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
I agree, Jason.
After being on over 2200 flights in my lifetime, I can say, without a doubt, that every seat on every plane (other than those 1st/Business class lie-flat seats that I’ve never gotten to try) should be a fixed seat. No recline button at all.
The only time I ever reclined my seat was once when I was on a late flight where the couple behind me had a tired and cranky 2-year-old that they were forcing to stay awake so he would sleep when they got him home. They gave him car keys and had him slam them down repeatedly on the tray table (the one that was connected directly to my lower back) over and over trying to keep him awake.
After 1/2 hour of this I snapped and pushed that little button on the armrest while pushing back against the seat back as hard as I could. As soon as my seatback hit the dad’s kneecaps the three of them got unusually quiet. I think I scared them.
Also agreed. I had an experience like that years ago, back in college, on a 12-hour Amtrak train from San Diego to Davis, where the kid was playing with the ratcheted footrest behind me. Duh, duh, duh, down. I turned to the dad and asked if he could get his child to refrain from doing that. Within 15 minutes, the kid was doing it again. Duh, duh, duh, down. Maybe it was four up duhs. It’s been 50 years, so I don’t remember the exact cadence. But it was annoying AF.
Fun fact: the train ride and the less than three-hour plane ride back cost within $10 of each other then.
Age old debate that will never be resolved, but I’m fully on your side. It’s wild to me that you can possibly think it’s ok to just unilaterally inconvenience your fellow passengers.
Now do window shade rules. Hint: window seat has absolute power over the shade.
I’m a window seat guy and I approve your message.
The seat reclines like 2 inches lmao economy sucks we all know that, it’s the airlines not the person in front of you fault.
ÖBB, the Austrian federal railway, solved the irritating issue by removing the feature to recline the seatback in its Railjet train. So, no moveable seatbacks. They’re surprisingly comfortable even for a very tall passenger like me.
Deutsche Bahn, the German federal railway, designed the well-loved seats for its ICE and IC trains. The seatback frame is immovable but the padded part slides down and forward while the seat pad moves forward. The new generation of interior design does away with the movable parts of the seats (they’re uncomfortable as fuck).
Last flight I saw the person seated ahead of me reach for the recline button. I pressed on the seat back obstructing their recline. After two attempts to rest their head in my lap they gave up assuming the recline mechanism was broken. I do apologize for any complaints the airline may have received for faulty equipment.
There was something called the Knee Defender that achieved this result – it was swiftly banned.
I gotta remember to do this on my upcoming flight.
Done that at least 100+ times.
I don’t recline in Economy…I don’t feel like I gain any space, and I can’t say it adds any comfort. Also, I wear a mask when I fly, and I don’t want to do anything to draw any additional wrath my way.
Jason, I tend to agree with you whole heartedly 99% of the time. That 1% is usually because of topics like tinned seafood and urinating in a moving vehicle. Otherwise, I’m with you! Except now.
You’re the fool for booking a seat against a bulkhead wall – and also, shame on airlines for squeezing a seat in against that bulkhead. I think the person in front of you has the right to recline, however don’t be jerks people.. recline only as much as you need when you need it and if you’re sitting in front of a 6’5″ ape, maybe show a little grace and let them have some space.
I’m a 6’2″ human and it still annoys me. But I think apes are more likely to go ape-shit when it happens to them.
And no one willingly books a bulkhead seat. It’s way too close to the bathroom. I don’t think Jason did that on purpose. Last minute ticket? Lousy travel company? Who knows.
Flying coach these days as a retiree, I’ll take a row towards the back to get a window seat if I have to. I always have luggage, so I don’t care if I have to wait for the rows ahead of me to deplane. I still have to wait at the baggage carousel.
And I don’t recline.
If I paid for the SEAT then I am entitled to use all of the functions of that seat. I am not paying for some protected bubble of space around me, as much as I might wish that were the case. I totally blame the airlines for how they cram people in like this, and yeah they should have more space between seats but they don’t. If you don’t have space to use a laptop on the tray table in front of you, guess what? They weren’t meant for laptops in the first place! They were meant to hold your food and drink and over time passengers just decided to use them for something other than their original purpose. What if in the future everybody starts carrying around something even larger than a laptop? Would you think it’s legitimate to complain that if someone reclines then where are you supposed to set up your 32″ Hologram Work Sphere? You’re riding in a metal tube for transportation, not your own little office.
