Inconsiderate Fools

June 5, 2008

in Seat Stories

I was on a flight with my boyfriend from Las Vegas to Austin. We were sitting in front of an exit isle and could not recline our seats back at all. The passenger in front of me was a male. He reclined his seat all the way back. I asked him if he could please not recline his seat pointing out that we could not recline our seats and I had no room in my sardine can space. He did not seem to care and ignored me. I then spoke to a flight attendant who spoke to him. The guy agreed to not recline back as far. As soon as the flight attendant walked away the guy proceeded to recline his seat all the way back again. This time I stuck my face around the front of his seat and demanded that he move his seat up. He did and at the same time his ugly girlfriend said in a very sarcastic manner that next time I should fly first class. I told her that was a good idea and that she and her boyfriend should consider doing the same. After that I had no more problems for the rest of the flight. The airlines should severely limit how far back a person can recline their seat due to the space restrictions. There are many inconsiderate fools who fly these days.

{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }

lil-ak June 25, 2008 at 10:10 am

wow thats so rude of the ugly girlfriend

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Anonymous June 25, 2008 at 5:04 pm

I can't believe any of these reclining seat stories. I've always reclined my seat, they only go back 4 inches or so and the person in front has never bothered me by reclining theirs. I'm 6 feet and over 200 lbs and I've never had anyone complain nor have I complained about anyone else, it just doesn't bother me. Either you people expect too much or you experienced some broken seats

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Kyle March 31, 2011 at 5:43 am

You know, i agree to the certain extent cause one time going to the uk, i was in this broken seat (naturally the airline was AA) and the seat when i reclined guess what, shot out from under me faster than we were traveling it simply vanished and reappeared behind me i apologised and luckily the passenger was good hearted and we got on, later on i thought to recline it more careful a little bit and guess it would not budge.

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PH July 4, 2008 at 5:36 pm

So you got the extra room of the exit aisle and whinge about the passenger in front of you reclining a few inches. Selfish people like you shouldn't be allowed to fly.

Blame the airline for packing you in so tight not the other person for utilising the available features of their seat.

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Matt July 7, 2008 at 1:35 pm

PH, they were in the seat in front of the exit aisle so they could not recline and the person in front of them could. I understand their frustration, but the problem is that the airlines pack as many people on as they can so nobody is comfortable.

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paul July 8, 2008 at 12:02 pm

i agree with PH on this.

the person sitting in front of you paid for his space, including the reclining space of his seat.

it's unfortunate that your seat did not recline and you could not reclaim the lost space, but this is not the guy's fault.. in fact, i think you are the rude person.

this reminds me of a story when i flew from frankfurt to bangkok 2 years ago. this guy behind me pushed my seat upward and kept pounding on it. so i asked him what his problem was. he said he didn't have any space because i was reclining my seat.. i looked at his seat, and he had his seat reclined all the way.. i immediately told him that i had paid for that space, and if he has a problem, he can take it up with the flight attendent. after about 5 minutes, he was bitching and moaning behind my head and started knocking on my seat again… i turned around and told him that i would literally kick his ass if he did not stop ( i was pretty upset, not because i could not recline, but he reclined but did not like me reclining).. he went quiet and would not look at my eyes when i walked by him to goto the bathroom..

in retrospect, i shouldn't have gotten so upset at him, but people like this i have hard time dealing with… for them, everything they do is great, but they don't extend the same respect to others…

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kr July 15, 2008 at 8:58 am

That's why they make seatguru.com It tells you the best and worst seats on a plane. And any EXPERIENCED traveler will know that the seat in fromt of the exit doesn't recline because it will block the door from being opened if necessary. A simple question to the flight attendant of "are there any other open seats" may have helped.

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md July 15, 2008 at 2:36 pm

Cheers to kr!

I agree that if you are in the row that doesn't recline, then that's your fault for not being aware of the situation and you should just be quiet and deal with it. I have flown many many times and I know that most of the time I can get a seat that I know I can recline in (seatguru.com). But I also know that inevitably at some point (due to whatever reason), I will get put in that middle seat that doesn't recline and the person in front of me can, and will, recline all the way from NYC to LAX.

It happens….get over it! and no matter what…don't be rude….KARMA is real!

