Legroom on a plane

[AstonZagato]

I'm slightly mystified by the concept of these anti-recline devices.

The airline allows the seat in front of you to recline. The most legroom to which you are entitled is the legroom that is left when the seat ahead is fully reclined. If that isn't sufficient for you, then you have a number of options

• pay for an upgrade
• ensure that you check in at the first possible opportunity to get a bulkhead seat
• book an airline where the seats don't recline
• ask the crew to see if there is a seat somewhere else to which you could move where the person in front does not wish to recline the seat
• ask the person in front politely if they need to recline the seat (they probably do as otherwise they wouldn't be doing it)

None of those options include infringing on the rights of the person ahead unilaterally. That is a ttish thing to do. And the person ahead is not infringing on your rights as that is what the airline is allowing him/her to do. You might not like it but you have options (see above).

Equally, it is incumbent on the person ahead only to recline the seat if there is a reasonable need to do so. They should refrain from doing so during a meal service. I rarely recline a seat on a short-haul flight.

Edited by AstonZagato on Saturday 30th August 14:33

[creampuff]

MajorProblem said:

I always wondered what happens after you got on a plane and turned right.

Imagine an alternate universe, identical to this one, except the right hand door is used for boarding!!

[eharding]

el stovey said:

Colonial said:

Don't get why people have to be some aggressive over something so... meaningless.

Because they lack empathy with others, they don't really know how to behave around other human beings and they have an inflated sense of their own worth and entitlement.

Added to that, they are stuck in an aircraft, where they have little controll over anything, except possibly how far their and the seat infront, reclines.

It often doesn't take much for these angry morons to erupt.

I can tell that you're basing this assertion on many, many years of experience - and I respect that.

But this thread is about the passenger cabin, not the flight deck.

[wolves_wanderer]

eharding said:

el stovey said:

Colonial said:

Don't get why people have to be some aggressive over something so... meaningless.

Because they lack empathy with others, they don't really know how to behave around other human beings and they have an inflated sense of their own worth and entitlement.

Added to that, they are stuck in an aircraft, where they have little controll over anything, except possibly how far their and the seat infront, reclines.

It often doesn't take much for these angry morons to erupt.

I can tell that you're basing this assertion on many, many years of experience - and I respect that.

But this thread is about the passenger cabin, not the flight deck.

[PorkInsider]

Sheepshanks said:

The Government uses HRG and a friends son flies internationally a few times a year and he always gets upgraded.

That's probably your answer - they (we) will be paying over the odds for the tickets in the first place.

In my experience, regardless of the company's corporate travel provider any upgrades seem to be down to the airline, and the frequency you fly with them, rather than who the tickets were booked through.

Just need to add: some of this thread is comedy gold in terms of the dummy-spitting and keyboard-'warrioring' on display.

There's some cracking irony/hypocrisy too - "I am entitled to recline my seat so I am going to fking well do so, regardless of anyone else's discomfort", followed by rants about<paraphrasing> "...pricks using their laptops when I'm trying to sleep!"

[RYH64E]

AstonZagato said:

I'm slightly mystified by the concept of these anti-recline devices.

The airline allows the seat in front of you to recline. The most legroom to which you are entitled is the legroom that is left when the seat ahead is fully reclined. If that isn't sufficient for you, then you have a number of options

• pay for an upgrade
• ensure that you check in at the first possible opportunity to get a bulkhead seat
• book an airline where the seats don't recline
• ask the crew to see if there is a seat somewhere else to which you could move where the person in front does not wish to recline the seat
• ask the person in front politely if they need to recline the seat (they probably do as otherwise they wouldn't be doing it)

None of those options include infringing on the rights of the person ahead unilaterally. That is a ttish thing to do. And the person ahead is not infringing on your rights as that is what the airline is allowing him/her to do. You might not like it but you have options (see above).

That's pretty much the way I see it, if reclining seats are fitted then you should be free to recline them at yor discretion and not that of the person sitting behind. If you are a large/tall/fat person and the space provided isn't sufficient for your needs then maybe you have to dig deep and pay for an upgrade, or fly with a different airline. If you disagree with the airline's decision to fit reclining seats then take it up with them.

[Sheepshanks]

PorkInsider said:

Sheepshanks said:

The Government uses HRG and a friends son flies internationally a few times a year and he always gets upgraded.

That's probably your answer - they (we) will be paying over the odds for the tickets in the first place.

He had to fly to Australia at short notice last year and went 1st class as that's all that was available. He was a bit miffed to come back in business.

[DJRC]

creampuff said:

0000 said:

Thank God half the seats on a plane are bulkhead seats, otherwise this wouldn't be very useful.

Half the people on the airplane aren't 6'2" either.

I'm getting the impression that the tall anti-recliners just have not grasped the fact that economy class travel has very limited space and it uncomfortable for everyone except 3 year olds for whom it must seem like an armchair with TV.