Why on earth should I prioritize your preferences over my own? Your comfort is somehow more valid that mine, just because you think you are the center of the universe? But why? And don’t “social etiquette” me, you don’t decide whether seats recline any more than I do (except for, wait… I do get to decide if my own seat reclines, evidently).
I’ve got news for you, bub: I’m the center of the universe, and your comfort matters exactly as much to me as mine does to you.
Get over yourself.
And this attitude right here is why the US is going to the dogs.
Everybody keeps bitchin about reclining and pretty soon they’ll be charging extra for it.
To me it’s not about the space; you can sort of reclaim it from the person behind you if you are OK with transferring your pain to another passenger. It’s the shape of the space. With the seat in front of me reclined I can no longer use my tray table as designed (see picture of Jason’s laptop), it’s much more difficult to get to my personal item, exiting the row is harder, etc. As Jason demonstrated, this isn’t even just a problem for “Large” or “XXL” humans, even just average sized humans are harmed.
I understand our XXL friends who are commenting that this is the only way you can get comfortable. However I don’t think you should have the power to transfer that discomfort to me. Each of you knows your size and how well you fit into airline seats. Your calculation of whether you’ll be comfortable enough to travel by air should not be based on taking away the comfort of others. Flying is convenient, not comfortable, for everyone in coach.
For these reasons I’m going to agree with Jason. Reclining in coach is a huge pet peeve of mine, and like Jason I probably over-react to it. If you disagree with us, just know that whether you think it’s fair or not, I assume you’re a soulless sociopath.
I’ve been on planes where the person in front of me tried to recline and couldn’t because my knees were wedged solidly between my seat back and theirs. Problem solved, I guess?
But yeah, reclining is a total dick move, and I harshly judge anyone who argues otherwise. The exception would be if you ask the person behind you first, but I’ve literally never seen anyone do that. Recliners are entitled pricks and don’t care.
And before you make the stupid argument to upgrade if I want more space, know this: I do. But sometimes you don’t control your booking or have to book late and there’s nothing but plain coach available. And besides that, there’s no good reason I should be punished with a higher fare just to avoid your bad behavior.
Is this a harsh take? Yes. But I’m also 6’5″ and flying coach sucks enough already. People who insist on making it worse can take a long walk off a short pier.
I’m only 5’10 but I wear 34″ inseam jeans and my kneecaps are almost always wedged into the seat in front of me while flying coach. I’ve been forced not to get up to go to the restroom even on a 5-hour flight due to the fear that when I was gone, the person in front of me would recline their seat and then I’d have to lift my feet off the floor to get my knees to fit in front of me and not be able to even lower my own tray table for a complimentary beverage & snack the rest of the flight.
But I have learned that if the person in front of you reclines their seat, but then leaves to go to the restroom, you can force most seats back up into their upright position if you just push your knees back out. You can also do this if the person in front of you is a small child who weighs less than 100 lbs.
Don’t blame the passenger. Blame all the airline execs that decided on packing people in like sardines.
or blame the government officials who removed fixed route pricing for flights.
Nah: blame the soulless sociopath. I’m going back to the Autopian article about how far is the trip before you move from car to airplane At 6’2 plus 200 lbs I say 800 miles
Seats with more room are always available for you!
You don’t specify which group this applies to, but hopefully those who try to claim the space behind them while reclining.
No, the people who complain.
Agree to disagree (tl:dr).
I don’t mind it unless the person is constantly adjusting. Once you set the recline you need to be locked in mother trucker because I don’t want to be constantly changing my setup or screen angles.
This is not an social etiquette issue. This is companies offloading onto the individual the fix for their own profit. Remember how recycling is our problem to sort and do because companies don’t want the expense of dealing with their own social and environmental damage?
And the recycling turns out to be a scam in some shady ways. A bunch of “recyclable” plastic really isn’t, so an astonishing amount of the recycling we send off just doesn’t get recycled. They offloaded the guilt to the consumer, offered a solution to assuage that guilt, and the landfills keep filling up despite the consumers’ best efforts.
That said, much like recycling, I do blame the companies, but also have a healthy level of disdain for the individuals who don’t try to do their best to mitigate their own impact in the situation. Recycle and try not to make the flight even less comfortable for those behind you while also pushing for reforms.
I do like the asking permission part. Although that would certainly degenerate into years of Karen videos for sure.
I have back issues and can’t sit in an unreclined seat if the flight is more than like 45 minutes. Sorry. I never recline all the way, though. The seat reclines for a reason. You can recline, too. I also like having the window shade open. I don’t know when that became taboo, but the plane also has windows for a reason.
