'Entitled' flight etiquette fail has travellers fuming

Even the flight attendant stepped in to insist it was OK. 

For some, there’s nothing more relaxing than settling in on a long haul flight, with your headphones in, eye mask on, and seat reclined.

But, for the people behind these people, it’s a total nightmare.

One traveller has shared their story to social media - and the internet is well and truly divided.

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this.

Image: Supplied.

RELATED: Divisive flight habit has travellers torn

“This lady behind me just screeches and swears”

A solo traveller has taken to Reddit sharing a horror story which occurred after they reclined their seat on a plane.

The flight was the traveller’s second on the way to the UK, meaning they weren’t hesitant to recline their seat halfway through to take a nap.

But, the woman behind them wasn’t so happy about it.

“This lady behind me just screeches and swears,” the poster shared.

“I turn around, because I had reclined my seat, her drink had spilled. I felt so terrible, apologised and she just says don’t recline your seat and proceeds to say it’s fine.”

The poster said they waited around 40 minutes in hopes that the woman would have finished her drink, but she still wouldn’t let her recline.

The poster said they then contacted a flight attendant for assistance, who, fortunately, had their back.

“He tells me that I can just recline the seat without asking her, and I say that I got yelled at and she was just mean,” the poster said.

“He just looks at me confused, goes to the lady and says that I want to recline my seat, therefore he’s going to do it for me. She gets angry, she says the table hits her belly, she can’t watch her movie, says she doesn’t have enough space and just complains.

“The flight attendant just says ‘This is how the aircraft is built, if you look around there are multiple people who have their seats reclined. If you want to complain, you are free to do so on the Qatar Airways site’.”

The debacle didn’t end there, with more shoving and complaining from the woman.

“Reclining your seat is just rude now”

While the poster was expecting sympathy, many commenters on the post actually said that the woman behind had a point, calling the act of reclining your seat rude and entitled.

“I've had food spilled all over me on Qatar flights multiple times because someone tried to recline their seat during meals,” said one person.

“In my humble and no doubt unpopular opinion, aircraft seating should not recline,” another asserted.

“I have never reclined my seat on an airplane, because I know it makes it uncomfortable for the person behind me. So I just don’t do it,” said a third.

“Everyone knows the airlines have made it so crowded that reclining your seat is just rude now. I don't recline my seat because I have respect for my fellow passengers,” another person said.

“If my seat reclines, I’m gonna recline it”

Others, though, said that the poster did nothing wrong.

“It was your seat to recline, people are just mean, I'm glad the flight attendants were nice,” one person said.

“I’ve never gotten mad about the person in front of me using a feature of their seat. Some people just stay mad. You did nothing wrong,” said another.

“If she wanted more room, she should've upgraded. If my seat reclines, I'm gonna recline it,” a third agreed.

Originally published as 'Entitled' flight etiquette fail has travellers fuming