Angry pax declines to Raise Reclined Seat During Service...

[GlennT]

you could always use the Knee Defender on these types in the future - apply when they get up to go to the bathroom or something - that should sort out reclining altogether, not just during mealtimes

Many airlines have banned those.

 

[JerseySlime]

Decent people feel uncomfortable using it because they don't want to affect those behind them and @ssholes just don't care about anyone else. Where space is at a minimum, no matter the mode of public transport, I think it is a great idea to get rid of the recline.

I'd have much less heartache if when the airlines chose to restrict recline to only an inch or two at the most, they also didn't reduce the seat pitch. Give me no recline but 34 inches of pitch, and I'll be happy. Not as happy as being in J or F, but I'll survive.

 

[agentgerko]

Acting as devils advocate, I do see a couple of things possibly wrong with the writers problem.
1. Was he/she already a disgrunted passenger, having found themself in the middle seat of the middle section, making the polite request possibly a little more terse than recalled?
2. It wasn't a meal service when they asked for the person to stop reclining, and when meal service did come along they didn't do any favours by trying to use the staff instead of making another polite request.
3. If he/she was indeed in a E seat then that Is Premium Economy and surely the 38in pitch would have meant the recline was not an inconvenience, particularly during a drink service.
I'm not a recliner as I'm lucky enough to be in Business on longhaul and have no need on shorthaul, but sometimes there's two sides to every story.

 

[webregs]

you could always use the Knee Defender on these types in the future - apply when they get up to go to the bathroom or something - that should sort out reclining altogether, not just during mealtimes

and so the escalations begin......

 

[Eclipse]

It's a tight space. Seat recline etiquette benefits both the recliner and reclinee. If the recliner doesn't comprehend this, perhaps the below procedure might convince them of the benefits:

* Eat snack with mouth open. There's no actual rule about eating with your mouth closed.
* Cough violently (mouth not covered), 'accidentally' spilling bits onto the top of their head (which, let's face it, is most likely to be about 5cm in front of your mouth. Oooooo sorry!
* To suppress said coughing take a long loud slurp of drink.
* Cough again and 'accidentally' spill drink on their head. Oh no! These damn tight spaces....
* Make way to the bathroom to deal with coughing problem. You will need to grab hard on the seat back to assist as you extract yourself from the vice like grip of the seat/seatback arrangement. It is highly likely that the seat back will require a good shove as well in order to get out of that angled 2cm gap.

If the seat remains reclined when you return, repeat procedure as often as required with variations such as; having to jam that tray table a few times to close it, and it 'falling' down every time you open it given you can't control it from your contorted position, needing to push very hard on your IFE to make it actually work - and changing it frequently as you try to adjust it so you can view it from its awkward location, your knees unfortunately bumping the back of the seat whenever you need to change your posture, pushing the back of the seat forward to retrieve a fallen book.

 

[FL360]

There is a perfect solution for this...

During booking, you can pay a fee, say AUD 100 for a 8 hour flight, so the passenger in front cannot recline, in turn the passenger-in-front 's fare will be reduced by AUD 50. the airline will milk AUD 50.

or you can pay AUD100 so you can be guaranteed to recline, the passenger at the back will get AUD50 reduced fare, the airlines will also milk AUD 50.

I am sure there can be some play around of numbers so the airline can make extra money, whilst the pax who are willing to pay extra can avoid hell. Just the airline bean counters needs to work it out.

sounds good ?

 

[eastwest101]

There is a perfect solution for this...

During booking, you can pay a fee, say AUD 100 for a 8 hour flight, so the passenger in front cannot recline, in turn the passenger-in-front 's fare will be reduced by AUD 50. the airline will milk AUD 50.

or you can pay AUD100 so you can be guaranteed to recline, the passenger at the back will get AUD50 reduced fare, the airlines will also milk AUD 50.

I am sure there can be some play around of numbers so the airline can make extra money, whilst the pax who are willing to pay extra can avoid hell. Just the airline bean counters needs to work it out.

sounds good ?

Sounds like an option, I think the issue is mainly an Y class cabin problem with decreasing seat pitch and general increase in size of people over the last few decades.

Or another option is just have one part of the Y cabin with recline and one completely without and highlight this on the seat selection page, boarding passes and inside the aircraft, could even be left hand side of aircraft has recline and right hand side does not for single aisle aircraft.

I would bet that the non reclining part of the Y cabin would almost certainly fill before the recline part in nearly every single case, except for long haul overnight flights.

Should be an international standard as was the old smoking and non smoking sections of aircraft.

 

[The Astronomer]

I quite agree with all of the comments. Perhaps an announcement that 'It is an [airline name] requirement that seats be in the upright position during the meal service' may be helpful, just as in the announced airline requirement that seat belts be fastened whenever seated. However, I would add another annoying situation: a passenger who reclines the seat completely SUDDENLY. If reclining my seat, I always do it gradually to ensure that the person behind me can see what is happening.

