Plane Drama: Passenger blocks woman from reclining seat on a 12-hour flight
- Replies 45
It can be quite stressful being stuck in an aeroplane seat for hours with barely any room to move.
While reclining the seat may traditionally be considered a polite gesture to allow the person behind you a tiny fraction of breathing space on a long-haul flight, it can also cause contention among passengers.
This becomes especially clear with a reported incident on a Paris to Los Angeles flight this year, where a passenger behind a woman refused to allow her to recline her seat in a heated exchange.
The footage starts with a woman in a long black sleeve whose arm is stretched to the seat before her. The chair can be seen jolting since the woman in front is trying to recline her seat.
The passenger sitting in the back then used both arms, pushing back with strength to keep the front seat upright.
The woman in front looked back and inquired, apparently clueless as to why the person behind was resisting her actions: ‘Just let me know what’s going on?’
‘I said respectfully, can you please stop moving it back?’ the passenger in the back replied.
The woman in the front seat tried making her case, saying she was reclining her seat to sleep.
But the woman in the back seat was unconvinced. ‘Respect the person behind you’, she said before continuing to watch on her laptop. Eventually, the woman in front stopped reclining her seat.
The showdown had many viewers torn in their opinion of the incident, but the question is–who was right and wrong? Is it the right of every passenger to recline their seats, or are there moments when it’s just not okay?
Luckily, several etiquette experts shed some light on this surprisingly contentious issue.
According to Nick Leighton, a podcast host and etiquette expert, you should never recline your seat if the passenger behind you is working on a laptop. He stated: 'Nobody likes their laptop snapped in half.'
Julia Esteve Boyd, an etiquette coach and podcaster from Switzerland, said that it’s entirely reasonable to recline your seat on a plane. Still, passengers shouldn’t do it too quickly out of respect for other people.
Lastly, aircraft expert Ben Schlappig of One Mile at a Time also stated that reclining an aeroplane seat is a right for all passengers, regardless of who they are flying with.
‘It’s quite simple,’ he said. ‘Reclining your seat, when the functionality is available, is a right. After all, the recline button is located at your seat and not the seat behind you.’
However, considering the person seated behind should still be taken into account. To avoid causing any annoyance, Ben recommended making eye contact or just finding some way to let the passenger behind you know that your seat will be going back.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realise that being stuck in a flying tube for hours with limited room can be quite a stressful experience for everyone involved, but that doesn’t mean people should forget to be mindful of others. May cooler heads always prevail in these kinds of situations.
If ever you find yourself in a similar spot, don’t hesitate to call over the flight crew, who can mediate in strained passenger interactions. Members, what do you think? Is it okay to recline seats on flights? Let us know in the comments below!
In the meantime, you may watch the interaction here:
While reclining the seat may traditionally be considered a polite gesture to allow the person behind you a tiny fraction of breathing space on a long-haul flight, it can also cause contention among passengers.
This becomes especially clear with a reported incident on a Paris to Los Angeles flight this year, where a passenger behind a woman refused to allow her to recline her seat in a heated exchange.
The footage starts with a woman in a long black sleeve whose arm is stretched to the seat before her. The chair can be seen jolting since the woman in front is trying to recline her seat.
The passenger sitting in the back then used both arms, pushing back with strength to keep the front seat upright.
The woman in front looked back and inquired, apparently clueless as to why the person behind was resisting her actions: ‘Just let me know what’s going on?’
A passenger prevented a woman sitting in front of her from reclining her seat. Credit: Newsflare/YouTube
The woman in the front seat tried making her case, saying she was reclining her seat to sleep.
But the woman in the back seat was unconvinced. ‘Respect the person behind you’, she said before continuing to watch on her laptop. Eventually, the woman in front stopped reclining her seat.
The showdown had many viewers torn in their opinion of the incident, but the question is–who was right and wrong? Is it the right of every passenger to recline their seats, or are there moments when it’s just not okay?
The woman in the front asked to recline her seat, but the passenger behind her declined. Credit: Newsflare/YouTube
Luckily, several etiquette experts shed some light on this surprisingly contentious issue.
According to Nick Leighton, a podcast host and etiquette expert, you should never recline your seat if the passenger behind you is working on a laptop. He stated: 'Nobody likes their laptop snapped in half.'
Julia Esteve Boyd, an etiquette coach and podcaster from Switzerland, said that it’s entirely reasonable to recline your seat on a plane. Still, passengers shouldn’t do it too quickly out of respect for other people.
Lastly, aircraft expert Ben Schlappig of One Mile at a Time also stated that reclining an aeroplane seat is a right for all passengers, regardless of who they are flying with.
‘It’s quite simple,’ he said. ‘Reclining your seat, when the functionality is available, is a right. After all, the recline button is located at your seat and not the seat behind you.’
However, considering the person seated behind should still be taken into account. To avoid causing any annoyance, Ben recommended making eye contact or just finding some way to let the passenger behind you know that your seat will be going back.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realise that being stuck in a flying tube for hours with limited room can be quite a stressful experience for everyone involved, but that doesn’t mean people should forget to be mindful of others. May cooler heads always prevail in these kinds of situations.
If ever you find yourself in a similar spot, don’t hesitate to call over the flight crew, who can mediate in strained passenger interactions. Members, what do you think? Is it okay to recline seats on flights? Let us know in the comments below!
In the meantime, you may watch the interaction here:
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