move, or use my laptop, or eat my dinner, or drink my drink.

So...I never recline in economy - I dont it want it done to me so I don't do it to anybody else

 

[sefure]

i have had this conversation a number of times with people who do not seem to get it ...

"if you recline your seat that is your business. please also appreciate that where i point my air con vent and how fast i have it on is my business.

just as having your seat reclined is your choice, having my vent on full blast and pointing forward is my choice. if you do not like that then we can discuss our options."

"understand that you can have your seat where ever you like and i can have my vent anywhere I like.

needless to say i have had mixed reactions :twisted:

I like this I must remember it next time I travel.

lol, i've taken a mental note of that as well!!