I’m in an airplane right now, soaring above the clouds, achieving a millenia-old dream of humankind, and yet all I can think about is what a sack of crap the person in front of me seems to be. Now, I’m basing this on just one solitary metric that perhaps really can’t be used to evaluate the worth of a human, but at this moment, that’s what I’m inclined – sort of literally – to do. That one metric? They’re reclining their seat back, in the economy cabin of an airplane. All the way.
Now, maybe you’ve done this yourself, and if so, I hope you’ll hear me out and not take this as an indictment of your own character, unless you happen to be the guy in front of me, in which case it is absolutely an indictment of your character. Which is garbage, you monster.
I know this topic has come up multiple times before in all sorts of online discourse, but seeing as how it is affecting me at precisely this very moment, I feel like the world can deal with one more take on this surprisingly divisive subject.
First, let’s establish what happens when you’re in an airplane seat and the person in front of you reclines their seat as much as they can. They can’t recline all that far, but that can recline enough to make a significant difference in the space and experience of the person sitting behind them. Look at this:
Look how much less room I now have compared to the seat next to me! that’s like 4 inches, measured from tray edge to tray edge. it’s a significant amount of space, and if you want to actually use that tray to eat or draw or work on a laptop or build a Lego spaceship, this distance is a big deal. It’s not like there’s much space to start with, after all.
Look, you can see just how far the seatback intrudes onto one’s space here:
The span from the edge of the reclined seat in front of me compared to the un-reclined seat in front of the person next to me is the full span of my hand, from fingertip to mid-that-meaty-part-of-the-palm-below-your-thumb.
The reclined seat also forces one’s laptop screen to be at a hard-to-see, forward-leaning angle, like this:
It sucks, all of it. And I’m short as hell! This isn’t even a legroom issue, but I imagine someone taller than me, very likely almost everyone reading this outside of a daycare, will have even more discomfort than I have.
I suppose one could recline their own seat if faced with a reclining seat in front of them, in an attempt to reclaim some of this space; I can’t, because my back is literally up against the wall:
I think reclining your seat back on a domestic flight, in economy class, is actually ethically wrong, and I’ll explain why.
Reclining one’s seat in this context isn’t something that comes free; the space isn’t magically generated from some quirk of quantum physics. It’s taken from the person behind you, without their input in the matter at all. It’s stolen space.
Now, we’re not talking about stealing living space on par with, you know, anything like Choctaw lands or something actually real, but it sucks nevertheless. And, the more you think about it, the shittier it is, because you’re still taking extra comfort at the expense of someone else.
Now, I could bitch about it and suggest there’s genuine philosophical issues at play here, or I could solve it. Which is what I’m gonna do, right now.
You see, I get that there may be times and situations where one really needs to recline; the issue comes from the unilateral taking of that space from the poor bastard stuck behind you. But what if that space was freely given? Then there’s no ethical issue! So, all we have to do is move the ability to recline one’s seat to the person behind you.
Essentially, the seat recline button should work for the seat in front of you. Yes, I get that mechanically this complicates things, but aircraft engineers are smart, they’ll figure it out.
In this setup, you have to actually ask the person behind you if it is okay for you to recline. If they agree, they push the button, and back you go. They have freely gifted you that space, and you can thank them for their generosity and relax.
If they say no, then that’s it; you can’t recline, and you just need to deal with that like an adult. I believe in you, you can do it.
I think this could solve everything!
I just did a little experiment. When the guy went to the bathroom, I pushed the button on his armrest and moved the seat back to the normal, ethical position. It feels so good. I can see my laptop screen more easily. My arms are less cramped. It’s glorious.
He’s coming back; will he recline his seat again? Let’s see! So far so good! We’re coming in for a landing, so maybe I can get away with this!
Nope. Motherfucker.
