Air rage: Is reclining your seat a right?

[Naim 6]

Once on a bullet train in Japan, a lady in front of me asked for my permission to recline her seat. I was stunned!

 

 

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Air rage: Is reclining your seat a right?

By A. Pawlowski, CNN

December 9, 2010 -- Updated 1238 GMT (2038 HKT)

 

Reclining seats on planes can cause friction between passengers who say comfort is at stake.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

 

* Incident on recent flight fuels debate over reclining seats: Are they a privilege or a right?

* Man charged with assault after alleged altercation with passenger who tried to recline

* Some say airlines should ban reclining seats, others say reclining is part of flying

* Etiquette expert: Courteous person will choose to not recline their seat for the entire flight

 

(CNN) -- The passenger in seat 9C was ready for a nap after takeoff, so he pushed the button on his armrest and reclined -- straight into the path of someone who apparently wouldn't have it.

 

Tensions grew quickly on the American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Denver on November 22, court papers show.

 

The incident adds fuel to a debate that seems to divide air travelers into two camps: those who say that reclining their seat on a plane is a right that comes when they buy a ticket and those who believe it's a privilege that shouldn't be abused.

 

As Brian Dougal leaned back on the Denver-bound flight late last month, he felt someone bump his seat, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of Colorado.

 

"Are you serious? My knees are up against the seat," said the man behind him, identified as Tomislav Zelenovic, according to the complaint.

 

Dougal suggested that Zelenovic also recline, slide into an empty seat next to him or move his legs to the side. Dougal told the man in 10C that he paid for his seat and was going to recline it.

 

Zelenovic then shook the back of Dougal's seat and grabbed his right ear, pulling it back and down with enough force to knock Dougal's glasses off his face, according to the complaint.

 

When the plane landed in Denver, police officers escorted Zelenovic off the flight. He was charged with assault "by striking, beating, or wounding on an aircraft" and has pleaded not guilty. Zelenovic's attorney declined to comment on the case for this article.

 

Heated debate

 

Few arguments over reclining seats go that far, but as cabins grow more crowded and cramped, it's easy to find eye rolling, seething frustration or downright resistance coming from behind travelers who choose to push the armrest button.

 

Steve Collins, an Australian broadcaster who runs the blog Grumpy's Getaway Guide, argues that he shouldn't have to put up with passengers who lean back and invade his personal space.

 

"I don't recline my seat, primarily because I have respect for the person behind me, and I simply hate it when the person in front of me shifts their seat as far back as it will go," Collins recently vented in a blog entry titled "Ban the reclining seat on planes."

 

He may be a fan of low-budget carrier Spirit Airlines, which made headlines this spring when it announced that it was installing "pre-reclined" seats on some of its planes as a space- and cost-saving measure.

 

The seats permanently recline about three inches, but their occupants can't lean back more (or sit up more upright, if they wish.)

 

Fliers with long legs often find the reclining seat particularly terrifying. In a recent CNN.com article about the plight of tall travelers, some said that they ask passengers in front of them to be considerate and not lean back. When someone still insists, some just push back.

 

But many air travelers say that reclining is a right that comes when you purchase your seat.

 

"I regard the invasion of the person's space sitting behind me as an unfortunate, but easily tolerated, side-effect of my attempt to achieve a modicum of comfort while flying," wrote travel guru Arthur Frommer in his blog this year.

 

Frequent flier Ben Schlappig says he doesn't lean back in coach on daytime flights as a courtesy to others, but he doesn't expect anyone to return the favor.

 

"There's a reason the button is on your seat, and certainly everyone (except possibly the person in the last row) has the same 'right' in that regard," Schlappig recently wrote in his blog, One Mile At a Time.

 

Etiquette expert's take

 

So, is reclining your seat on a plane a privilege or a right?

 

Neither, said Lizzie Post, etiquette expert, author and spokeswoman for the Emily Post Institute.

 

"It's not a right; it's not a privilege; it's a function of the seat that you purchase," Post said. She personally wishes airlines would stop allowing the seats to recline but said she understands that part of flying is the possibility of sitting behind someone who puts their seat back.

 

"The courteous person will choose to not recline their seat for the entire duration of the flight. ... [but] I do think that the person who, unfortunately, has the seat coming back into their lap has to get over the fact that that's just the reality of the situation."

 

If you want to recline your seat, there is no obligation to turn around and assess whether the person behind you would be cramped, Post said.

 

If you're the passenger who feels uncomfortable when someone in front of you puts their seat back, you can ask whether they plan on being reclined for the whole flight, in which case you might start looking for a different seat, she advised.

 

A little planning might help, too: Before booking your flight, consult the charts on SeatGuru.com, which point out which seats do not recline. If you can book a spot behind them, you're set. If not, be prepared for someone who might lean back.

 

"It's one of those things where the airlines have put us into an uncomfortable position, and that's it. We have to live with it," Post said.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/12/09/reclining.seat.rant/index.html?hpt=C2

[Mohd Suhaimi Fariz 2]

If the airlines didn't cram up so many seats into the cabin, the reclining issue wouldn't crop up!

[Waiping 12]

I believe non-reclining seats are available for the airlines. Maybe budget airlines can use this type of seats to further reduce cost.

[Walter Sim 1]

Think the first few AirAsia A320s did not have reclining seats...

[KK Lee 5]

If seat reclining is not a right, airline shouldn’t install reclining seat at all. However, given tight space in cattle class, it is a courtesy to straighten up during meal time to allow more comfortable space for eating.

 

Those believe ticket price include the space above their seat is their private and exclusive territory during the duration of the journey will defense intrusion by reclining seat aggressively.

