Airplane seats should not recline, amirite?

It is here all the time as is its okay to recline.

by qsanford 3 months ago

agreed. OK to recline

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Then I hope that on your next flight, the passenger in front of you will recline their seat all the way down to your knees. Enjoy your flight then!

by Both-Buddy 3 months ago

I'm sorry, who do you think you are. Out here on the Internet and not finding the smallest hill to die on. Taking a calm and measured approach. Explaining something you yourself are apathetic about in a non condescending manner. Well, I won't stand for this. You need to leave the Internet now and forever. /s obviously.

by Prestigious_Gene 3 months ago

Yeah Im not sure what that means.

by qsanford 3 months ago

They will, and I'll recline my seat back as well. That's how airplanes work. Everyone gets to put their seat back

by Ok_Muffin_8505 3 months ago

That sounds ideal, assuming of course all seats do that. (The people in the extreme rear are SOL)

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I just look at whoever is behind me. Short person with knee room? Recline. Tall person? Don't recline. Someone using the tray table? Don't recline. Child? Reclining. Just use your best judgment.

by Popular-Crab4507 3 months ago

This! 💯 I wish more people were like you!

by Both-Buddy 3 months ago

Counterargument: airplane seats should always be reclined

by dbogan 3 months ago

My back cried reading this, reclined seats are uncomfortable AF to me (I'm not short either, I'm 5ft 7/8)

by Tnikolaus 3 months ago

5' 7/8" isn't short? lol

by Kooky-Position3762 3 months ago

So u r short

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I'm a woman LMAO, I'm tall (for one)

by Tnikolaus 3 months ago

Average male height globally isn't short

by Ancient_Permit 3 months ago

I'm 5'8 and yes, it is short. But whatever helps u sleep at night.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I don't care how average you are. 5'7.5 is the global average for men. Which means it's neither short nor tall as those are relative adjectives

by Ancient_Permit 3 months ago

Keep on looking up little dude.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Settle down there shorty

by Time-Round-2755 3 months ago

Okay shortie

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Dog I am a tall and if I don't recline I am going to kill myself. Reclining should be default

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Yep, had tight hamstring most of my life. I slouch in every seat I sit in.

by GlumRip9037 3 months ago

"Recline" is a word for 2 inches of movement.

by Rutherfordedgar 3 months ago

I don't even know how to do it. I fly only 2 or 3 times a year and try to figure it out then just give up because it looks like it makes a very small difference.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Tell me you don't fly international without saying you don't fly international

by gretchenschulis 3 months ago

What airline are you flying where their seats recline by 30 degrees 😂 It's probably less than a third of that

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Unless it was during mealtime as served by the airline, he had no obligation to do anything different and I don't know how you haven't experienced this before. Agreed that they recline dramatically less than 30%.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I fly cross-Atlantic multiple times per year. My opinion stands.

by ExtraStatistician176 3 months ago

I'm just going to assume your feet don't touch the ground while seated

by Aggressive_Milk_2689 3 months ago

Maybe he is tall so he doesnt have lots of spare room. Ofcourse reclining is nicer if youre short but if you're taller you need all the room you can get

by Anonymous 3 months ago

As a tall, I do need all the room! When the person in front of me reclines… i can't lay forward. Which is whatever. So I recline. It helps my back immensely. People need go rage at airlines for sardining us vs people who use a feature of the seat they bought.

by Ready_Question 3 months ago

I'm short and I can't lay forward when the seats are all upright anyway. I feel like only children can fit into that position now with how close the seats are

by Deckowlue 3 months ago

It is ridiculous! Flying can be stressful enough, at least make the ride a comfortable experience lol. I also BET they will charge for reclining seats soon lol.

by Ready_Question 3 months ago

Im talking about leg room not leaning forward, why say "As a tall" when your clearly not tall enough to experience the problem tall people are talking about.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Bragging about inconveniencing the person behind you for 11 hours straight.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I'm 1.96m and fly internationally- reclining seats should be forbidden.

