Recline Rage
Friday, September 5th, 2014 | BLOG | No Comments
Airline Passenger “Recline Rage” It seems like wh
ining about reclining seats is the newest American fad. Did you know that 3 flights in the last 2 weeks were diverted when due to passenger “recline rage”? I have personally experienced recline rage when I reclined my seat the short couple of inches that it will recline on a regional jet. I looked behind me before reclining my seat and the gentleman there was about my height. The seat in front of me was reclined and I found it to be no problem, however I would definitely be more comfortable with my seat reclined as well. I very slowly reclined my seat back even though the man behind me did not have his table down and was leaning back in his seat apparently sleeping. I didn’t notice if his seat was reclined. I fell asleep and then was suddenly rudely awakened as I was catapulted forward by the man sitting beside the person behind me. He took his fist and shoved my seat back forward and started yelling that I was crushing his knees. I told him he was not behind me; therefore I could not possibly crush his knees. I slowly reclined my seat back again, turned around and looked to prove my point. He started yelling again and slammed me forward again, almost causing my nose to make contact with the back of the seat in front of me. I called the flight attendant, which I hated to do, being a former flight attendant myself. She was young and embarrassed, but I suggested that she move the man to another seat. The small regional jet had no first class, however, there was no one in the front row and I knew that. She took my suggestion and moved him and the man behind me, who turned out to be his very embarrassed son. I promptly went back to sleep. This turned out to be an easy solution, but what if there had been no empty seats? He was making a connection but I think someone should have taken him aside before he boarded his next flight and had a very serious talk with him concerning each person’s space on the plane and his attitude. He was average height and had no reason at all to behave in this manner. He did not request a seat with more leg room and should have done so if he felt it was needed. No one promised that it would be the most comfortable flight on a small jet, but then it was a short 30 minute flight at a very early hour in the morning. I wondered what made this man so special that he had to disrupt the entire flight. My husband was in the seat in front of him and his seat was not reclined, neither was the seat in front of him. Should we make the whole incident a domino effect and make everyone leave their seat backs upright to please one passenger? I don’t think so. In my opinion, the man should have been banned from flying unless he could control his temper. Air Travel Etiquette The combined results of our poll and speaking with travelers revealed this basic consensus about air travel etiquette. *Do look behind your seat before reclining and assess your fellow passenger’s needs. Are they very tall? Are they using a laptop? *Don’t put your seat back during meal time. *Always keep your cool. What do you think about reclining an airline seat?
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