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empii73 July 29, 2008 at 11:32 am

how pettyish. They paid for their seat and are entitled to recline all they want. Just because you got the crappy seat, how does that fact justify you making their flight miserable? grow up. if you do not like it then don't fly….geeesh

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seat fighter April 2, 2009 at 8:54 am

Why do people think that just because the seat can go back all the way, that means it can never be appropriate or considerate to not. I have on numerous occansions asked people politely if they would put their seat up a little. Most people do. On one occasion a guy did, but after his girlfriend whispered something to him, he put it right back down. I then proceeded to accidently push on the back of his seat a couple times when it looked like he might just be falling asleep.

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bubba April 2, 2009 at 9:09 am

Those of you complaining about the people in front of you reclining are the ones with a problem. Reclining is a feature of the seat. Get over it. If I paid for my seat and it reclines and I am sleepy, I will recline it. If you don't like it, tough!

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IAD_Guy April 2, 2009 at 9:48 am

If reclining bothers the person behind you then it is rude, by definition.

The fact that it is a feature of the seat, or that you paid for it, or that you have the right to recline have NOTHING to do with politeness.

Being polite means not doing things that annoy fellow humans, even if you have the right to.

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froggy September 3, 2015 at 12:04 pm

So if telling the passenger in front of you to not recline his seat, and that annoys him, then, by your own definition, the person telling him not to recline the seat is rude and not polite..

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Joe April 2, 2009 at 11:28 am

I have to agree that this woman is the rude one. I had a similar thing happen on a flight from Hawaii to the North East. The woman behind us was with 2 children and I reclined my seat. Her seat could also reclined. She leaned forward and asked me to sit my seat up right. I nicely explained that I am 6' and about 230lbs and recently had back surgery. She didn't care and proceeded to tell me that she didn't have enough room. I also pointed out that the gentleman in front of my had his seat reclined and that if I sat up that I would be nose to seat. So she told me to ask him to sit up too. I sat there dumbfounded and asked if she expected the entire column of seats to sit up to accomodate her? She told me that I was being rude and I recommended that she fly first class next time. She proceeded to have a hissy fit and kick my chair from time to time. The rest of the flight was fine until about 20 minutes to landing when she leaned forward again and asked me to sit up and explained how inconvenienced she was and that it was time for her to be comfortable. I told her no, again nicely and she was pissed. I raised my seat about 2 mins before the captain ordered us to.

Next time I will just get a flight attendant.

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Joe April 2, 2009 at 11:30 am

IAD_Guy, you are totally wrong. What if I find it rude that you are listening to an iPod. Or I am sitting behind you and I find it rude that you are watching something on the flight satelite TV and I don't like it? When you rent a seat, you rent the ability to move it back 4" and you are under no obligation to accomodate some fool behind you that has the audacity to ask you to sit up for their convenience.

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Flyer April 2, 2009 at 11:38 am

If your seat can recline, you are allowed to recline it, as much or as little as you'd like. Again, you paid for the seat – you pay for the right to recline! If you pay for your house with 1/2 an acre of land next to mine, which only has 1/4 acre, are you required to share your extra 1/4 acre just b/c I have less?? Flying is uncomfortable, please don't make it worse bringing your entitled attitudes with you on the flight.

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sky rat April 2, 2009 at 1:26 pm

I wish they would stop making reclining seats. I never recline mine even when I'm napping because I hate it when someone in front of me reclines. It's just greedy.

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ResQjim September 17, 2014 at 6:16 pm

I agree with sky rat. I NEVER recline because there is so little space to begin with. We are all stuck in the cramped airplanes together. My flights are usually business related as I travel to teach aircraft rescue/firefighting classed, so by flying coach, the savings are passed on to the taxpayers.
Please restrict your replies or comments to this website….Thanks
jim

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Mimi April 2, 2009 at 2:35 pm

Just do what I do. Once someone feels the need to recline all the way back, I simply quietly turn on my overhead air all the way open, and point it directly at the top of their head. Eventually they freeze and sit up. Never failed, never been challenged.

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sexygal September 15, 2014 at 8:40 pm

Well, Mimi, if you did that to me, I'd just reach up and turn it off! If you want to "go back and forth" for the whole trip, go right ahead!!

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Anonymous April 2, 2009 at 2:49 pm

I fly constantly and mostly by business class. When flying coach I often do not recline my seat. However, it is my right to do it if I choose to since the recline function is provided for that purpose. It is incredible that so many people think they have the right to restrict other people's movements for their own selfish reason. Dont sit on the exit row if you dont like, airlines are required to seat you elsewhere if you dont want to be seated on an exit row.

