A video obtained by the New York Post (embedded below) is going viral because it shows an irate airline passenger forcing the seat in front of him to stop reclining. The initial exchange must have taken place shortly before the video recording begins but the person who filmed it did a great job capturing the absurdity of the irate passenger’s actions.
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The original video was first posted by Jai’ Jackson on ViralHog. His caption reads: “Two people arguing over the reclined seat on the plane. This took place on an international flight at DIA. The passenger behind was upset because the guest in front of him reclined his seat back so he shook his seat forcefully starting a whole commotion. The flight attendant then told him that he has the right to recline and he had to accept it.”
The cameraman, who was sitting across the aisle and one row back, captured the furious passenger shaking and pushing the seat in front of him back up. The man in front who was trying to recline kept pushing the seat back and turning around in shock. The upset passenger is lucky the guy in front didn’t get up and slug him as other passengers may have.
The flight attendant did a good job deescalating the situation. She arrived quickly and then explained to the man in the rear that the passenger in front has the right to recline as that’s what most airplane seats do. Maybe the angry passenger behind had never been on a plane before or had only flown Spirit or Allegiant Airlines, on which seats don’t recline.
What I found surprising is that the comments were divided regarding who was at fault. Some say the person trying to recline, others say the irate man behind, while others say the airlines for not giving passengers ample space.
Here are the most popular comments:
trickedx5: It’s everyone’s right to recline.
jorge.ortegav: Everyone in the comments barking at the wrong tree. It’s the AIRLINES fault. They just want to squeeze as much people as possible. We are cattle.
billykittyhog: Normal people do not recline. Everyone who flies knows that. It doesn’t even bring much comfort. I personally would never recline. I think about others. My “comfort” will cause much more discomfort for someone else.
pinoinpb: Dude get business class if it’s making you that angry.
cezargotjokes: Imagine not understanding how reclining seats work…
As I’ve written before, I rarely recline my seat when I’m flying in economy but if there’s a recline button on the seat, I have the right to recline. The polite way to do it is to turn around and let the passenger behind know you’re about to recline instead of just abruptly and aggressively pushing back. That’s where problems start; because seats are so cramped in economy, you risk breaking the passenger’s laptop (see embedded photo below) or spilling their drink or crushing their head if they’re leaning forward to try and sleep.
When you’re a travel writer and your computer gets smashed mid-flight by someone reclining their seat and the first thing you do is take photos because you know there’s a story there… pic.twitter.com/pq80nES9Oj
— Tarah Chieffi (@tarahchieffi) December 9, 2022
I only recline if the person in front of me reclines, if the passenger behind me is seated in extra legroom and/or it’s a long flight. I was once flying from Paris to Lyon on Air France. It was only an hour-long flight but the passenger in front of me reclined so their seatback was literally two inches from my face. Naturally, I reclined my seat to give myself a bit of space and the American woman behind me snapped like the passenger in this video. She said she had a hurt back and she couldn’t recline, so being the gentleman (or sucker) that I am, I sat back up for the remainder of the flight. But this woman was lucky she had someone understanding in the seat ahed of her because she should have purchased business class or booked the bulkhead.
Here are some more articles on the hot topic of reclining:
–Is it okay to recline your seat on a short flight?
–‘Eliminate those buttons!’ Larry David rants about reclining seats on airplanes
–Why you need to let the passenger behind you know you’re about to do this
–United Airlines passenger aggressively kicks seat in front because passenger reclined – Airline investigating the incident
–10 air travel pet peeves and how to deal with them
What are your thoughts? Have you ever had an issue reclining your seat while flying?
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I’m 6’4″ so when people recline on me in coach it’s pretty awful. Normally what happens is my knees have nowhere to go and end up in the back of the recliner’s seat, making both of us unhappy. Depending on the length of the flight I’ll end up with aching knees for a few hours to a day or two. So I’m not a hypocrite about reclining I pretty much won’t do so myself in economy.
41 years as a flight attendant. If there’s a recline button — it reclines. Stop making me come out there and explaining this like everyone’s in third grade. If you don’t want someone reclining — fly a carrier that doesn’t have the button. Now stop pushing my buttons on this one!
I think if you need to recline our seat as a courtesy ask the person in back of you
I never do I dont think there is a need for it and only makes others have a bad
flight being cramped