Top graphic image: depositphotos.com
Let’s solve this with rules. Only the pilot has the ability to recline seats. At a predetermined point in the flight (based on time in the air) the captain will press a button that reclines every seat in economy. This is the designated quiet time. How long this is done depends on the length of the flight on a 2:1 ratio. 3 hours in the air means 1 hour of recline time. However there will need to be an escalator for long distance flights because 3 hours of recline time in a 9 hour flight is simply not enough. After 6 hours it becomes a 1.5:1 ratio to give people who need to sleep a reasonable amount of time to do so.
The captain’s orders must be followed. If you don’t like it, you’ll quickly find out why all of the flight attendants now carry whiffle bats.
You’re one of the bosses. Fly First Class.
This make me miss the old Midwest airlines…all first class seating on a 737 with a cookie that is baked in-flight…
Those were the days.
And the big padded leather seats.
I mean things are tough everywhere bud and I fully sympathize. I was recently flying back from winning lots of awards at a Cannes ceremony and my seat neighbor’s water bottle rolled into my space. I couldn’t really see them because the seat was something like 8 feet away, but still, you gotta control your water bottle! Decency is dead and first class isn’t what it used to be. Just goes to prove that flying (commercial) is a terrible ordeal for everyone. We are all in the same boat here man.
Business Class should be the default.
Cramming people into such a small space is unethical.
Direct your ire at the right target.
When flying was that nice, most people couldn’t afford it.
But what about this? What about the idea that your “space” includes some of the space behind your seat?
This is the way it is sadly but you can fork over a little more money and get a better seat too.
Of note: Last month I witnessed a guy bring his laptop into the tiny airplane bathroom. That was bizarre
Didn’t realize the airlines where paying you guys to push for less creature comforts. Give it a couple years and you’ll be for those awful standing seats they want to use to cram more people in.
I usually lean my seat back to regain my space if need be and go to sleep. I hate the people that think the plane is there personal office/theatre and bring on big old laptops. worse when the jerk parents bring on tablets and no earplugs for the kids. Nobody wants to hear Pepper Pig for a full flight.
That said, the seats could definitely be designed to avoid all of this. Or if the airlines were smart they would just lock them upright position and not have to deal with the Karen’s on both ends of this.
Two points and a solution.
First, Jason chose the wrong seat. Never choose the bulkhead seat unless you confirm it can recline.
Second, Jason and everyone else who supports his position is simply wrong. The fact that seats recline at all means that you are only entitled to the space defined by the reclined seat in front of you and your reclined seat. That’s just how it is.
Solution: allow the seats to recline, but to only half the angle they currently do.
And BTW, I’m not a recliner, so hold your fire.
I think this needs qualification. First, only asshole airlines do not allow last row / bulkhead seats to recline so they carry the responsibility in the first place.
Secondly, there is a big difference between shorter daytime flights where people will need to work or use the space while alert etc, and long haul or redeye. In the first case yea, keep your damn seat upright. In the second, we all need to lean back for 8+ hours so reclining is a must. It’s also a cultural thing depending on airlines: Air France has an absurd angle of recline in economy, and while a pain to extract your damn self from between the seat sandwich, it’s actually decent rest that won’t crush your spine. Swiss is way more, um, rigid etc.
The issue with your statement is that it is basically saying that if you can get away with doing it, then it isn’t wrong to do. Anyone who reclines it in front of me gets a flight’s worth of aggressive game playing on the touchscreen because there is nothing that says that I can’t. If they want to make me miserable, they have made it clear they don’t want to live in a polite, civil society and therefore don’t deserve the benefits of one.
It’s not a question of getting away with anything. When you purchase a ticket, you know that the person in the seat in front of you may recline. You are buying that risk, and to pretend that someone who reclines is a dick is just self-centered, IMHO. Now there’s absolutely nothing wrong with asking the person in front of you to limit how much they recline, and hopefully the two of you can come to an agreement. That’s certainly better than seething in anger or passive-aggressively blocking their ability to recline, like some people said they do. More communication should lead to more understanding.
And you know that the person behind you might tap on your headrest the entire time if you recline. People who recline take that risk. Not assuming that having the ability to recline means that it is alright should lead to a bit more understanding.
Those horrid Spirit Airlines plastic bus seats do not recline.
