6 ms·

I really love reclining. As a tall guy, it makes long flights significantly better. Albeit I usually fly in economy on budget airlines so can't usually recline

by butwhy 11y ago

I really love reclining. As a tall guy, it makes long flights significantly better. Albeit I usually fly in economy on budget airlines so can't usually recline far, but I'm still appreciative of what I get. It saddens me that people want to disrupt others and disable functionality that the seat/plane was engineered to have. Although I always recline very slowly to be least shocking to the person behind me and obviously not during meal time etc.

wink 11y ago
And you never had someone equally tall behind you that now didn't have enough space?
CHY872 11y ago
As a tall guy, I find that my knees are at most a couple of inches from the seat in front. When the person in front of me reclines and their chair hits my knees, it's clear that I'll be uncomfortable for the entire remainder of the flight. I don't recline; I judge people who do it in front of me as selfish, and I don't want to be hypocritical.
- bemmu 11y ago
  Don't suffer in silence, ask the person behind you. At least for me it makes no difference if the person in front reclines or not. Biggest effect is that I get to have the entertainment system a bit nearer to me. On the other hand, I suspect most people would be too nice to give a truthful answer even if they dislike it..
- nemesisj 11y ago
  "tall guy" is a qualitative statement, not quantitative. I'm 6'4". My knees always touch the seat in front of me - reclining helps me angle my legs a bit more so I have a few more positions for my legs, particularly on 8+ hour flights, which I often take. It also helps my back hurt less, and often means a significant difference (>1 hour more) in the amount of sleep I get on a flight. I'm not sure why using the seat as it's meant (particularly in response to someone else using the seat in the same way in front of you) is perceived as selfish. Granted, I often purchase Economy Comfort/Plus/Premier seats on redeye flights of more than 6 hours, but sometimes it's not an option.
  - antihero 11y ago
    So there are two 6'4" guys sitting one in front of each other. The one in front reclines, putting the one behind in more discomfort. They are prioritising their own comfort over the person behind. This is like, the definition of selfish, unless the person behind is short enough for it to have no discernible effect (so likely under 5'10 or so).
  - dzhiurgis 11y ago
    6'2" and reclined or not, flights are awful torture to me. There are no positions that my legs or shoulders wouldn't be in discomfort.
  - Sephiroth87 11y ago
    I'm 6'4" as well, and it really sucks that I should have to pay just to fit my legs in the seat, let alone be comfortable...
    - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
      Come on, you have to buy longer jeans, and extra-long-sleeved shirts, and probably bigger shoes. They all cost more. And given society's worshipping of tall people, it can't really suck. Not buying it; no sympathy from me.
      - Sephiroth87 11y ago
        I'm not sure if you're joking or not, or what kind of shops you frequent, but I never had to pay any extra because my jeans were longer...
        JoeAltmaier 11y ago
        If you can find them at all. Not on the discount rack for sure. I end up having to buy them wherever I can find them, often at a ridiculous price.
- rfergie 11y ago
  Likewise. I'm 2.04m and I never recline without asking. I expect the same courtesy from those sitting in front of me
  - lawnchair_larry 11y ago
    I'm not sure that asking actually makes it any better. Has anyone ever said no?
    - rfergie 11y ago
      About half say no in my experience. But I'm not sure it really is about the yes/no answer - it is more a display of courtesy to someone whom you are about to cause discomfort
      - darklajid 11y ago
        Let me play the devil's advocate: If you're convinced that this WILL cause discomfort, why are you asking people - which very well might be too polite/afraid/distracted to decline - if you can do that? Aren't you, based on your very own impression and description of reclining, asking people if you can slap them every 10min for the rest of the flight? (I dislike flying in general, and I never had to take a flight longer than 4.5 hours. I couldn't care less about the argument, but would probably lean towards the 'So my chair can be set back. I guess I use it as intended' position)