[Azman MN 1]

I have flown in many countries and only in the US I have a problem with people aggressively reclining.

 

I recline too, usually on night flights. But on day flights I sometimes recline but only halfway. If the person behind protests (it has happened), then I put my seat up straight away. In the US, as soon as the seatbelt signs are off, people recline to the full without a care. I find it quite bad. If I protest, they start to argue.

 

It is not a right, it is not a privilege, it is all about common courtesy to your other fellow Y class sufferers.

[Waiping 12]

Those believe ticket price include the space above their seat is their private and exclusive territory during the duration of the journey will defense intrusion by reclining seat aggressively.

 

Yup, the "no fly zone" comes into effect once the seatbelt sign is off.

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

If seat reclining is not a right, airline shouldn’t install reclining seat at all.

I agree. The seats can be reclined, so if a passenger wants to recline it for whatever reason, it is his/her right since he/she purchased the seat. However given the trend that all airlines are reducing the seat pitch nowadays, some courteousy and common sense have to be applied whenever necessary.

 

From my experience, I encountered only one serious case of passengers went into arguments over reclining. It was a MH flight, IST-KUL. The passenger at the back (a Malay lady) was in rage over the passenger sitting in front of her (a Turkish gentleman) for reclining all the way for sleeping on the 10 hours flight. They were sitting in the middle rows of the cabin. She raised her voice and started to act aggressively by kicking the Turkish guys's seat who then responded before the cabin crews (thankfully) interrupted. In this case, I blamed:

 

i. MH - for operating an aircraft with tight seat pitch (it was 32 inch on the A332s).

ii. The Malay lady - for being so obnoxious, impatient and fat. If you are fat, don't blame other people for reducing your personal space and other people are not oblige to sacrifice his/her personal space for you (just because you are fat).

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I agree with the etiquette of not to recline during meal time. I happened to encounter several cases as well where the passengers in front of me maintained his/her recline during meal time. I will just straight away call the cabin crew and told them about it, 100% successful rate that it is going to favour me. I also called the crew for any other type of privacy intrusion over my personal space (such as a smelly feet in sock that suddenly cropped out in between my seat and the seat next to mine or in my armrest). I think it is best to let the cabin crew to do the enforcement, rather than yourself to avoid any unnecessary unwanted incident with other fellow passengers.

[BC Tam 2]

On a personal note, I tend to find the upright position more comfortable than reclined position

Yes, even when snoozing (for all attempts at sleep inflight has been futile thus far)

I'm probably the exception rather than the rule in this respect though

And on most occasions, the crew have gotten pax in front of me to straighten up if reclined during chow time, without any prompting from me

[Josh T 0]

A most interesting and hotly debated issue.

My view is that, if the seats can recline, it is the passnger's right to recline the seat. That's the way it is. My view (and practise) is that I don't recline my seat on a day flight (unless I'm seriously tired and want to get some sleep) but I certainly would on an overnight flight. My seat will always be put back upright during meals. MH have always been pretty good about requesting (or even prompting) that passengers put their seat back upright during meal times. It amazes me how so many people can be completely oblivious to this during meals, especially when they demand that the passenger in front of them puts their seat up whilst they still have their own seat reclined! The other point is that, if this is a major issue for you, specifically shoose an airline that has greater seat pitch. If you have to pay more for it, so be it. Otherwise, just shut up and put up with it. The same goes for budget carriers. If a passenger chooses to fly cheaply and that entails a tight seat pitch (with reclining seats), that's what you're paying for and you don't really have a right to complain. If you don't want to run the risk of someone reclining their seat and invading your personal, then be prepared to pay more for a full service carrier that you know provides you with more generous seat pitch, eg. 34" vs 30".

[Teoh Z Yao 0]

Interesting! I personally think reclining is a right, else airline should do away with installing reclining seats. Willingly purchased a flight ticket for such a flight means one should willingly accept what has been endorsed in the flight.

 

Nevertheless, courtesy is always there for us to take on or not. Considerate pax would refrain from reclining if doing so poses discomfort to others. Although I usually don't ask for permission (because it's my right) to recline, I'd always considered asking to recline and would see the situation, refraining from doing so if that would compromise others' comfort (well, I am a considerate pax, haha :-P)...

 

On a side note, as a pax, if you're leaning against the window and the pax right behind you is speaking on the phone, would that annoy you? It is his right to do so (if he is not in a quiet zone)...

[S V Choong 4]

Once on a bullet train in Japan, a lady in front of me asked for my permission to recline her seat. I was stunned!

 

I am stunned too as to why she asked. I was on the reserved seats of the Shinkansen (aka Bullet trains), the legroom on Shinkansen trains were rather generous.

[Naim 6]

I am stunned too as to why she asked. I was on the reserved seats of the Shinkansen (aka Bullet trains), the legroom on Shinkansen trains were rather generous.

 

yup, can cross your legs with still enough space for the guy at the window seat to pass to the aisle.

[Kenneth Chong WT 0]

On this issue...I had the first hand experience on my just recent CX 333 flight from KUL-HKG. This Malaysian lady recline her seats after meal and the China lady was pushing on her seatback...she got so annoyed she stood up abd started yelling at the China lady...she was pissed because she said, she paid for her seat and she should be able to relice. In the end the crew came and settle the problem for them, the malaysian lady only reclined halfway...that was really the first time I've seen something like this.

 

I do fine that the 333 is not as comfy as MH's 333, the seat pitch is also limited but the recline was far...good thing Gilbert and I sat at the last row and we reclined into "space"...

[Yusoff 1]

...good thing Gilbert and I sat at the last row and we reclined into "space"...

good thing you were on CX.. if you're on AK, you can't even recline an inch...