 

[pearler47]

Why not have non-reclining section like the old smoking/no smoking areas. I don't like being reclined on at any time.

 

[sapere_aude]

After a few experiences of suffering in silence, I now just wait for the flight attendant, then point to my tray. Comes with a bit more authority or maybe neutrality?!

Recent experience with an Asian airline, it was part of the spiel: please move your seat upright as meals are ready; which of the two would you like today?

Clearly not all of keep the ‘do/behave/act as you would expect or like to be treated ...’

 

[Longisland000]

Wow, This happened to me once. I asked them to put their seat up and they did, as I find it impossible to eat my meal with the seat in front reclined. But I can honestly say, that if I was in this position, and the cabin crew did nothing, I would simply start kicking the seat in front until they raised it. I have a low tolerance for rude, obnoxious people.

 

[Longisland000]

This is why inflight entertainment systems have touch screens and games. It's your right to recline and it's my right to continually hammer on the screen, you'll also find I have a very weak bladder and need to grasp and violently shake your seat to get up from my seat again and again and again - it's my right.

 

[p--and--t]

. Best response to a customer complaint I've seen was on QF where the FA leaned over the customer and smilingly told the passenger she needed to bring her seatback up while simultaneously pressing the release button with one hand and pulling the seatback with the other. And then thanked her for being helpful! The woman looked stunned at being outfoxed!

Seen this smooth manoeuvre many times on QF, came to believe over a number of years that it must be part of their training

 

[Matthews]

Last week, I flew home HKG-MEL on CX163 on an E fare, in the middle seat of the middle group of seats. I had a bad experience with the pax in front, who declined my polite request to raise his reclined seat when drinks service began – both services. He berated me angrily both times; in fact, I would have felt unsafe if there hadn’t been the barrier of seat-backs inbetween us. My gestures and requests to cabin crew, right beside us with the trolley, proved fruitless. When he failed to respond to their request, they agreed he had “the right” to remain reclined, and asked me to give him five minutes. After some more pugnacious rudeness to me, he raised his seat and I thanked him.

If the aisle hadn’t been clogged with the trolley, I would have asked staff to get the flight director. I gave in to the shame of “making a fuss”, and to some sympathy for the two young women trying to serve drinks. But I am shocked and disturbed that this angry man was allowed to rant at me and was supported by cabin crew, on both meal services.

My email to CX the next day elicited an automatic note to the effect they aim to respond within 10 days, but business is so busy it may take longer. NOT good enough!

Just tip a glass of water over their head or better still, for more fun, a glass of wine or something more sticky. Enjoy the reaction! It’s fun!!!!

 

[Beano]

Just recline your own seat. If the crew ask you to put your seat upright then point to the reclined seat in front. I've had to do that afew times and sometimes the seat in front stays upright, particularly for short flights.

 

[Beano]

How about reclining during take-off? I've sen a deadheading crew member do just that.

 

[Flashback]

Having flown many airlines over the world in Y, I can say the only one I've seen any consistency in making people feel bad for something they have a right to do (recline) is Qantas. I've never seen any flight attendants brave enough to ask someone to bring their seat forward for a meal service.

This very much feels like an Aussie thing, i.e. because you're used to Qantas offering it you expect the same the world over. In my experience, however, Qantas is very much an outlier.

YMMV!

 

[Beano]

One way to avoid putting your seat upright is to fall (or pretend to fall) assleep just after the seatbelt sign goes off, or earlier. Cabin crew are reluctant to ask someome asleep to put up their seat even during meal service.

 

[agentgerko]

I am very surprised at the number who are saying to pour water over the passenger in front, start violently kicking their seat back, cough all over their head, start banging on the IFE and so on. And then they say "because I can't tolerate rude people". Don't you see that you are just being equally rude, or possibly worse, with your responses? If someone poured a drink over my head I'd have them charged.

If the person in front is reclined you should do the following:
1. Ask them Politely to stop the recline and make sure they hear you as they may be asleep or even deaf.
2. Ask the FA if they are able to do anything.
3. Ask the FA if they are able to move you to another seat.
4. Calmly empty your tray of food on top of the person in fronts tray table saying quietly "as I am unable to eat this with your seat reclined then you may as well have it".
5. Take off shoes and socks and place feet through gap between seats, peacefully telling the person in front that "your seat recline has made me feel sleepy. Please wake me in a couple of hours".
See how little rudeness or anger is required?

 

[Beano]

i was almost fooled there, but yes, any inapropriate behaviour on your part is unacceptable. I suggest:
Ask FA to help
When the PAX goes to the toilet riase the seat slightly (it may be possible by just pushing). They may never notice.