Debate: Chair Reclining Monsters

Everyone has at least one pet peeve. Even if they can’t name it off the top of their heads, as soon as they encounter that “thing”, their blood begins to boil. My biggest pet peeve ever? People reclining their seats into my lap on an airplane.

Airline seats should come with a little warning attached to them:  “Recline At Your Own Peril”.  Because really, you are risking a lot just to get a small extra bit of “comfort”.  If you notice someone small and short behind you, it will probably cause zero harm to recline your seat back a bit, especially on an overnight flight. That is understandable. I’m only five feet tall myself, so a little reclining doesn’t bother me. That being said…

People who recline their seats all the way back into another person’s knees causing pain and injury are the most selfish human beings on the planet.

Yep, I said it. THE MOST SELFISH HUMAN BEINGS ON THE PLANET.

I’ve heard every counter-complaint there is. “Why should I limit my comfort for yours?” Well for one, not being able to recline your seat all the way back does not cause you physical injury. Do you realize that ramming your seat into someone’s knees is assault? Oops.

I am not tall, and I can only imagine how difficult this is for someone who is. My husband has a bad knee that he has had surgery on. The last flight I took, the person in front of him hit his knees while reclining, and thought their chair was stuck. So, they sat forward and then rammed their back into the chair to try and get it to go down further. It took them awhile and a grunt from my pained husband to turn around and realize, with an irritated look on their face, that it was physically impossible for them to recline further because my husband HAS knees. Yes, ladies and gentleman, he has knees.

He was not holding their chair, mind you.

Another counter-complaint I hear is, “well tall people should just pay extra for first class or the seats with extra leg space.”

Really? Then why don’t we just have a little section on the plane for people who want to recline all the way back, that they have to pay extra for? It seems only fair that someone who wants an extra luxury should have to pay more for it, rather than someone who just doesn’t want to be physically assaulted sitting in their chair.

In a perfect world, the logical resolution for both types of passengers would be airlines increasing leg room, or “pitch” between seats. Unfortunately, airlines have no interest in doing this. They also have no interest, according to studies, in removing the reclining feature or limiting it. Apparently, they like their overworked flight attendants having to get involved in disputes between passengers over leg room day in and day out.

So again I say this: “Recline At Your Own Peril.” Because if you’re crushing my knees, you are not just “using the space that you paid for.” In fact, the space you paid for ends the second it comes in contact with the knees of the person behind you. Did you know that? I thought not.

Why don’t we all just try to be a little more courteous? If the person in front of you is reclining and it’s not hurting you, let them be. Maybe you’ll have to adjust the screen on the back of the chair a little bit to see it. Likewise, if the person behind you has long legs, realize that you didn’t luck out on this trip and keep your chair upright.

Otherwise, prepare for the kickiest ride of your life. I promise you, sitting upright would be a lot less uncomfortable.