5 Reasons You Should Never Recline Your Airline Seat
If you're flying somewhere in economy class, you might want to think twice before reclining -- or at least ask for permission before you do.
Arguments about space can lead to epic disagreements. If you don't believe me, have a look at the comments on this recent article about leaning seatmates.
My advice? Keep your seat in the the locked and upright positions for the duration of the flight. Here's why:
1. There isn't enough room. The average space between economy class seats is somewhere between 31 and 32 inches, give or take. When you lean, you're encroaching on someone else's space. The seats are too small, too. But that's another topic.
2. It's the polite thing to do. Slamming your seat back can damage someone's laptop computer or -- if it's done forcefully enough -- can catapult a meal or drink into a passenger's lap. It's rude, and it's not worth the inevitable confrontation.
3. Passengers are looking for a fight. Nerves are already frayed on board. A few weeks ago, a United Airlines flight had to make an unscheduled landing after two flight attendants got into a heated argument. And an American Airlines flight was delayed four hours because of an altercation in the main cabin just few days before that. It doesn't take much to get an argument started. Your leaning won't help.
4. It's not really your space. Most travel experts agree that the space in front of your seat is no-mans land -- a virtual shared space. You're not entitled to all of it any more than the person in front of you can indiscriminately lean back. Fair? Perhaps not, but that's the way it is. It's an imperfect system, as we've seen in the past.
5. You're not going to sleep, anyway. The interior of a plane is many things, but comfortable isn't one of them. On a short flight, particularly on a shuttle flight between destinations like New York and Washington, you're better off sitting up straight. Sleep when you get there.
What if the person in front of you leans back anyway? I covered that topic in a previous column.
Got something to say? I've answered many of your comments in this post.
By the way, after you've left a comment here, we can continue the discussion on my consumer advocacy site or on Twitter, Facebook and Google. I also have a free newsletter. Here's the signup form.
During takeoff, landing, breakfast, lunch, dinner and emergency : No! Otherwise permitted! Let the Stewardess do the arguing,
Entrepreneur, Professional Flight Instructor
11 å¹´I fly a lot, usually after a short night from getting ready at the last minute, and yes, I can and do sleep most of the flight on a regular basis. The seat back is to remain upright for takeoff, which is over as soon as the gear is up, as then the plane is in climb mode. From my point of view, its my seat, I paid for it, and since with certain exceptions, it is made to recline, I'm usually going to do so. The only person who can't also recline is the one in the last row or in an emergency rows. I do my best to avoid these seats, but if I lose out, its just a fact of life and I deal with it. If you just absolutely have to work while flying, perhaps you should fly business class or charter. If those aren't options for you, try to get the seats that are behind the emergency row seats that don't recline at all. As for asking the person in front of you to not recline so you can work or play games or movies on your laptop, let me ask you... Why should I be uncomfortable so you can do whatever you want?