        dragonwriter 11y ago
        > Aren't you, based on your very own impression and description of reclining, asking people if you can slap them every 10min for the rest of the flight? A slap with consent may be weird, but a slap without consent is battery. So, if one accepts your slap analogy, there's a good reason to ask consent.
        darklajid 11y ago
        That's twisting the idea quite a bit. For me there is no analogy or issue. Ignoring the 'I think flights are crap in general' base line: My seat. I recline it or not, but that's my decision. I would have a harder time to recline it, if I'd be convinced that this is in some way 'hard' on the one behind me. But IF I were convinced that this was 'hard' for the person behind me, I'd not ask them for consent. A) They say "Please don't recline". Hah! I'm right! And I'm a great person for asking, and now not reclining my seat. Go me. B) They say "Enjoy" B1) Hmm. I am convinced that this reclining thing is bad for people in the seats behind the person in question. They agreed, but unless I'm wrong I'm now making their life miserable. But yeah - they're fine with it? B2) Interesting. Maybe reclining isn't that bad? I should reflect and think about whether my 'reclining is bad and torture' idea is sensible.
- loco5niner 11y ago
  I'm only medium-tall (6' 1") and it doesn't bother me that I have to be a little uncomfortable and change positions every once in a while. I'm actually more uncomfortable when I don't recline because then I have fewer positions to change to.
gusmd 11y ago
I'm not a tall person, but I also agree with you. It is very uncomfortable to go through a long flight on an upright seat. I can not believe people think they have the prerogative to stop other people from reclining. It is intended functionality and we have certainly paid for that.
- wink 11y ago
  I honestly wonder if those measurements get adjusted over time or if the baseline of "average human height" (which I hope was factored into the calculation) was taken in the 50s? 60s? (when was commercial flight "mainstreamed"?) - as various studies show that it's been going up. Will our ancestors (again +10cm[0]) in 100 years still mutter about reclining seats? :) [0]: http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/3780/20130902/average-height-european-males-up-11cm-mid-19th-century.htm http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/3780/20130902/averag...
  - calgoo 11y ago
    i know the airlines here in Europe have reduced the space quite a lot to fit extra rows, basically forcing tall people into upgrading their seats.
    - CaptainZapp 11y ago
      Do you have a source for that? I fly a lot within Europe (granted, with a limited selection of airlines) since 2006 and never noticed a decline of space during this time. Except for the super discount carriers (I rarely fly Easy Jet and never flew Ryanair, so I can't really comment on that) the seat pitch seems around 31" in economy for most flights I ever took. This is about what most airlines offer on long haul flights (in cattle class) and is certainly tolerable for short hops of less than two hours.
  - markburns 11y ago
    Perhaps our descendants will.
- buro9 11y ago
gdrulia 11y ago
So far, thankfully I've never had a person in front of me, who would have decided to recline their seat. Although I'm mainly travelling with Ryanair, so I'm not even sure if that is possible on their planes. But for me, 1.94m tall, even a thought that someone would try to take away some of my space on plane is simply infuriating. I have experienced this in buses and trains, on trains especially. There this can be tolerable, because there is a much more space (at least where I've experienced reclining), and people mostly have been very understanding and kind of afraid that someone from the back will start to shout on them. In any case, it as well quite a sad thing, that whether there is enough space to be able to recline or isn't, we have a situation were we are unable to sort this out between ourselves.
- peterbraden 11y ago
  "take away some of my space" - it's not your space.

