On a recent American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Toronto, I chose to sit in row 16 of the 737-800MCE series aircraft because (like in row 17, as well) the middle seat is blocked on each side. The airline has made a habit of blocking out four seats like this so they can pay one less flight attendant (here’s a deeper explanation). I usually choose one of the exit rows—which are directly in front—but because these planes have been flying 100% full recently and the seats are so tight (or I’m just getting bigger), I decided that having more space next to me was more important than having it in front of me. And so I booked row 16 to check things out.
Little did I know that these seats come with pretty much no legroom, and so I knew that when the passenger in front of me reclined I wouldn’t be able to do work on my laptop. So I offered the passenger in front of me a free Gogo session (I work with them a lot and they give me a handful of free Gogo passes that I usually give to friends and flight attendants).
All I did was tap him on his shoulder and said, “Excuse me, but is there anyway you can let me know when you recline since I’ll be working on my computer?” He said it was no problem. I then said I’d even make him a deal: “If you don’t recline, I’ll give you a free Gogo inflight Wi-Fi pass”—and he said, “done deal.” And since he was so nice about it, I gave one to his girlfriend as well. It was a win-win for everyone and made row 16 a great choice.
Would you take that deal? I posted the question on my personal Facebook page (here’s my work Facebook page) and most said they would. But there a few who said, “No way, Jose!” as well, so I want to hear even more thoughts. Let me know what you would do, and what it would take for you to agree not to recline your seat in the comments below.
UPDATED on September 2, 2014: In the past eight days there’ve been three U.S. flights that had to make unscheduled landings after passengers got into fights over the ability to recline their seats. The first one was started by a passenger using Knee Defender but I don’t recommend getting this contraption.
I agree and kind request to not recline or to recline only slightly is the best approach but I have to admit using the air vent to ward off recliners, especially when they drop their seat back in one nanosecond with what seems a desire to crush anything in their path. IMHO I shouldn’t have to bribe someone with Go-Go or drink coupon unless it’s >2 hour flight.
For me the only reason of reclining is to relax my posture into a more comfortable position and not to gain extra “personal space” and I don’t have to fully recline to make my back feel better on my 6’4″ frame.
One real problem is those that work on their laptops on the fold down tray. If they would just move their laptop back a couple inches into their own laps then a reclining seat in front of them can’t catch the laptop lid and cause a problem. Then again, have you noticed how airplane laptop users usually adjust their elbows back into their neighbors arm space even if their arm isn’t on the rest they often stick their elbows into your ribs/personal space?
I think there is nothing like direct communication. I recommend speaking to the person in front of you and seeing what you can work out. Passengers have different needs. It might also be useful as part of a flight’s protocol for flight attendants to ask everyone to bring their seats to a upright position during meal or snack service. And it wouldn’t hurt to write your airline and complain.
When flying economy, I can generally perceive when the person in front of me is about to try to recline the seat. Then I press really hard on the seat back and after a while, the passenger thinks his/her seat is broken and doesn’t try again. It’s worked quite a few times.
I think economy seats should be locked so as not to recline.
I always recline my seat slightly. Not the full way. But I cannot sit up as straight as they make them for a long flight. I also have circulation issues. But I recline slowly and again, not the full amount unless someone isn’t behind me. Sure it’s annoying if someone fully reclines their seat into you, but unless you’re on an airplane that doesn’t have the reclining seats, my view is people can do what they want and you just have to suck it up. If you’re unhappy with people reclining into you, then choose a bulkhead seat or the 2nd exit row (since the first can’t recline into you). It’s just what happens when people fly…they want to be comfortable.
I have had ten knee operations (all before age 20), and I’ve literally begged the person in front of me to not shove their seat back– and they did it anyway. (Maybe they didn’t take the request seriously because I’m not a senior??) Once, I screamed, which actually worked. But I don’t really recommend it. If this ever happens again, I will say, “I hope you wanted to hear every detail of those ten knee operations, because YOU WILL hear all about them for the next three hours.” And then I’ll start describing them in great detail…
I’m an extreme case. But the truth is that airline seats should not recline. Period. There is not enough room on today’s airplanes to do it anymore.
Oh gosh. That’s just really inconsiderate of them if you told them you had knee surgery. :-(
I seem to recline on accident a lot. I guess because I am big and fat, my leg hits the recline button and I find myself reclined when I didn’t intend to be.
I’ve also had my seat “recline” on takeoff before, when I KNOW I was no where near the recline button. But I wasn’t going to tell the flight attendant, we would have had to debark and wait for them to fix the chair.
I usually don’t recline because I can’t sleep well on planes anyway and the reclining is really not that helpful. I usually try to work on my laptop and even if the person in front of me is reclined, I can still work right out of my FlipCase. http://www.theflipcase.com These cases save me on flight travel. And the tablet cases can strap around the headrest of the seat in front of you so that you can watch the content on your tablet without having to hold your tablet the whole time, or try to put it on your tray table.
Anything to make traveling a bit easier…
i travel quite frequently and can’t think of a time when within 10 minutes of take-off the seat in front of me has NOT reclined back! When this happens I just recline mine so I can eat, work, and just have some space. If everyone just reclined their seats, we’d all be doing the same thing and voila! No problemo!
There is a problem if you have long legs. Please read all of the discomfort people have described above.
When the person in front of you reclines, you pretty much have to recline…I really don’t care that much either way. If I am tired I try and move the seat back about half way…it is comfortable for me and not quite so bad for the person behind me. If the person behind me has reclined it doesn’t much matter what I do.
Except that people in exit rows and the last row of the plane can’t recline….
Exit rows do recline. Just (usually) not the first exit row if there are two back to back
Yes, and if you ARE in the exit row you have more space to begin with…
I saw an ad for “Knee Defenders” in a United flight magazine a year or so ago. Google shows the product on GadgetDuck.com, where it says FAA says legal if not used during takeoffs or landings. So I assume you’d have to be quick and stick it on as soon as the legal time to lower your tray table occurred. I have not used the device myself. This guy has a YouTube video showing them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EB65pWVmlg
My friend says she wouldn’t buy them. Instead, she would just ask the person in front of her to please not put their seat all the way back. That’s a novel idea!
The last time someone in front of me decided they needed to recline to the point of being in my lap, I decided it was time to eat. The peanuts/crackers or whatever served me well.
Oh brother, since when is reclining an airline seat with a recline feature, rude? I like to be as comfortable as possible and that means reclining in my airline seat. The person in front of me is more than welcome to recline as well or not.
You must be a short person.
Some airlines actually feature their larger recline as part of their comfort travel feature. So, those of us who value such a thing should be a shamed to value such a thing?