Flying in economy class isn’t exactly known for being a pleasant experience, particularly on longhaul flights. However, recently I’ve seen multiple posts on social media that aim to shame those who choose to recline their seats on a flight.
While the conversation of whether someone should recline or not will remain a debate, I’m keen for us not to normalise this, as I don’t like the direction where this conversation is heading.
I’ve seen an increasing number of social media posts on “recline shaming”
Whether you should recline on a plane or not has always been a conversation. However, recently I’ve seen posts like this:
Or this:
Or, most aggravatingly, this one, where the guy actually “takes it upon himself” to shove the seat in front back upright:
Should you be able to recline on a flight?
If you purchase a plane ticket and there’s a recline button at your seat, you have the right to recline your seat. Period. So yep, I’m saying that the person who slams their seat into the fully reclined position the second the seatbelt sign turns off has done nothing wrong.
Am I saying that that’s what you should do? No. You should be mindful of the comfort of the person behind you. Here are some of the things I think of, which I’m not prescribing to everyone reading:
- Many airlines now require seatbacks to be upright for meal services, and I generally honour this regardless of whether I’m instructed to or not, so the person behind can eat with extra space
- I don’t tend to recline on flights under <3h, and don’t usually recline before the tray table is collected after the first meal service (unless in premium economy, where the person behind me has a bit more space)
- Even after the meal service, I usually ask the person behind whether I can recline, unless they’re sleeping (the last time I got a no was in 2013, and I’ve been privileged to fly a lot since)
- I never slam the seatback down, though instead recline slowly; I only recline all the way when I know the person behind me can still be comfortable, with their legs not touching the seatback (which is in most cases)
- When I’m in the bathroom or doing work, I put my seatback back upright, just to maximise the amount of space for the person behind me if I’m not actually using the extra seat comfort
- If I notice that the person in the window/middle seat behind is trying to get out, I put my seatback upright for them, and recline again when they’re back
- I generally try to avoid this conversation entirely by picking the back row if it’s available
Picking the last row can be a good way to avoid the conversation altogether
Personally I never have an issue if the person in front of me reclines. That being said, I completely understand that people may have specific reasons why the seat in front of them cannot be reclined. For example, they may be extra tall or frail, or their infant may be using a reverse-facing car seat that’s pre-approved by the airline. I wouldn’t go as far to say that these people “should’ve booked business class” (as some in the comments section are shaming) – not everyone can afford business class or is in the miles and points game, and sometimes people just need to get from A to B in whatever physical state they’re in.
The following certainly should not be happening:
- Taking photos or videos of the person reclining at all (and especially sharing it on social media) – I sometimes take a photo of the reclined seat itself, but only to showcase how much space there is available when the seat in front is reclined (usually for a review), and I’m always mindful not to actually get the person’s face in the photo
- Using any gadgets to prevent the person in front of you from reclining (e.g. the Knee Defender)
- Prodding, pushing or shoving the seat in front of you that’s reclined (though I think tapping on the shoulder of the person in front of you and asking whether they can recline later/reduce the level which they’re reclined is okay)
- I would go as far to say that complaining to a flight attendant is also unacceptable, though obviously you can ask nicely to be moved to a different seat if you have accessibility issues (if the flight isn’t full, perhaps there’s a seat free with nobody in front)
Just because I’m #TeamRecline doesn’t mean I don’t use a case-by-case basis discernment of whether the person behind me may need the extra space
Let’s try and be reasonable but courteous on a plane
Social media really stirs tension when people disagree; in this case, those who recline are called selfish, whereas those who prevent others from reclining are called unreasonable. I think there’s a healthy middle ground, where we can all acknowledge that everyone likes reclining, but doesn’t like getting reclined into.
Personally, my stance is that the person with access to the recline button has the ultimate right to recline. (That’s also you if you’re being reclined into, unless you’re on a plane where the last row doesn’t recline.) Despite this, I’d suggest that reclining your seat should be a conversation between you and the passenger behind you, and it’s up to all of us to exercise kindness and discretion.
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been privileged to fly way more than the average person, and the last time someone said “no” to me reclining was on a flight between Hong Kong and Beijing in 2013, before I set up the above guidelines – having personal guidelines on how I manage the recline function at my seat has helped many of these conversations. While there are surveys suggesting that 65-70% of people choose not to recline “out of courtesy” on a flight, realistically I’m fairly convinced that most of these survey responders don’t fly longhaul, given how small the population is that has flown a longhaul flight before.
Let’s try not to prescribe our stance on reclining to everyone, please
Conclusion
While the recline debate has gone on for as long as reclining seats on planes existed, the debate has gone out of hand recently, with passengers aggressively trying to push the seatback in front upright, or taking photos and videos of the person reclining. I’m generally on #TeamRecline, though support it being a conversation between you and the person behind you – I’m just really not a fan of when people try and shame the person reclining on social media.
Do you agree with me that this recline debate is getting out of hand?