Spirit Airlines “The School Bus of the Sky!”
School bus…that implies some level of reliability and adherence to a schedule. Its more like sky hitchhiking. Would you rely on hitchhiking to get your family to Disney?
I was thinking school bus as an uncomfortable big yellow tube full of people who do not want to be there.
Yes, in that context a perfect analogy!
Nothing is more indicative of how little airlines care about passengers than that seat design.
If you want to pack people like cattle for ticket sales why even include the recline feature?
Because f**k us that’s why!
Seat reclining should keep the seatback in the same place (pivot around the tray table height, maybe) but slide the seat bottom forward. Sacrifice your own legroom.
Good idea. Some movie theater seats do that. But maybe FAA doesn’t allow infringing on aisle space?
Torch’s graphic is wrong, the seat bottom does move forward as the pivot point is north of it. The problem comes two fold: the pivot point doesn’t keep the seat top in the same place (obviously the pivot would have to be at the top for that to happen) and the tray does pivot back since it is married to the seat back.
Better solution: remove the seats’ capacity to recline. No recline, no issue.
Yes, good luck in an overnight 8 hour flight without reclining.
2 hour flight? Cool not reclining. Longer than that may be required eventually.
People really need to be polite: if the person is using a laptop during normal hours or eating, you should not recline. If not eating but still using something that takes space, just ask if it is ok, or negotiate to recline a bit. I understand that for tall people economy will be cramped, but not necessarily at that moment the person needs to recline it till the end.
If you really need to recline all along, buy business or first class. In economy, be polite to make the trip suck less for all involved.
I don’t fly often, but when I have I didn’t get the feeling that the recline of my sear was enough to make a difference in my comfort. To me, at least in the past, recline was a non-issue. My more mature lower back may have different views today, I’ll grant you.
Spirit did that in the back of the plane seats.
I appreciate that Spirit does this, even though I know they don’t do it for my comfort. I think their seats are generally akin to a rower’s bench in a Roman Galley, but if I’ve got a 2 hour or less flight, I can handle that seat for that time, especially since I don’t have to contend with someone coming into my lap reclining.
If you recline into me without asking, I will no longer restrain my children from kicking your seat.
Such are the rules of the war that you have chosen.
This is the way
As someone without kids, I do respect this as the right answer.
Especially if it’s in regular economy.
Definitely a conditional issue for me. I only recline if the person in front of me does. I am 6’3″, and it is almost necessary to recline at that point. On a recent flight the monster in front of me threw her seat back as we were taxiing down the runway. I was not expecting it at all (since she was not supposed to do it during takeoff) and it felt like she hit my kneecaps with a 2×4. Did she glance back to learn the source of that loud thud? Of course not. The only time she looked back was whenever I tried to shift position and my knees would push against the seat back (since they had no where else to go). She acted like I was being the rude one for poking her seat. Once we had finished take off I had to recline to just to be able to move a bit.
Fellow tall guy and I’m in the same boat. The only way I can get any relief is by reclining a bit and, situation permitting, angling my legs juuuust barely out into the aisle. Flying economy sucks for anyone but especially so if you’re over 5’9″.
And the moment you shift ever so slightly towards the aisle to get some space you start getting rammed by the beverage cart.
I have left my knee in a persons back until they returned the seat to normal. If the seat hits you, it seems like a fair thing to make both parties uncomfortable.
That’s my approach as well.
I don’t fly much anymore, and I fly exclusively on my own dime, so it’s always economy class or a ULCC. It’s a hair shirt or a penance or something. I *know* I’m going to be uncomfortable for a few hours, but I consider that a small price to pay for the privilege of being transported 1000 miles in 2.5 hours for $50.
I’m reclining and that is a hill I will die on, particularly on a long flight. If you need more space, then maybe pay for it?
As a counterpoint, if you need the additional space to recline, maybe you could pay for that? Personally, I think that removing the ability to recline in economy would be better. Only allow reclining seats where the space has been allocated to do so without sacrificing the comfort of others.