by Agreeable-Dirt3327 3 months ago

Tell me you're under 6' without saying you're under 6'

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I would rather see all seats spaced in a way that reclining a seat by 5° doesn't constitute negligent homicide.

by osinskikallie 3 months ago

Spirit seats don't recline. Have at it.

by BasicAd 3 months ago

Or, perhaps take a few rows out and give us space for our legs and reclining. Novel concept

by emery17 3 months ago

That's called business class, and it's more expensive. You cannot put less people on a plane without increased the price

by AutomaticSir 3 months ago

I have never noticed the person in front of me reclining. It's like a three inch difference.

by Necessary_Conflict89 3 months ago

Have you ever been on an airplane? Do you think the seats are lazy-boys?

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I take 75+ flights a year. Typically I fly with extra legroom and it's still an issue on the rare occasion the person in front of me reclines. I'm tall. I don't know what else to say. But people are generally polite and very rarely recline. I also don't fly on long-haul flights where reclining for sleep is to be expected.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Being able to recline is the difference between my back screaming for days after a flight or being able to walk normally without back pain when I get off.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Planes are actually far more comfortable if everyone reclines

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Except for the people in the last row

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Not for the tall folks, reclining doesn't create more leg space.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I am pretty tall and I usually cannot keep my knees at a 90° angle when someone reclines all the way. But you know what I can do? Stick my feet under the seat in front and keep my legs straight. I do that even before someone reclines because it's just so much more comfortable

by Anonymous 3 months ago

There is an inseam length where your legs can't straighten with your seat under the seat in front of you, without your needs jamming into the metal frame of the seat back, even with your legs splayed out. Ask me how I know.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

If I am flying Southwest or JetBlue or another carrier with reasonable legroom I can do the same, if I am on United or another carrier that has slashed legroom to nothing my knees eat the back of the seat regardless of where my feet are.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

You probably have really short legs or are just not that tall

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Nah I'm really tall and mostly legs. I also feel the same way

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Maybe its something to do with proportions which differs per person but this was not an option for me on most flights I've been on.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I am 6 3 and literally can't sleep without it being reclined due to the angle the head rest is at relative to the height of my head

by Then_Yesterday3379 3 months ago

Not when you're 6'4".

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Yeah my legs are jammed sideways before the seat reclines. The people who are like 'It's my right to recline!' are pure scumbags. You always ask the person behind you.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

There used to be enough room until some brilliant consultant figured out they could squeeze a few more rows on the plane by making everyone suffer while they continue to jack up the price.

by vladimirhand 3 months ago

That's exactly it. If there was enough room, I have no problem, I remember there used to be, but its miserable now. You can't recline or get comfortable in any way. Airline travel is just getting worse and worse.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

There are sections of the airplane with wider seats and more legroom. It's called premium economy, and business class. But guess what, most people prefer to fly economy, because it's cheaper. Airline customers are incredibly price sensitive. We are flying in cramped airplanes because we, the customers, want that. An airline with more space and more expensive tickets would go bankrupt pretty fast.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I don't mind one bit if the person in front of me reclines their seat.

by ycrona 3 months ago

I only don't like when they like lean forward, hit the button, then slam back. It won't happen bc of cost but some sort of mechanism to make them lean slower would be nice. But on the whole, yeah definitely prefer they can lean as is over no lean

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Just charge people by weight and height and create separate class of seatings

by madelynn18 3 months ago

I'm sure the children's section of the plane will be super pleasant.

by lulu31 3 months ago

Yes!!!! Have a size chart and different sections based on S, M, L, XL, XLT, MT etc like the clothing industry does.

by Low_Opinion_996 3 months ago

So nobody can sit with their own family while they travel? Sounds like a great idea…

by Itchy_Magician 3 months ago

They would just have to buy the size of their biggest family member for everyone in the family.

