Man Aggressively Shakes The Airplane Seat In Front Of His To Prevent The Passenger Seated There From Reclining
Reclining your seat on planes: yay or nay?
YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV | Shutterstock A viral video sparked an online debate about flying etiquette, particularly regarding seat reclining. While some argue that it's well within passengers’ rights to recline their seats as far as they go, others believe it goes against an unspoken rule of flying.
The irate passenger in the footage took a firm anti-reclining stance.
The man aggressively shook the airplane seat in front of him to prevent the other passenger from reclining.
A nearby passenger captured the viral footage on a flight departing Denver. A man is seen gripping the seat in front of him before aggressively shaking it in an attempt to keep the passenger from leaning back.
The passenger tried several times to recline his seat, shooting the man daggers to no avail.
The person behind the camera can be heard telling one of the men to switch seats so they can enjoy their flight the way they would like. Soon a flight attendant was summoned, who appeared to inform the man he must stop holding the seat and allow the person in front of him to recline.
The video reignited the ongoing debate over whether or not it's appropriate to recline your seat on an airplane.
Some people insisted that the passenger in front of the man had a right to recline his seat as much as he wanted.
“It’s in everyone’s right to recline,” one Internet user wrote.
“If you don’t like people reclining and need more room, pay for an upgrade," another suggested. "Otherwise, don’t travel on public transit or sit behind an exit row."
Others, however, argued that reclining your seat goes against proper plane etiquette given the limited space available.
“Normal people do not recline. Everyone who flies knows that," one commenter wrote. "My ‘comfort’ will cause much more discomfort for someone else.”
“Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should,” another insisted.
This video is not the first incident to be caught on camera depicting passengers in heated disagreements over seat reclining. It remains a sensitive topic in the aviation world and one that has no definitive answer.
So, is it appropriate to recline your seat on an airplane?
Some travel experts believe it depends on the flight’s overall setting.
Over the last three decades, the space between plane seats has reportedly shrunk from 35 inches to 28 inches, giving passengers little room to eat, work on their laptops, or even be seated comfortably. When the passenger in front of them reclines their seat, they are left with hardly any breathing room.
While passengers have a right to recline their seats for added comfort (that’s why the recline button is there, after all!) it's always polite to ask the person behind you for their blessing.
Eivasla | Shutterstock
Ed Bastian, the CEO of Delta Airlines, supports this idea.
“The proper thing to do is that if you’re going to recline into somebody, you ask if it’s OK first,” he told CNBC’s 'Squawk Box' in 2020 after a video of a man repeatedly punching the seat in front of him to prevent the passenger from reclining went viral.
Still, while flying, passengers should always assume that the person in front of them will recline their seat. That way, there is no heated confrontation when it happens.
“That button’s there for a reason, and I had always felt entitled to it once that announcement chimes, it’s safe to sit back and relax,” MoneyWatch reporter Megan Cerullo told CBS News. “[But] it’s always wise if you’re going to recline at the very least turnaround and glance back and make sure that the person behind you isn’t juggling a baby or a glass of wine, or a meal,” she added.
It is safe to say that the real culprit here is the airline manufacturers who refuse to make planes more spacious so that passengers can comfortably recline without worrying about infringing on the person behind them. If they cannot do that, they should consider stripping planes of the recline buttons entirely to avoid these petty arguments happening at 35,000 feet in the air!
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.