Have you heard the fuss lately about the flight that had to land early because two passengers got into an altercation over seat reclining? It would seem that one passenger was employing this gadget called a “knee defender” that when used prevents the passenger in front of you from reclining their seat. The passenger in the affected seat was frustrated, asked for help from the flight attendant, refusal/words/throwing water ensued, and bam, flight landed.
And then I see people talking about how rude it is to recline your seat.
Needle screech. What? RUDE?
I suppose this is an issue if people go so far as to invent devices to prevent seat reclining, and some say that reclined seats make laptops hard to use on tray tables (I don’t think my laptops are unusally large or big but I can’t say I’ve encountered this) but I’m perplexed. When I purchase a ticket on a plane, I buy a seat and I expect it to recline. It is part of the feature that I am paying for, just like a tray table and on some flights, a complimentary beverage. I’m sorry that my reclining eats up your room, but then you can recline YOUR seat if you like. The only non reclining people are those sitting in seats with little placards that say THIS SEAT DOES NOT RECLINE and those seats? Are the least popular on the whole damn airplane. You know why? THEY DO NOT RECLINE.
Now, there are some seats on a plane that are not affected by reclined seats. First class, business class, seats behind the exit row, seats in the bulkhead- all of these seats are yours for the taking! Pony up the money (for the seat, the early boarding, the what have you) and sit in your own special person seat so you knees are not knocked by the seat in front of you. Did you know many airlines will allow particularly tall people to pre-board so they can select a coveted seat (on open seating airlines). It is true. If you find yourself over 6 feet tall, feel free to ask. I once boarded a flight with an entire college basketball team and the majority of the team got to preboard because they were all so tall.
Flying isn’t the glamarous, wonderful thing it used to be in years gone by. It is crowded and cramped and there is always a rude person on board that does something that affects many. Don’t be that person. Don’t block the seat in front of you from reclining. Don’t get so huffy about a person using a FEATURE OF THEIR SEAT THAT THEY PAID FOR that a plane has to land.