by madelynn18 3 months ago

So now you are reducing seat capacity for people who don't qualify for different seats? That's a discrimination suit waiting to happen.

by Extension_Bed_8051 3 months ago

Nah, you can legally discriminate by weight

by Grouchy-Currency 3 months ago

They don't have to fly together

by madelynn18 3 months ago

Are you on separate sailing ships for months on end? Or just in a can for a couple hours?

by Anonymous 3 months ago

There is never going to be an equal distribution of sizes of people from flight to flight.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Eh, most people can control their weight….unlike height.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Airplane seats should not go upright. Always relines. Now THAT'S an unpopular opinion.

by lulu31 3 months ago

Nah. I flew Toronto to Dublin which is 6.5 hours. I had a seat against the bathroom wall, so couldn't recline. My back was so badly thrown out by the time we arrived I could barely stand up straight and had to take a ton of T3s to be able to walk around during the day. Sleeping sitting straight is brutal for me. When I flew Toronto to Johannesburg it was 19.5 hours (13 hour and 5.5 hour flight). Not being able to recline for flights like that would be hell.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

They only recline like 2 degrees. I'm relatively big&tall, and flying is uncomfortable, but the seat reclining makes almost no difference to me.

by Friendly-Beyond2032 3 months ago

You're not big and tall.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

6ft, something like 250lbs

by Friendly-Beyond2032 3 months ago

Not everyone is small

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Yeah absolutely not. Get on a 15 hour flight with me and see if you still agree...

by Aggressive_Milk_2689 3 months ago

It aint marginal. Try being 6'4. A couple of inches of reclining on a long flight helps the limp clear up faster when I get off the plane.

by Christ30 3 months ago

In my experience being 6'10 even reclining myself pushes the seat a bit forward reducing legroom even more making it impossible to sit. This is not even considering the people in front of me reclining reducing the space further.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

If you don't fit, but extra leg room? Other people shouldn't be uncomfortable just to make you comfortable.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I really can't be mad that someone reclines their seat cause they paid for it, but whyyyyy do you wanna do it in front of me of all people 😭. I don't even know how to recline mine.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Just recline your seat and you'll have the same amount of space.

by OneAlternative4253 3 months ago

they should recline but it should be where the person behind the recliner is still in a comfortable enough space without reclining themself

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Airplane seats should recline, but the recline function is linked to the cabin lights. Light on, you're upright, lights off you can recline. You could also have a two part button where the person behind you has a veto switch that prevents it from reclining, although I can imagine that starting a lot of fistfights in the air.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I'm 6'5", so the people saying it doesn't make a difference to those behind you have no idea what it's like. I actually often prefer Spirit and Frontier because the option isn't even in place to recline. No stress or anger from passengers…over the reclining issue at least

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I am uncomfortable when I recline the seat and my knees get smashed if the person in front of me reclines their seat so I have to sit with my legs spread wide to avoid my knees touching the back of the seat in front of me. Which is why I always go for an aisle seat so I'm not encroaching in anyone's leg room

by ProfileRadiant 3 months ago

You must enjoy Ryanair flights!

by Anonymous 3 months ago

At some point, they're just gonna take the seats away and pack us into the plane like sardines. Reclining your seat didn't used to be a big deal, because we had more space. Now they've reduced the space, but without any consideration for the fact that people are reclining and giving people even less space.

by Kyraerdman 3 months ago

Fly frontier then, there are airlines that don't let you recline. They suck ass

by Anonymous 3 months ago

My back hurts trying to sit bolt upright. Need to recline.

by lorena84 3 months ago

same here

by Anonymous 3 months ago

But they can always lean back too. Sorry buddy if you don't want reclining seats fly Spirit.

by Strange-Field 3 months ago

Marginal benefit? I beg to differ.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

As a currently pregnant women who will be flying 4 times in 30 days while 7 months pregnant, I need to recline, at least a little bit, or I cannot breathe~ I have splurged on business/first for all of these flights because of it, though...