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Former Flight Attend April 2, 2009 at 2:52 pm

I used to be a flight attendant, and when passengers had a problem with the reclined seat in front of them, I would politely inform them that the seat is designed to recline and that the passenger in said seat has every right to do so. That being said, every passenger has the ability to recline (unless you are unfortunate enough to be in front of an exit row or in the last row), and if the person in front of you is reclined, hey you've got every right to do exactly the same! It's rude to expect the person in front of you to sit upright the entire flight and if a flight attendant is doing her job, she'll (nicely) tell you the that.

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Free to Recline April 2, 2009 at 4:35 pm

So if the person in front of me reclines, I cannot recline for fear of inconveniencing you? Really…I've never considered asking the person in front of me to sit upright for the entire flight. That would be rude.

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Buttons April 2, 2009 at 6:21 pm

I agree with most posters on this one. Unfortunately, the airlines have packed too many seats into aircraft. And that is ultimately what the industry has come to.

But, the passenger who wants to recline is entitled to do so. He paid his fare just as much as you paid your fare. These seats don't recline *that* far back. Whenever I fly, the person in front of me *always* reclines back for 90% of the flight; I never have a problem with space. These are some of the inconveniences you have to expect in coach.

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Collin April 2, 2009 at 6:36 pm

If you pay for a seat, you can recline. It's not rude. It's not inconsiderate.

The airlines need to stop treating us like cattle.

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Kiki April 2, 2009 at 6:37 pm

Too bad for you. You should have been more careful booking your seats. If I have a seat to recline, I will recline it. YOUR bad, not his.

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DJ April 3, 2009 at 10:55 am

Very few women have the problem of not enough leg room. If you had, you are either very tall or very spoiled.

And what do the girlfriend’s looks have to do with anything? Were you just jealous because the ugly girl got a reclining seat and cute girl (you) didn’t, and that’s “no fair”?

Paul: You’re lucky you didn’t get arrested on arrival after threatening to kick this guy’s ass. Last i heard prisons in Thailand are no picnic.

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IAD_GUY April 4, 2009 at 12:59 am

As I said, having the right to recline

and paying for the seat have absolutely NOTHING to do with politeness.

If I rent a hotel room, I have the right to blast the TV in the middle of the night. Volume is a feature of the TV in the room I paid for, and I like mine loud. If I paid for the room, then I can crank it as loud as I like.

I don't do that, because doing so would be *rude*, just as reclining airplane seats is in such a confined space.

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Anonymous April 4, 2009 at 9:52 am

Now you know why economy/coach is lovingly called cattle class.

I've been there done that for many years and at 6-6 it was never fun! I'm honestly surprised I can still walk unaided, having to contort myself for hours on end to deal with reclining seats.

I've also come perilously close to losing it and strangling the odd young spoiled brat taking perverse pleasure in repeatedly kicking the back of my seat

Due to the horrors of economy, I only fly business or first now. I appreciate this is not an option for everyone – but it is well worth it if affordable.

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Anonymous April 5, 2009 at 7:52 pm

I don't understand all these people upset about reclining seats. It's not the person's fault that they are using the seat as it was designed. They are allowed to recline the seat. That's all there is to it.

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TravMD April 7, 2009 at 8:32 am

Mimi: Try that trick with me. I'm always hot on flights and will appreciate the extra air. And I'll still recline my seat right into your fucking lap if it'll go that far.

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Curtis April 8, 2009 at 10:03 am

Mimi, do you get angry much…..

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Elisa July 13, 2009 at 12:21 am

If you choose the back seats, where they won't recline, you deserve to get squashed.

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Mary July 24, 2009 at 3:15 pm

Have you people ever heard of the Golden Rule. I hope someone reclines their seat into your knees real soon and you will understand its meaning immediately. Someone who reclines his/her seat into the next person's space because they CAN is not only inconsiderate but is a childish boor.

Does I want what I want when I want it sound familiar to you people. If you have a person with a disability behind you do you still recline your seat? How about a pregnant women, what then?

Really you should all try it out on the receiving end before you point fingers at the poster who asked kindly if the person in front of her would be considerate of her feelings.

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