I’m generally ok with whatever the window seat passenger prefers, but I do get how trying to nap with an open window shining sunlight on you is frustrating. Every flight I’ve taken recently has also announced that all windows should be closed after the plane lands to try and keep the cabin cooler.
Then bring a 5 dollar sleep mask with you. Problem solved. Waahhh, I can’t sleep during the day therefore no one else should be able to look out the window. Wahhhh!
I think Jason’s point is that not all seats are able to recline. While this seems to be caused by stingy airliners reconfiguring cabins, it does create something of a problem for the folks in the seats crammed against bulkheads.
All bringing this up results in is people stridently arguing why their side is right and no one’s mind is changed.
I go back and forth on this… I think you have a right to do so, but that doesn’t make it any less inconsiderate.
As a tall guy, I obviously prefer that you don’t recline. If the person ahead asked “hey, do you mind if I recline?”, I’d never say no. Of course I don’t want them to, but this is much preferable to the folks who decide to suddenly and without notice slam their seats into my knees (or into my devices, or spill my drink doing it so suddenly).
That said though, don’t be surprised if you feel my knees in your back now and then. It’s not intentional, I just need to adjust from time to time and you haven’t left me any space to do so.
To those saying “buy first class” – it’s absurd to ask people to pay more money because of their height, a bodily characteristic which none of us have any control over. It’s equally absurd to say “go fly Spirit” because now the passenger ahead of me will have my knees in their back full-time, since Spirit only offers enough legroom for children.
TL;DR – you have the right to be an inconsiderate jerk and I can’t stop you.
I thought this was the exact kind of story The Autopian promised not to run when it started.
I support seat reclining autonomy, although I can acknowledge there are 2 issues: impedance on tray table space for working folks like Torch and access to anything stowed underneath the seat.
For both, I don’t think there is a fix outside of airlines ending the constant move to more rows and less space. No change in how the pivot function works would protect this space without causing other issues. So let’s take a broader look….
Torch, how do you feel about the work culture in America that leaves you feeling you need to squeeze a hour or two of work onto a flight as opposed to saying “My job right now is travelling. By getting from A to B I am completing a necessary task and do not need to layer additional self or company imposed deliverables on top of my time spent in this plane.”?
Our pressure to constantly work is not sustainable nor healthy. Now give yourself some grace, close your laptop, and put on some Wild Cherry and enjoy.
I’d much rather do whatever work I have while I’m confined to a tiny seat than when I get to a new city where there’s plenty to enjoy and experience. Conversely, being able to travel without being out-of-the-loop or losing out on work hours is a big benefit to traveling by air.
The only point I was really hoping to make was to get “Play That Funky Music” stuck in peoples’ heads.
Nah, bad take. The seat reclines for a reason (seats that do not recline are available on carriers like Spirit). That space you are so offended about is not yours, it belongs to the passenger in front of you.
If it’s important to you to be able to peck away on your laptop (which, btw, is also annoying as fuck for the passengers sitting next to you) then buy a business class ticket.
I would disagree; the space my knees are trying to occupy, because they have nowhere else to go, doesn’t belong to the person in front of me. Nor does the tray table being forced uncomfortably close to my sternum.
I don’t know when the first reclining seat was installed on an airliner, but the person behind that decision owes a debt to society that can never be repaid.
Reclining seats in airlines are as old as the airlines. Your knees get hit because the distance between seats was once 35 inches and is now 30 or as low as 28 in economy.
The airline made the decision, in purchasing the seats they did, and installing them in the manner they did, that their passengers should be able to recline the seat. Does this make it less comfortable for the person sitting behind them? Yes it does. But the argument that one person’s comfort takes priority over another’s is fundamentally selfish. As a tall person, I am very sympathetic to the discomfort reclining seats creates, but my back pretty much requires me to recline the seat, so I’m gonna do that, because I can.
Fortunately, I never fly economy any more, so you probably won’t have to deal with my recline at all. If it’s a big deal, then stop buying economy tickets on airlines that have reclining economy seats, and let them know why.
99% of shitty airline experiences are downstream of passengers buying tickets with the price being the full, sole, and all-consuming consideration.
If you are a large person, by which I mean big chest and shoulders, reclining the seat at least part way is pretty much the only way you can sit in many airline seats. I apologize if it compromises your knee room, but my upper back and shoulders have no where else to go.
It amazes me that people still argue over this. We all hate how little space we get on planes, yet some people will endlessly fight for their ability to take more space from the person behind them.