Reclining Airline Seats — Everyone Loses
I just read a really entertaining article on Slate titled “The Recline and Fall of Western Civilization” in which the author, Dan Kois, talks about the no-win situation with reclining airplane seats. Reclining angers the person in back of you, asking them not to recline ticks them off.
My friend sent me the article with the caveat “I know you don’t often flight coach, but you still might find it amusing.” I do actually  fly coach more than half the time. My upgrades as a United 1K and US Airways Platinum don’t come through nearly enough, and now that I’ve switched to US Airways as my main carrier, I don’t even have the extra economy plus. So reclining seats are a terror I’m very familiar with.
So much so that I’ve created classifications for various seat etiquette offenses:
- The early-recliner — wheels are barely up and the person immediately reclines their chair, which means should any issues happen during take off, their seat is now only 12 inches away should I face plant from turbulence.
- The quick draw recliner — have you ever been typing away on your laptop only to yank it hurriedly before it gets pinned or crushed when the person in front slams their chair back, going from upright to fully reclined in .5 secs?
- The forgetful recliner — they thought they were going to nap during the flight, but give up early on. They’ll then proceed to lean forward to work, eat, whatever, forgetting their chair is still tilted.
And these issues are not limited to coach, when flying in US Airways first, I frequently have the same problems. You’d think you could cross your legs without bumping the person in front of you, but not always.
What’s the worst situations you’ve experienced?
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I would add a couple of positive types I’ve noticed:
The Analyst – Particularly on flights that aren’t full, this person looks to see who is behind them and determines whether sitting in a close-by seat might be less intrusive.
The Conscientious Sleeper – Reclines only when everyone in the cabin is sleeping, as is appropriate.
I love the analyst types!!
I personally hate reclining seats for the very reasons you have pointed out earlier. However, what I especially despise is when people recline their seats during meal service. Usually the flight attendant will tell them to put their seat back up so the person behind them (me) can eat but as soon as they are done with their meal, back down the seat goes and then all my food winds up all over me. Given how close rows are on airplanes now, why do we even have reclining seats?
I think planes should block the seats in coach from reclining at all unless there is extra leg room put into the plane. I’m 6’2″ and my knees dig into the seat in front of me in upright position on many planes. If they recline I can’t even sit with my legs straight. I have to sit sideways plus they are laying in my space. It’s just not right. I pay extra to fly business of first when I can but I’m not rich.
I despise reclining chairs (well in my lap, not when I am using them lol)