Is it okay to recline your seat on a plane? — Opinion

IN THE past fortnight, three flights have been diverted after people got in fights over reclining seats. It’s time to sit back, relax, and recline.

OBSCENITIES are being screamed out from behind you. Your body is jolted by a series of kicks. Water is thrown in your face, soon followed by a fist.

The next thing you know your flight is making an emergency landing as the crew grapple with a furious passenger who is determined to strangle you.

So what could you have possibly done to deserve this kind of treatment?

You’ve probably just dared to recline your seat.

Huge mistake! Don’t you know that it’s a mile-high etiquette crime these days (note the sarcasm here!)?

This is the utterly despicable reality that airline passengers are dealing with these days. With THREE separate midair seat fights in the past two weeks, we can no longer ignore the fact that the seat reclining debate has reached a boiling point.

It seems that everyone has an opinion on whether it’s OK to hit the recline button, and misdirected rage is running rampant in our skies.

Case in point is a Time article that lambastes passengers who lean back, warning: “If you try to move that seat back again I’m going over the top of your chair and strangling you.”

The author continues to detail his strategy of giving dirty looks to the person in front, followed by kicking their chair if they don’t give in to his fury.

“If I’m not going to be comfortable, you’re not ... prepare for a bumpy ride.”

Unsurprisingly, the writer says he’s had some very unfriendly exchanges in the friendly skies.

And he’s definitely not alone in his beliefs.

It’s a battle that has been brewing for some time, with frequent business traveller and author Richard Moran sparking debate earlier this year when he penned an open letter to passengers calling for a ban on reclining seats.

“It’s time for a business traveller revolt,” Moran wrote. “Those variable few centimetres at your knees dictate the difference between being productive or entertained versus sitting idly cursing the guy in front of you.”

It’s a fierce mile-high battle.

But I just don’t buy it. So your desire to work is more important than my desire to rest? I don’t think so. Besides, by arguing that someone is being inconsiderate by reclining, aren’t you actually being inconsiderate by wanting them to move for your benefit?

He continues: “After takeoff the person in front of me steals half of the space in front of me. Those seven inches were mine a minute ago, now it’s down to three. Now I can’t use my laptop. Now I can’t move. I am a prisoner in a space the size of a small dog crate.”

Um, you do realise you can create more room by pressing that magic button too?

Wait, there’s more: “The chances are good that work needs to be done before arrival or they wouldn’t be on the plane in the first place.”

How about finishing your work BEFORE your trip, if it’s that important?

Reclining to sleep IS OK.

The reality of the situation is that few cattle class passengers are flying in comfort. When we lean our seat back, we’re just trying to make that long-haul trip a bit more bearable. Airlines invented such functions for exactly this purpose, so if you don’t like it, I suggest you take the fight to them instead.

After all, the squeeze will likely be felt for some time.

“Seats are getting closer together,” Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants in the US told the Associated Press. “We have to de-escalate conflict all the time.

“We haven’t hit the end of it. The conditions continue to march in a direction that will lead to more and more conflict.”

If you really can’t bear the thought of losing a bit of legroom, here’s a genius answer for you: Pay an extra $20 (or so) for a roomier exit row seat, or upgrade to an economy plus or business class seat.

Don’t resort to using those devices that lock the seat in front in an upright position, such as the Knee Defender. You may think you have the right to protect your legroom, but what about the person in front’s right to use their seat’s basic functions? And you risk landing on the bad side of airlines if you use one.

What next, fist fights over who gets to put their arm on the middle armrest? What about those who get their pick of airline meal first, only for your favourite meal to run out? Are you going to throw your food at them?

It’s time to stop acting like spoiled princesses.

Ultimately, as long as passengers are considerate and recline their seat slowly, there simply shouldn’t be an issue.

Sit back, relax and enjoy your flight!

Note: For those asking, no, I’m not short. I’m of above average height at 168 centimetres tall. According to the ABS stats for 2012, the average Australian woman is 161.8cm tall and man 175.6cm.

Good day.