You didn’t pay for that space. The guy ahead of you bought it. Sheesh. I get the option for more space is not available in some cases. That’s life. That’s free market capitalism. If you’d rather have the state regulate legroom and recline and drive airfares up by hundreds of dollars go ahead but you won’t have much public support. Why do you think the seats recline? Do you think United installs more expensive recliners to create philosophical debate and intrigue? They install them because customers pay for them!
According to this article on CNN, they are not banned by the FAA (so strike my second comment), but are banned by most US, Canadian and Australian airlines.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/27/travel/knee-defender-travel-gadget/index.html
liberals recline, libertarians don’t and know why no one should.
Geo:
You and I obviously disagree on this. I told you I never recline because I think it is rude to the person behind me. You think it is okay because you don’t give a $^it about the person behind you and as long as the seat is made this way, then anyone who doesn’t like it can get bent.
This is why so many people hate flying.
I just buy premium econ when I need to (and when I can). I don’t like it when I’m reclined at either, but I accept that the recline functionality is what the guy ahead paid for. I have no right to take that away. Recline is a benefit paid for. There are airlines with seats that do not recline.
Preach, brother!!!
This is not the least hypocritical statement I’ve seen in a long time, or anything!!!
IF I WANT TO RECLINE, I’M GOING TO RECLINE, GODDAMMIT!!! I DON’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOU OR YOUR SPACE THAT I’M INVADING!!! AS LONG AS I GET MINE, IT’S ALL GOOD!!!
You didn’t read the rest of what I had to say Greenie. People pay for recline. They bought the space. End of story. Its amazing that free market American finance types are demanding a free lunch.
This might be a moot discussion in 5 years.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/10/travel/standing-cabin-plane-study/index.html?iid=article_sidebar
^I’ll need to buy a cup.
After more thought, I have decided to not purchase the Knee Defender. I will try a more civil way of defending my knees such as discussion, which I am sure the majority of time will be satisfactory to both parties.
Unless the person in front of me is Geo, in which case I will get an “F you” and the finger.
They should design planes by stacking people lying down
Do they own the space only for the purpose of reclining, or do they have unconditional ownership of it? I ask because, as noted previously, I don’t recline. I do often use a backpack as my carry on bag though, and would love to hang it off the back of my seat instead of putting it under the seat in front of me or in the overhead compartment. It has a bunch of straps so I could secure it in such a way that it won’t fall off in the event of turbulance. Assuming it occupies the same area that my seatback would be occupying if I were to recline, I should be good, right?
No one is forced to fly any airline they dont want to, so this is a moot argument.
First, it’s not fully agreed upon whether or not you paid for the recline. Second, it’s not clear whether the space behind you is yours or belongs to the guy behind you.
And third, just because you think you’re entitled the space doesn’t mean that you’re not inconveniencing the person behind you, like what happened to me on my flight to Chile. Because the person in front of me reclined and I could not, I couldn’t read or use my iPad or anything. And since I was the middle seat, I could only sit there for 13 hours and do absolutely nothing. (In order to be fair, I never asked them to un-recline, because I felt it was their right, even though it really sucked for me.)
So even if you paid for it (which is up for debate) and the space is yours (which is up for debate), it still doesn’t make you a DB (which is also up for debate at this point).
If the plane is full, and the guy legitimately made an effort to get an exit row seat or premium economy seat but couldn’t, I’d be sympathic to a compromise on say 1/2 recline if it helped the guy out.
itera, that would actually be a good idea.
I’m with Goes to Eleven’s on this one.
I’d be sympathetic to the last row and maybe recline half way. The problem is if you applied your ethics, no one could recline on the whole plane. And that sucks because I can’t sleep without recline, a recliner that I paid for. In other news: you do realise you can book a seat in advance or check in online? Getting stuck in the back row is something that should only happen to standby flyers.
The space that is “yours” depends on the seat.
Window seat: you are entitled to all of this extra space near the window. That’s why the window seat is the best (duh).
Middle: you are entitled to both middle arm rests.
Aisle: you are entitled to the extra leg room and ease of exit.
Everyone is entitled to recline because that’s the way the chairs are designed. If the airlines didn’t want reclining chairs, they would have designed the chairs so they don’t recline. If you can’t fit in an economy chair, buy a bigger chair.
This is not hard guys, this is very basic common sense.
^ Thanks Bro. And some airlines do have non-reclining chairs so it is a conscious decision to offer this benefit to flyers, which is why I argue I have paid for that recline space.
This is not even up for debate. Of course the space behind you belongs to you and you paid for it. That’s why the chairs recline. This is one of the dumbest debates we’ve ever had on AF, right up there with Blake’s pitchers mound debate.