I do pay for extra space on almost every flight. Usually just economy plus or whatever is the cheapest way to get a little extra legroom. And I will choose seats at the bulkhead or in an exit row to avoid someone reclining into me. And I will not recline, because the space behind me is occupied by the person behind me.
the seats could very easily be designed to slide the bottom forward when reclining. it is just a more complicated design that nobody wants to deal with.
They could be, but they’ve already reduced the legroom enough that it’s not a realistic solution without reducing the number of seats, anyway. That said, if you had to give up legroom to recline, it would help solve the problem, anyway. I’m for this solution, as well.
No they cannot. Aircraft seats are designed to be: Cost effective (for an airplane part), strong (they are rated for certain G-Loads), and light. Adding a mechanism to slide the bottom while reclining would not be able to achieve any of the goals above.
Doesn’t that argument apply to you as well? Reclining is taking room from the person behind you. If you want more space, then pay for it.
Fair point. I’ll call it 50/50. Personally, I’ve literally never been bothered by somebody in front pf me reclining. But I’m only 5’8″,. I’m thinking that if you are larger or are bothered, perhaps you should pay for an upgrade.
For 14 years, I averaged two flights a week and can say 100% this is the correct take. Reclining a seat in economy is absolutely a dick move. The only exception is on international and redeye flights.
Reclining the seat provides almost no comfort gain for the person reclining and is a huge disservice to the person in the row behind. It is a net negative to the overall comfort of the whole community and people who recline their seats are aware of this and choose to do it anyway.
The mechanical solution airlines could take is that when a seat is reclined, it is accomplished by the seat base moving forward rather than the back going backward. That would reduce the legroom of the person reclining rather than the person behind them.
Of course, very few people would choose to recline if the seat worked that way. But this just shows that people who do recline are knowingly being dicks to other people.
“The mechanical solution airlines could take is that when a seat is reclined, it is accomplished by the seat base moving forward rather than the back going backward. ”
Air France had this in their Premium Economy section aboard their A380s – I believe it still exists aboard their Triple Sevens.
The real answer is to split the difference for the seatback pitch, between insanely upright and recline mode. Then take away the adjustment.
I don’t typically recline my seat, but there have been some flights where I’m next to someone of much greater than average girth, and the only way to not have way, way too much uncomfortable physical contact is to recline and stagger the alignment of shoulders. So where I do believe reclining on people sort of sucks, sometimes it is downright necessary.
There’s a lot of nuance to jamming an impossible number of people into a flying tube. There are few perfect answers, just compromises.
Sorry – but no.
Comfort has a price – and you chose to buy the cheap seat at the back of the plane.
Spend the extra couple hundred dollars and put yourself in Comfort Plus.
It’s worth it.
The seats that don’t recline are cheaper than the ones that do. You literally pay for the ability of your seat to recline. Seats that don’t have recline-able seats in front of them, also cost more. You can literally pay more to prevent people from reclining into you.
Therefore, I say recline your seat. I paid for the seat, I’m going to use the functions of it.
This ain’t the recliner’s fault so much as the airline’s fault for cramming us all in so tightly.
Pretty much every domestic flight has 3 basic levels or comfort / space available at different prices.
Most people want the absolute cheapest seat available – and then complain that airlines pack in more seats to make them cheaper..
1st, bad take. Reclining is about trying to steal back even an ounce of comfort in a seating arrangement that has had every last fractional penny squeezed out of it. It’d be better if reclining was mandatory at altitude.
2nd, the real villains are people whipping out whole laptops on their food tray to do work on a flight. Save it for the hotel room, some of us are trying to sleep here.
Hey, aren’t you the boss man? Use your power and get first class seats. It’s a business expense, for god’s sake! Or move back to California and save all that money by not flying. But what do I know, I haven’t worked in 12 years or flown in 20.
Pause the Jeep project and start David on ’10 weeks to build the Autopian 737 in my driveway’.
Nope. You are just using the features that you paid for.
Having said that, I only recline if the person in front of me does it…. So don’t blame me…. blame them.