Dont Recline (think Of People Behind)

[VSL]

I'm flying with Virgin and staying overnight at The Hilton in Gatwick, so I'm going to do the twilight check-in and either see if we can upgrade (gonna throw in the fact that I'm going for my 21st ), and if not I'm going to see about an exit-row seat

 

[vicky1bfc]

Again, these days we are a country of cheap is best and you cannot have both!
You either pay for more room and more personal space, or you take the cheap option of less room and a seatback in your face.

I know people will say "we cannot afford to fly Buisness/Premium economy" but I have to say, you get what you pay for. and for an 8,000 mile journey £800 is good value, whilst £300, well, where do you think they are going to make cost cuts? You wait until the 800 seat A380's are doing the Bucket & spade routes!!!

Why not save up longer, go to Spain or one of the resorts in this country for a few more years and then go to the USA?

Its nonsense to say that someone must keep their chair (which are uncomfortable anyway as the airlines make them smaller and thinner to save room and get more seats in) upright because you want more personal space and suffer the backpains involved. The seat is designed to recline for a reason. If you want an airline that the seats do not recline, fly Ryanair!



We flew once, some 17 years ago, on a charter that flew from glasgow to birmingham and then onto Orlando.
Never again! we did it to save some money, but we then spent four days in agony afterwards from terrible backache from the tiny seats.
Since then, we only ever fly commercial and either Buisness or upper class. And if we cannot afford it? we wait and go when we can. Spain is lovely, sopid Portugal, and there are some beutiful parts of the British Isles which I bet none of us have visited totally (and of course, keeps our fellow brits in work!)

Are you serious? You telling people to pay for an upgrade or go to spain.

 

[Goofyish]

Saying don't go until you can afford to fly PE or First Class is a bit of a simplistic solution!
There may be many reason why this is not a practical choice for many people. Either due to the ages of children, work commitments, illness etc. A lot of people already push themselves financially and have to save for years to be able to afford their holiday of a lifetime to Florida. Some go without any kind of holiday for a few years so they and go to Florida. Not everyone has the financial flexibility to put off their Florida holiday and go to Spain instead!
Even paying for the 'cheap' seats should not exclude people from expecting a bit of common decency and manners from whoever is sitting in front of them. It doesn't take much effort to turn round and check if the person sitting behind is OK with the seat being reclined. It doesn't take much effort to think about the person sitting behind you during meal times.

I'm sorry Obi Wan - I find you attitude a bit insulting to those families that have saved for years for that one opportunity to go to Florida.

 

[kristieuk]

I cannot believe how rude people are! At the end of the days airplane seats aren't comfortable, and I don't see how anyone can be blamed or even abused for trying to get just a little bit comfortable! I'm not saying you should be inconsiderate or have no care for the person behind, but who is to say they haven't reclined their own seats. That's what the seats do - it isn't anyone doing anything they shouldn't for heaven's sake.

It's a lot worse on budget airlines from what I can tell. Try American Airlines - they have a +3" pitch on BA, so goodness knows the improvement on carriers like Britannia.

 

[vicky1bfc]

Kirstie,i don't think anyone's saying people shouldn't make themselves comfortable.People would just like a bit of common consideration when people are doing it.In my case it would have been nice to have been asked (or warned)then i could have moved my leg's instead the silly woman tried to take them off.

 

[mrshnn]

i seemed to have created a monster with this thread,i think what we all want really is people to be a little considerate and thoughtful,reclining a little does not bother people i find when its done in one sudden fell swoop that it causes problems,anyway im thinking less than 4 weeks to go yipeee

 

[vernon]

Kristie said

It's a lot worse on budget airlines from what I can tell. Try American Airlines - they have a +3" pitch on BA, so goodness knows the improvement on carriers like Britannia.

and I have to agree if seat pitch is this big an issue to you that you'll threaten or get physical with someone in front of you who is using their seat in a manner that it is intended/designed to do , then you should consider using an airline that has made a concious choice to offer wider seats and a greater seat pitch distance. It is for those reasons that the majoroity of my flights in the last 5 years have been with either American Airlines or USAirways. Even BA seem to be better than Virgin. IMHO you're getting angry with the wrong people, it's the airlines who try to squeeze extra people onto the flights by minimizing the space per customer who should be the target for your ire, not the person who is just trying to get as comfortable as possible within the confines of their seat's range. If by choosing American Airlines I've had to fly into Miami and drive up for the same price as a direct flight to Orlando, then that usually would be my choice (usually it's cheaper to fly to Miami). It is only by the customer making a concious choice to hit the airlines, that sardine crate you into the aircraft, where it hurts them most that we can show them what we require from them. Which is I believe sufficient space to be able to sit comfortably. Again if having someone's chair back too close to you is an issue, tell the airline you have a back problem that means you have to sit bolt upright and for that reason you need to have a front row (bulk head) seat. If it's an issue to you, there are a number of ways to minimise or eliminate the risk of you having the seat in front of you right in your face, but the onus is on the person feeling that way to be proactive in making choices or taking actions to do so.