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I don't have discomfort when a seat reclines in front of me. If you do, book a better seat.

by Swimming-Doubt 3 months ago

Then don't recline your seat or dont fly economy.

by Kuphaladriel 3 months ago

Maybe airplanes should offer a reclinable side and a nonreclinable side to make everyone happy....

by Competitive_Line 3 months ago

people will come up with other minuscule bs to be pissy about… "i'm left handed but the reclining half is on the right!!"

by Ok-Chard 3 months ago

I cant sleep on planes with reclining the seat, as my head dips forward and wakes me up. Therefore I always recline the seat as I spend 70-90% of every flight sleeping.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I agree completely, with as small as the spacing is between rows these days the chairs should be fixed. It was fine on older planes or in upgraded sections but there is no longer room for reclining seats.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Just make them all in the reclined position permanently. It's barely even reclined.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Reclining on an airplane is the height of ignorance

by Dejacarroll 3 months ago

I've paid for the seat. If I want to recline my seat, I will.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I agree with you. The benefit is absolutely neglectable (even on long distance flights, it´s more a placebo effect than anything else)

by Anonymous 3 months ago

For me its the difference between being able to sleep on a plane and not being able to sleep. Without reclining my head drops forward and wakes me up. When reclining I sleep right through. I fly 20-40 times a year and recline every flight as I sleep 70-90% of every flight.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Tell me you've never flown longer than 6 hours without telling me you've bever flown longer than hours.

by Haaggiovani 3 months ago

if i paid for my seat im going to recline 🤷‍♀️. if you don't have enough room then splurge on the seats w/ more leg room is all i can say. if you can't spend that money i also get that been there but respect the fact that it's someone's seat and while it may not make a difference to you, it can to other ppl. and yes when im on the receiving in i just accept it for what it is. flights that are like 5+ hours too….no way in hell are you going to sit straight up 90 degree angle the whole time thats insane. you paid for the seat, why not use its feature you paid for and recline to have some sort of comfort?

by RecordProfessional57 3 months ago

It can't be factually wrong since it's an opinion

by Anonymous 3 months ago

They didn't say factually wrong. They said it is wrong. And it is.

by ResponsibleReply4011 3 months ago

Definitely need to be able to shift the seat, the real fix is to require actual space between the rows so that the reclined position still leaves the person behind with reasonable space.

by Andre71 3 months ago

For the vast majority of people, reclining is a net negative. The only people who complain are tall people too cheap to pay for better seats.

by schmidtnicole 3 months ago

My unpopular take on this is that airplane seats should be replaced by hammocks. It would be interesting.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Spirit seats don't recline

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Sorry, my back benefits from that 1" of recline. Sitting at a 90° angle for long distances is extremely painful.

by Direct_Quiet3753 3 months ago

A lot of people here obviously haven't flown on the latest wide body airliners. Seats are now designed so that your cushion slides forward a little when you recline, so the legroom for the person behind isn't compromised. Sure, their screen is closer to their face, and obviously you shouldn't recline during mealtime, but other than that it's a non-issue. FWIW I'm 6'3" and I cross the Atlantic a couple times per year.

by Practical_Poem 3 months ago

This must be because I'm short, but I've never even noticed if the person in front of me is reclined or not. How do you anti-reclining folks feel about train seats? I've been on a few that could recline double or almost triple what an airliner seat could.

by Clear_Werewolf 3 months ago

But they do, so you get to deal with it.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