by butwhy 11y ago

wink 11y ago

And you never had someone equally tall behind you that now didn't have enough space?

CHY872 11y ago

As a tall guy, I find that my knees are at most a couple of inches from the seat in front. When the person in front of me reclines and their chair hits my knees, it's clear that I'll be uncomfortable for the entire remainder of the flight. I don't recline; I judge people who do it in front of me as selfish, and I don't want to be hypocritical.

bemmu 11y ago
Don't suffer in silence, ask the person behind you. At least for me it makes no difference if the person in front reclines or not. Biggest effect is that I get to have the entertainment system a bit nearer to me. On the other hand, I suspect most people would be too nice to give a truthful answer even if they dislike it..
nemesisj 11y ago
"tall guy" is a qualitative statement, not quantitative. I'm 6'4". My knees always touch the seat in front of me - reclining helps me angle my legs a bit more so I have a few more positions for my legs, particularly on 8+ hour flights, which I often take. It also helps my back hurt less, and often means a significant difference (>1 hour more) in the amount of sleep I get on a flight. I'm not sure why using the seat as it's meant (particularly in response to someone else using the seat in the same way in front of you) is perceived as selfish. Granted, I often purchase Economy Comfort/Plus/Premier seats on redeye flights of more than 6 hours, but sometimes it's not an option.
- antihero 11y ago
  So there are two 6'4" guys sitting one in front of each other. The one in front reclines, putting the one behind in more discomfort. They are prioritising their own comfort over the person behind. This is like, the definition of selfish, unless the person behind is short enough for it to have no discernible effect (so likely under 5'10 or so).
- dzhiurgis 11y ago
  6'2" and reclined or not, flights are awful torture to me. There are no positions that my legs or shoulders wouldn't be in discomfort.
- Sephiroth87 11y ago
  I'm 6'4" as well, and it really sucks that I should have to pay just to fit my legs in the seat, let alone be comfortable...
  - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
    Come on, you have to buy longer jeans, and extra-long-sleeved shirts, and probably bigger shoes. They all cost more. And given society's worshipping of tall people, it can't really suck. Not buying it; no sympathy from me.
    - Sephiroth87 11y ago
      I'm not sure if you're joking or not, or what kind of shops you frequent, but I never had to pay any extra because my jeans were longer...
      - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
        If you can find them at all. Not on the discount rack for sure. I end up having to buy them wherever I can find them, often at a ridiculous price.
rfergie 11y ago
Likewise. I'm 2.04m and I never recline without asking. I expect the same courtesy from those sitting in front of me
- lawnchair_larry 11y ago
  I'm not sure that asking actually makes it any better. Has anyone ever said no?
  - rfergie 11y ago
    About half say no in my experience. But I'm not sure it really is about the yes/no answer - it is more a display of courtesy to someone whom you are about to cause discomfort
    - darklajid 11y ago
      Let me play the devil's advocate: If you're convinced that this WILL cause discomfort, why are you asking people - which very well might be too polite/afraid/distracted to decline - if you can do that? Aren't you, based on your very own impression and description of reclining, asking people if you can slap them every 10min for the rest of the flight? (I dislike flying in general, and I never had to take a flight longer than 4.5 hours. I couldn't care less about the argument, but would probably lean towards the 'So my chair can be set back. I guess I use it as intended' position)
      - dragonwriter 11y ago
        > Aren't you, based on your very own impression and description of reclining, asking people if you can slap them every 10min for the rest of the flight? A slap with consent may be weird, but a slap without consent is battery. So, if one accepts your slap analogy, there's a good reason to ask consent.
        darklajid 11y ago
        That's twisting the idea quite a bit. For me there is no analogy or issue. Ignoring the 'I think flights are crap in general' base line: My seat. I recline it or not, but that's my decision. I would have a harder time to recline it, if I'd be convinced that this is in some way 'hard' on the one behind me. But IF I were convinced that this was 'hard' for the person behind me, I'd not ask them for consent. A) They say "Please don't recline". Hah! I'm right! And I'm a great person for asking, and now not reclining my seat. Go me. B) They say "Enjoy" B1) Hmm. I am convinced that this reclining thing is bad for people in the seats behind the person in question. They agreed, but unless I'm wrong I'm now making their life miserable. But yeah - they're fine with it? B2) Interesting. Maybe reclining isn't that bad? I should reflect and think about whether my 'reclining is bad and torture' idea is sensible.
loco5niner 11y ago
I'm only medium-tall (6' 1") and it doesn't bother me that I have to be a little uncomfortable and change positions every once in a while. I'm actually more uncomfortable when I don't recline because then I have fewer positions to change to.

gusmd 11y ago

I'm not a tall person, but I also agree with you. It is very uncomfortable to go through a long flight on an upright seat. I can not believe people think they have the prerogative to stop other people from reclining. It is intended functionality and we have certainly paid for that.

wink 11y ago
I honestly wonder if those measurements get adjusted over time or if the baseline of "average human height" (which I hope was factored into the calculation) was taken in the 50s? 60s? (when was commercial flight "mainstreamed"?) - as various studies show that it's been going up. Will our ancestors (again +10cm[0]) in 100 years still mutter about reclining seats? :) [0]: http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/3780/20130902/average-height-european-males-up-11cm-mid-19th-century.htm http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/3780/20130902/averag...
- calgoo 11y ago
  i know the airlines here in Europe have reduced the space quite a lot to fit extra rows, basically forcing tall people into upgrading their seats.
  - CaptainZapp 11y ago
    Do you have a source for that? I fly a lot within Europe (granted, with a limited selection of airlines) since 2006 and never noticed a decline of space during this time. Except for the super discount carriers (I rarely fly Easy Jet and never flew Ryanair, so I can't really comment on that) the seat pitch seems around 31" in economy for most flights I ever took. This is about what most airlines offer on long haul flights (in cattle class) and is certainly tolerable for short hops of less than two hours.
- markburns 11y ago
  Perhaps our descendants will.
buro9 11y ago

gdrulia 11y ago

So far, thankfully I've never had a person in front of me, who would have decided to recline their seat. Although I'm mainly travelling with Ryanair, so I'm not even sure if that is possible on their planes. But for me, 1.94m tall, even a thought that someone would try to take away some of my space on plane is simply infuriating. I have experienced this in buses and trains, on trains especially. There this can be tolerable, because there is a much more space (at least where I've experienced reclining), and people mostly have been very understanding and kind of afraid that someone from the back will start to shout on them. In any case, it as well quite a sad thing, that whether there is enough space to be able to recline or isn't, we have a situation were we are unable to sort this out between ourselves.

peterbraden 11y ago
"take away some of my space" - it's not your space.