Now I'll accept there are times, such as meal times or when they are moving about the plane, when out of courtesy they should be as upright as possible, and that when reclining the seat to do so in a manner that doesn't smash the legs of the person behind, but other than that, if they are in their seat and they are within the range of movement that the airline allows that seat to achieve then it is the person that nudges, kicks, pulls hair or tips water that is not only being discourtious but if there were to be an "incident" over the issue would be the person blamed or charged with inciting such an incident. They may feel they are "defending their space" but if the person in the seat who is reclining is within the range of their seats movement it is the person behind who is infringing space.

 

[kristieuk]

Well said!

 

[Pootle]

Kristie said: Try American Airlines - they have a +3" pitch on BA

Alas the generous 34" seat pitch of American Airlines, advertised with the 'More Room Throughout Coach' slogan, will soon be no more. Here is an extract from an email they sent me when I raised this issue with them:

Now, however, the marketplace has changed even further. With the record high price of fuel and the continued low fare environment, our More Room Throughout Coach product puts us at a revenue disadvantage to our competitors. If we are to remain competitive and increase our strengths, we are determined to find a viable balance between cost-competitiveness and our customers' preferences. As a result, we made the difficult but prudent decision to add seats back on our MD80s, 737s, 767s and 777s. We are convinced that there was no better alternative

They will still be better than charters, but not the gem they have been for the last few years

 

[daxus]

These threads always bring a smile to my face.

Someone always posts how a 'really rude' person had the audacity to recline the seat in front of them. This poster then gleefully tells us how they then kept kicking the back of that persons seat, or performed some other spiteful attack on them. Surely these people can see the irony in their behaviour... Its just a tad like a sulky child isn't it???

1. People are allowed to recline their seats if they want to. It doesn't matter whether you like it. If you don't think that seats should be reclined you need to take it up with the airlines, not your fellow passengers.

2. Surely the best way to express you feelings is to actually TALK to the person in front of you. They are probably not psychic, and therefore are completely unaware that you regard having a seat reclined in front of you as a personal attack, and are plotting your evil revenge.

3. If the person still wants to have their seat reclined, speak to the cabin crew and see if they can help.

4. And if all that fails, just console yourself that in a few hours you'll be off of the plane and all will be well again.

5. You could always put your own seat back, and then you'll have all your space back again

Be well....

 

[XAVIER]

Personaly, my issue was not with the fact that they put their seats back it was with their attitude about it. When asked by both us and then the stewardess to put them back up while we were eating the couple in front refused point blank. Why?
Now to me that is just plain ignorant (and arrogant). The stewardess did not want to cause a big fuss over it (although she was clearly annoyed) so we let it go but had to move the kids in to those seats to allow us grown ups a bit more room to eat.
If I recline my seat, and I do sometimes, I always ask behind and tell the person to inform me if they want me to move it back. It's called curtesy.
Luckily I've only ever experienced this type of thing the one time. Most people are very considerate and will gladly move their seat back up to let you eat and even give you warning when they are going to recline it again.
Common sense really.

 

[eyoreaud]

Good for you XAVIER !

I think you've hit the nail on the head there my friend If everyone was a little more thoughtful of others then there would be no need for bad feelings, especialy as (i'm sure) no one wants to have a lousy time on their flight when they're going to the most Magical place on earth

Nuff Said

 

[mrshnn]

i agree xavier well put,i agree completely

 

[DisCharmed]

I'd never experienced this until I flew to Antigua with Virgin this year. Same old story - the people in front dropped their seats back before take off. During turbulance we were asked to put ours upright even though we had no one behind us as we were near the doors. BUT the people in front of us weren't!

When it came to meal times we had to ask the stewardess twice to ask them to put their seats up so we could eat - which they did for all of 10 mins and then shot them backwards without warning nearly tipping our dinners and drinks over us.

It did make me very cross - I just thought it was very impolite

 

[terrynewpack]

Easiest answer would be if the airlines removed the recline option in economy and this would allow everyone in that class the same room.

I would vote for that given a chance.

Terry

 

[Scottish-Helen]

Sitting upright in Economy the whole way would be torture for everyone in those seats.

I never recline at mealtimes or on take off but once I get into the flight then I do so I can try and get some sleep. If everybody reclines then everybody is left with the same space they started off with, therefore what is the problem.

 

[terrynewpack]

Sitting upright in Economy the whole way would be torture for everyone in those seats.

I never recline at mealtimes or on take off but once I get into the flight then I do so I can try and get some sleep. If everybody reclines then everybody is left with the same space they started off with, therefore what is the problem.

If everbody reclines...........
But they don't and they don't all do it at the same time.
And it wouldn't be torture.

Terry

 

[Tiggernut_jadie]

Sorry but I do and WILL recline becasue I don't see why I should be uncomfortable for 9 hours+! I understand where people are coming from but I find it extremely uncomfatable to sit bolt upright for more than about 15 mins let alone 9 hours! I will sit up for meals, take off and when instructed to do so by the Stewards but if I'm just sitting there reading or watching the TV then I will recline. I do make sure that the person behind isn't eating etc but the seats are made to recline so I will do so. As others have said if I recline my seat and reduce the space ehind, then all that person has to do is recline too and their 'space' is returned to them.

As for the idea of stopping the economy class seats from reclining well hell why don't we go the whole hog and wedge us all in with shoe horns and provide catheters for everyone so no-one has to move at all. then we can all start mooing like the cattle class we are!