So far Im pretty much in agreement with you, however you were unfair on Swerni. Its obvious the three of us are frequent flyers (Im looking at about 60 flights this yr, across Europe and long haul across the Pond) and of the "anti-recliners" Swerni gave by far the most civilised answer and I can't say I disagree with him too much on his point. We all know how to play the booking system and cherry pick out seats but sometimes you are just st out of luck.Im often bone tired on my flights, Im on my second that week, Ive already worked that day and then driven half way across Italy to get to the flight, its delayed and late as usual and I just want a bit of a kip. If however, the chap behind me has long legs and politely asks me not to recline, its uncivilised of me to insist even though I just would like to recline and have 40 winks. In the real world this happens very rarely, therefore, it really is tttish of me to object to the very few times, so few in fact that I don't recall it actually happening to me yet. Somebody objecting on any kind of moral grounds I have no truck with, Im sorry but Im knackered and I still have to travel half way up the UK to get home, so naff off I would like some kip. On a physical issue, its OK to cut them some slack.

We also have to book through Corporate Amex and sometimes they even bugger it up so that you don't get the option to pay to upgrade. That annoys me.

[Foppo]

The same applies to long distance coaches never enough legroom if you are over six feet.

Unles you sit behind the driver where there is a bit more space.I remember one flight back from Dalaman Turkey.Agonie in my legs had to get up to walk about.

Never again.

[Motorrad]

The 'knee defender' stops working if you repeatedly drop 90 kilos on it with extreme prejudice.

Welcome to premium economy.

[0000]

AstonZagato said:

The most legroom to which you are entitled is the legroom that is left when the seat ahead is fully reclined.

No, the most legroom you're entitled to is the legroom taken up by your legs. Depending on your height this may or may not prevent the seat in front reclining. Unless you can show me the smallprint that says people around 6'5 or above aren't to book economy seats.

Using an anti-recline device is being a tt, being moderately tall is not.

[walsh]

Flying on Monday, short hop ( 2hrs or so), on a budget airline.

As I am also in the 74% of people on ph over 6 foot 5, I expect to be uncomfortable, regardless if the person in front attempts to recline the chair!

Side point- I need to come to a Ph meet. Its very rare I come across anyone else knocking on 2m tall, but judging from this thread it'll be a gaggle of massive freaks.

[groucho]

walsh said:

Flying on Monday, short hop ( 2hrs or so), on a budget airline.

As I am also in the 74% of people on ph over 6 foot 5, I expect to be uncomfortable, regardless if the person in front attempts to recline the chair!

Side point- I need to come to a Ph meet. Its very rare I come across anyone else knocking on 2m tall, but judging from this thread it'll be a gaggle of massive freaks.

I thought the same.

[Grumfutock]

tenpenceshort said:

Try entertaining an 18 month old on a 4 hour flight, when he's tired but won't sleep. I think the poor people ahead and behind us got bored of 'peepo' after about 3 hours solid of it.

Try sitting near the above! Did it on a 10 hour flight to Vegas, who the hell takes a baby to Vegas!!!!!!

After 5 hours of crying and screaming I honestly thought I would snap. The 2nd 5 hours of crying and screaming was drowned out by my own crying and screaming

[Clivey]

groucho said:

walsh said:

Flying on Monday, short hop ( 2hrs or so), on a budget airline.

As I am also in the 74% of people on ph over 6 foot 5, I expect to be uncomfortable, regardless if the person in front attempts to recline the chair!

Side point- I need to come to a Ph meet. Its very rare I come across anyone else knocking on 2m tall, but judging from this thread it'll be a gaggle of massive freaks.

I thought the same.

Jokes aside, the thread title only interested me because I'm tall and legroom is an issue. Maybe the short-arses aren't reading?

[carl_w]

Clivey said:

Jokes aside, the thread title only interested me because I'm tall and legroom is an issue. Maybe the short-arses aren't reading?

but I have to jam the leading edge of my laptop against my fat gut. And the front of a MacBook Air is pretty sharp.

[Bedford Rascal]

Grumfutock said:

...who the hell takes a baby to Vegas!!!!!!

?

[JagLover]

On a poll on the Telegraph out of 20,000 respondents 70% were in favour of banning reclining seats on airplanes.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/11062...

It appears the general public, most of whom do not reach the giant heights of those in this thread, are not in favour of others imposing themselves into their space. Making others uncomfortable for the sake of your own comfort is nothing to be proud of.

[DJRC]

JagLover said:

On a poll on the Telegraph out of 20,000 respondents 70% were in favour of banning reclining seats on airplanes.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/11062...

It appears the general public, most of whom do not reach the giant heights of those in this thread, are not in favour of others imposing themselves into their space. Making others uncomfortable for the sake of your own comfort is nothing to be proud of.

What does being proud of have to do with comfort? What a strange notion.

[HappySilver]

It's not the person behinds space, it is the space the chair is designed to go into, so if the space 'belongs' to anyone it is the person in front.

Are the people complain the same as those who complain about people parking on the road in their space because it is outside of their home?