American individualism always rears its ugly head when this question comes up, I've flown from the UK to Australia on a direct flight, flown to the US multiple times from Europe, flown from south East Asia back to Europe. Every time this question is asked it's filled with a bunch of Americans saying "but I paid for the seat, and it's more comfortable for me" with complete lack of respect or regard for anyone else. There are other people on flights, often taller people on flights whose experience is massively worsened by reclining seats. I flew from LA to Dublin once, and a child no older than 10 reclined his seat all the way back and me with my 6"3 legs were squashed the whole time. The only time reclining a seat is acceptable is when the airline turns off the lights to get you to sleep, and you are trying to sleep. Airlines need to give more space but that doesn't give you the right to be an inconsiderate, self-centred bellend. Just think about someone except yourself for once, Jesus Christ. Tl;Dr just be considerate of someone except yourself

by gussie93 3 months ago

Good thing I recline the seat for my own comfort, not that of those behind me

by Dramatic-Tie 3 months ago

You just have to recline yours, and it keeps going back and everybody still has the same amount of room.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

If im sitting in the same position for hours at a time, im going to recline my seat back. The person in front of me is welcome to do the same

by AppropriateHat 3 months ago

Or you can just book a seat in the first row.

by wfritsch 3 months ago

Or behind the exit row. Most of the time (that I've seen) they can't recline.

by Every_Ad 3 months ago

As a statistician, your use of hyperbolic percentages to make your anecdotal point was painful to read. Also, I'm pretty sure that most people would agree that a "100% decline in the comfort" on an airplane would be the plane crashing 🤷‍♂️

by Luebogisich 3 months ago

I'm shocked that as a statistician you would ever say "pretty sure most people would agree".

by Kuphaladriel 3 months ago

My hips disagree with marginal benefit. I'm leaning my seat back.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

If the person in front of you reclines, you can always put your bare foot on their armrest, but that's not ideal because they might tickle you. The smart move is to respond with "Ooh, your shampoo smells lovely, may I touch your hair?"

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Yup definitely an unpopular opinion. That 5-10 degree recline allows me to lean my neck against the side of the neck support on most seats without my head falling forward when i fall asleep. It barely makes a difference on the leg room for me if the person in front of me reclines, even though I'm 6' 0". I can't speak for people that are taller than me, but they are in the minority.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I hate reclining my own seat (my back kills me at that angle) so I generally lean forward and sleep with my head on the seat in front of me (seriously, I don't know how you guys think reclining the seat back is comfortable). I think seats have been reclining less lately, but it made me so claustrophobic when the person in front of me reclined into my knees and I was basically stuck there. I also now get the aisle seat so it's less claustrophobic. Still sucks trying to eat with a seat in your lap. 1000% with OP here.

by Tnikolaus 3 months ago

no. i'm gonna recline my seat The marginal benefit you get from leaning your seat back is so far outweighed by the discomfort it causes the person behind you no it's not. so my back should hurt sitting upright just so the person behind me can be comfortable? that's stupid

by Anonymous 3 months ago

The never ending battle. Just recline when you want. That's the deal. Recline your seat if you don't like losing some space when the person in front of you reclines. Sick of the drama! I'm out.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Whatever, but can we please normalise putting your seat up at meal times.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

If your knees are above the pivot point of the seat in front of you this reduces the space to fit your legs considerably.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

"someone leaned back in front of me and i didn't like it"

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Common courtesy rules. Check for the passenger behind you before deciding to recline. This would not be an issue if the airlines hadn't jammed seats so close together. The distance and pitch make a huge difference. I remember flying 727s that had great legroom and nobody cared about reclining. This is airline manufactured discomfort. It's all about the dollars.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I don't think this is an unpopular opinion at all. Only assholes recline in a plane.

by Future-Leave 3 months ago

Agreed. It's like a tall person scooping in and standing in front of someone who's shorter at a concert. Yes you paid for the ticket but you're still an asshole for doing it. You're also allowed to not bring back the shopping cart to the spot you took it from. It's not illegal if you don't, but you're still an asshole for doing it. There are more examples but you get the point.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Yeah, they should fixed in the recline position.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Recline on the left. Non reclining on the right. Just like there used to be smoking and non smoking.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Plot twist; Op works for FAA and airlines

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Marginal benefit? If I can't lean back I get a headache that lasts for days.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

The seat in front of me doesn't recline because my hand is on it.

by Anonymous 3 months ago