Woman slams passenger for reclining seat on short flight – people are divided

A WOMAN has slammed an older passenger after she reclined her seat during a flight, sparking debate.

The rules around seat reclining on planes are hotly disputed and often the cause of arguments.

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That’s precisely what happened to this passenger, who found herself sat behind an elderly woman, who started putting her chair back on a recent flight.

On the four-hour long journey, the passenger was enraged when the small amount of legroom she had was reduced further by the passenger in front.

This led to an argument, with the passenger telling the woman in front she was “entitled” and rude for putting her chair back.

The older woman responded by telling the passenger she was “everything that’s wrong with the world these days”.

The woman took to Reddit to find out if she’d been in the right in the argument, saying:  “I thought it was typically plane etiquette to not recline IF it’s a shorter flight.”

Some agreed with her saying that others shouldn’t ever recline on short-haul flights.

One wrote: “Unless there is no one behind you, reclining your seat in economy is a total and complete a****** move.”

A second said: “Paying for your seat absolutely does not include the space behind you.”

However, others were on the side of the woman reclining the seat, saying she was perfectly entitled to do it.

One person said: “It’s totally normal to recline your seat on a plane and I would consider that part of their space.”

Another added: “When you pay for a seat, that includes the space behind you to recline. I’ve never heard of a flight attendant asking you not to recline.”

A lot of people have different opinions on whether or not reclining is acceptable.

Some people will often choose to make themselves less comfortable in order to not disturb the people sitting behind them, but their comfort should come second to yours, according to plane expert Ben Schlappig.

Ben has flown more than 4,700,000 miles since he was a teenager, so knows a thing or two about plane etiquette.

In a blog post on One Mile at a Time, he claimed that reclining a seat is a right for all passengers, regardless of who they are sitting in front of.

He said: “For me it’s quite simple. Reclining your seat, when the functionality is available, is a right. After all, the recline button is located at your seat, and not the seat behind you.”

However, that’s not to say that other people’s comfort shouldn’t at least be considered.

Ben says that there are ways to approach the situation and that you shouldn’t just shove your seat back without any warning.

Instead he recommends small gestures, like making eye contact with the person behind you, or just finding some way to let them know that your seat will be going back.

Other etiquette experts claim that there are ways to go about reclining your seat that can be more courteous to the people sitting around you.

Julia Esteve Boyd, an etiquette coach and podcaster from Switzerland said: “It is completely reasonable to recline your seat if you want to.

“Just don’t recline the seat too quickly.”

Meanwhile, this passenger revealed why you could be reclining your seat all wrong.

And this other row about seat reclining also divided opinion between passengers.

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