Reclining Seats

Seats when regarding plane etiquette?

Basically... Plane etiquette consists of things such as minimise BO, dont hog armrests etc. But does plane etiquette regarding seat reclining backwards?? I mean in economy/coach, do you consider it rude when the person in front leans all the way back, forcing you to eat and watch tv with retracted elbows?? Is it unwritten law? Just got off a 25 hr flight in economy/coach so i was doing alot of thinking haha

Public Comments

1. "Just got off a 25 hr flight..." You wouldn't be pulling my leg, now would you? There are some, certainly, who claim that it's out of line for the person in front of them to recline the seat back. I say that's nonsense. YMMV.
2. If there were a written law, then the seats would not be able to recline that far. No, it is not rude for them to recline, but if you ask them nicely to modify their seat, a nice person would do so. Depending, of course, on the time, and how tired they were. If they had had a rough night, or started at a really early hour, they might not be terribly accomodating of you, so, you need to recline, and then, you have sort of a domino effect.
3. I've never thought of plane etiqutte including reclining. However, there is a limit on how far back is considerate and obviously if someone complains then that is an issue.
4. People should be able to put there seats back. Recently my mother put her chair back as she has back problems and can not sit straight up for a long time and the women behind us complained to the stewardess. The stewardess told her that people are allowed to put her seat back but they would ask my mother. Well she said no, ha, and they could not do anything about it. I think it's worse when you have the window seat and the strangers beside you think they can lean over you to see out your window. Very uncomfortable.
5. Oh yeah. It is one of my pet hates. The turkeys who recline their seats as soon as they can, because they can. Many airlines at least ask people to bring the seats upright during meal service, but that is all. One tip is that if the person in front of you leaves their seat push it back upright. It is amazing how often the turkeys do not recline their seats again when they return to their seats.
6. what airline did you fly on? The seats ussually do not recline back very far.. a few inches.. not enough to cause problems for the person behind. 25 hour flight? ya right LOL
7. Unwritten law is to put the seat backs in an upright position when meals are served. I always do that, and when someone in front of me doesn't do it by himself, I ask for it. Almost no one refuses. Written law is to put them up during take-off and landing. If someone doesn't do that, I get the flight attendants. They're endangering my safety.
8. Wow 25 hours, that's a killer. A few days ago I had a 12 hour flight and noticed the person infront of me who had their seat reclined the entire flight, yet I didn't really experience any differences while watching TV and eating :P People definately need to do stuff about BO though... I had my air conditioning on my entire flight!!
9. It is common practise for the flight attendants to tell the Economy passengers to put their chair in upright position when having meal, to ensure the comfort of the passenger behind.(also First / Business, but for safety reasons). You can usually inform the attendants to let the person in front to put up their seat.
10. I can see both sides. There is not much room and you want to rest so you recline your seat. I always try to wait until I really need to rest before reclining, I wait some time after the meal is served and eaten. I always ask the person behind if they mind if I recline my seat a little. Most people are fine with it, I also ask them to let me know if they wish me to put it upright again. I hate it when the person in front of me reclines suddenly, as soon as they have finished eating, causing my food and drink to spill everywhere. I think you can go a long with with a few basic manners and respect for others.
11. After having been on many long and uncomfortable flights and having long legs... I really don't like those who decide to recline their chair completely back- their head practically resting in my lap! It makes it next to impossible for me to get out of my chair & can't move let alone stretch my legs. I don't mind people reclining their chairs as long as they consider the person behind them...... do u really need to recline it fully?? And on a 13 hour flight, does ur chair need to be reclined the entire flight (talking to the ignorant person sitting in front of me on a recent flight!)??? I think all the etiquette needed is to have a bit of consideration for those behind and around u!!