Battle of the Backrest

[SS-18 ICBM]

Let's stop arguing politics for a while and argue about which party is in the right. Yeah, ultimately it's the airlines' fault, but it's more fun to punch each other over space.

 

[gay_Aleks]

I'll just take the train.

Although, in my dear country, that might be a decision which I'll quickly regret, and will most likely complain about it for the rest of my travel.

 

[Flying Pig]

I never lean back on an aircraft - I did, after all, make a living out of sleeping on uncomfortable flights! I find people doing that when you're using the table so irritating that the only reasonable thing would be to abstain if a meal has been served or will be served soon, and in other cases you should probably ask. I've seen people lean back, the person behind them use the table, then the food and drink go flying as they jerk the seat back upright without telling them.

 

[BenitoChavez]

If the airplane seats give the passenger the option to recline, they have the right to recline. Not that it matters that much. Most seats barely go down an inch or two.

 

[really]

Option #3 -Ryanair all the way.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I'll just take the train.

This. Soooo this. But personally I would rather they just make bigger airplanes or smaller numbers of passengers per plane, give everyone enough space to be comfortable for the several-hour flight they are otherwise required to sit in a tiny little space for the entire duration of.

 

[Ajidica]

I find it difficult to bear any hostility to airplane travel over seats after enduring long-distance coach bus.
If only the Megabus trip to Chicago was as comfortable as the LOT flight to Warsaw (the flight was shorter too).

 

[Lillefix]

I find it difficult to bear any hostility to airplane travel over seats after enduring long-distance coach bus.
If only the Megabus trip to Chicago was as comfortable as the LOT flight to Warsaw (the flight was shorter too).

At least you have relatively straight roads in the US. Imagine 8 hours with mountainous roads back and forth up and down.

 

[Zelig]

You guys are missing the point. The real problem is that people are terrible at valuing things, and we need to beat the endowment effect out of them with the economic whip until they learn how to value everything in terms of dollars.

 

[Antilogic]

I'm leaning on the recliner side. I'll put my seat back one notch because it's easier to sleep on long flights.

I appreciate some warning before people slam back all the way, though. One person broke my work laptop's screen because it got caught on the table latch.

 

[Zack]

I already proposed a constitutional amendment to settle the issue.

 

[Perfection]

Maybe we just shouldn't have such tiny freaking seats.

 

[Hygro]

MIDDLE SEAT GETS BOTH ARMRESTS sdkjhfalskjdfhjkalsdfhlkasdhf

 

[Zelig]

MIDDLE SEAT GETS BOTH ARMRESTS sdkjhfalskjdfhjkalsdfhlkasdhf

Hahah, I just watched this.

I can't recall the last time I actually got a middle seat though, I'm nearly always able to switch to a window or aisle seat during online checkin.

 

[galdre]

The right of the person in front of me to recline ends where my knees begin. And with the combination of how close the seats are on planes and how long my legs are, that means they do not have any right to recline at all.

Last time I flew the person in front of me kept trying to recline so I simply wedged my legs up against the chair in front of me and held his seat upright.

 

[Camikaze]

On a short flight you usually won't have as much space into which you can recline, and you don't have much of a legitimate reason to do so in any case. But on a long haul flight, there are generally a precious few extra cms, and it's quite expected that people will recline to sleep - literally everyone on the plane will recline during the 'night'. So the answer is 'it depends'.

 

[warpus]

If my seat has lean-back capabilities, I will use them, at times to their fullest extent (which usually isn't very far, but I'll take what I can get)

How is this not okay? The space was designed to accommodate this; the person in front of me gets to lean back and take up a bit of "my" space, and I get to lean back and take up a bit of the person's behind me space.

What's the problem?

Obviously anyone reclining back during meal time is a jerk, but other than that (and the times when you're required to have the seat up, such as landing and takeoff) I don't see what the big deal is. If my seat reclines, and the person behind me isn't obese, I've never even considered feeling like a jerk leaning back. It hasn't crossed my mind. That's what the seat is designed to do, and the person behind me is able to do the same. Obviously I'm not going to jerk my seat back suddenly - I look back and make sure that my actions don't disturb the person behind me, reclining slowly to give them time to adjust to the changes.

On a short flight you usually won't have as much space into which you can recline, and you don't have much of a legitimate reason to do so in any case.

I disagree. I've often flown through the U.S. (to Thailand, New Zealand, wherever) and a lot of my final flights back home were 1-2 hour long flights on tiny planes.. I've often been exhausted as F&*% on these tiny flights, and I often pass out. Leaning back feels amazing in such a situation. I don't need a reason to want to lean back. Any reason is legitimate. It's my seat, I paid for it, and it's been designed to lean back. If I want, I will use that functionality.

I didn't make the sean leanable myself.. I'm just using a function of the seat. It's not a special function, only to be used in emergencies.. It's a regular function that everyone on the plane expects as soon as they sit down.

Is this really such a huge issue? I fly a decent amount and I've never seen or heard anyone complaining about the person in front of them leaning back. It's expected.. You're on a plane.. People just lean back and mind their own business. Where is this a problem? Who are these people? If they're obese or giant or tall or whatever and it's a problem for them, that I can understand. But the rest of us.. You're on a plane. Suck it up. It isn't meant to be a pleasure dome and you aren't hedonism bot.

 

[Farm Boy]

This. Soooo this. But personally I would rather they just make bigger airplanes or smaller numbers of passengers per plane, give everyone enough space to be comfortable for the several-hour flight they are otherwise required to sit in a tiny little space for the entire duration of.

I'm too fat to be comfortable in present iterations of domestic flights. But I have to admit, for as much more miserable of an experience flying has become over the last 15 years, it also seems like it's gotten more accessible. I'd like to have more space when I'm flying, but if my choices are between being able to buy uncomfortable tickets I can afford and comfortable seats but I'm staying home, I gotta go with the former.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

None of my aliases are strong enough to get me through security, so i have no opinion.

 

[Hygro]

Hahah, I just watched this.

I can't recall the last time I actually got a middle seat though, I'm nearly always able to switch to a window or aisle seat during online checkin.

There's a video about it? I've just been flying middle seats lately and I'm amazed how clueless people are. I literally have to explain like, yo, since I'm in the middle with no room please give me that armrest. They always say yes but sometimes they still fight me for it.