And now for something completely different...air travel "rights."

[Atman]

Have you seen this one going around on FB? Personally I believe the device is kind of rude and offensive, when you could simply be polite and ask the passenger in front of you to give you some space. But some of the FB comments are interesting, to say the least. For instance, several argue that it is their "right" to recline on an airplane simply because the seat reclines. Tough titty if you don't like their seat back in your face. I'm just curious what the enlightened bunch here on DU think about it.

Personally, I always politely ask the person in front of me to either temporarily move their seat forward (so I can get to my stuff under his seat, or so I that my tray table isn't jamming into my sternum), or not recline at all (for instance, if I have a very large person sitting next to me, and therefore already have limited movement). Anyway...thoughts? Is your seat back a "right" or just a feature on the airplane?



------

Photo of the "device" here >> http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--m6PbZJbu--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/dzcsi7ponioya6ftdyg6.jpg

Planes are giving us less and less leg room so it's no surprise that quarrels break out between passengers over space. Yesterday, one such altercation got so heated that a plane was diverted to Chicago. And at the heart of the conflict? A nifty little device called the Knee Defender, which prevents seats from reclining.

Two unnamed passengers, both 48, were on a United flight from Newark to Denver which sounds like it needed no in-flight entertainment:

The fight started when the male passenger, seated in a middle seat of row 12, used the Knee Defender to stop the woman in front of him from reclining while he was on his laptop, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak.

A flight attendant asked him to remove the device and he refused. The woman then stood up, turned around and threw a cup of water at him, the official says. That's when United decided to land in Chicago. The two passengers were not allowed to continue to Denver.

http://gizmodo.com/a-gadget-that-stops-seats-from-reclining-caused-a-plane-1626696368/+alissawalker

[randome]

1. Yes, but talking to people in real-time is always so...icky!

[hr][font color="blue"][center]“If you're not committed to anything, you're just taking up space.”
Gregory Peck, Mirage (1965)[/center][/font][hr]

[Brickbat]

2. It amazes me that people recline their seats on a plane.

[Atman]

3. On some newer planes, the seat base moves forward...

...and the lumbar support moves forward, but the seat back remains stationary. IOW, if you choose to recline, you are only limiting your own leg room, not encroaching into the space of the person behind you. This out to be a requirement on all planes!

[cwydro]

4. They are made to recline nt

[conservaphobe]

5. As someone who is 6'4", I would hope I wouldn't have a selfish person like that in front of me.

I've never been on a plane, but I've heard they're hell for people at my height.

[Phentex]

6. I feel bad for tall people...

in cars or on planes. If I sit all the way back in a seat, my feet usually don't touch the floor.

[Atman]

8. I flew to Hong Kong and Thailand, and it was 15 hours of hell.

They use giant cargo (er, passenger) planes, the aptly named Airbus. Holds about a million people. You're expected to sit in that seat for 15 hours??? The only saving grace, as small as grace permits, were the seats I mentioned above. The backs remained stationary while the base of the seat moved forward...so if you choose to recline you're only taking up your own space, not the space of the person behind you.

[WinkyDink]

7. If God wanted man to recline on airplanes,........

[davidpdx]

9. I read an article about this online earlier today

The passengers were in "Economy Plus" which is slightly larger than the economy section in both leg room and the size of the seat.

Airlines are getting more strict about stating that passengers are suppose to follow the instructions of flight crew members, which is why the plane landed and the passengers were kicked off. The person who had the "Knee Defender" on should have complied when asked to remove it. IF there was a legitimate reason (say an injury) he should have been asked to be reseated in another section of the plane prior to takeoff.

I just got back from my trip four weeks ago where I flew from here in Korea to the US and back (over 10,000 miles roundtrip). On the way over I decided to try the economy plus on Delta. I wasn't that impressed with it for the extra $220 (one way) and decided against doing the same on the way back.

[CanonRay]

10. I really hate flying. n/t

[MadrasT]

11. I can't believe people are in a kerfluffle over this.

The seats are designed to recline. And using the gadget is a passive-aggressive, asshole move. It's a few hours. Get over it.

I fly a LOT and I never recline myself because I am more comfortable sitting straight up. Do I enjoy it when the person in front of me reclines? No, I would rather they don't. But it is not that big a deal.

First world problem.

[HughBeaumont]

12. Really wouldn't know, since flight is now a luxury of the upper-middle class or higher.

I can't even get $92 one way for a city that's 5.4 hours away by car.

Just seven years ago, I used to get that entire FLIGHT for that much.

Like hotels, you're paying more and getting way less (don't even get me started on THAT racket . . . just love taking my own Ice Cooler on the road since even mini-fridges are now apparently luxuries).

Last time I flew was 2011, when I had to go to Denver for our Championships. Felt like I was in a sardine can, or on the morning commute with personal-space clueless males sitting next to me. Both ways - person ahead of me reclined, person next to me encroached in my seat (and they weren't persons of size, that's just the way they sat . . . and he had an aisle seat). You get on a plane and the idiots on there (again, mostly males) immediately occupy the aisle and window seats and sit there, encroaching the middle with their arms folded. Sons of bitches.

[Coventina]

13. The airlines have created an untenable situation.

They have crammed way too many seats in far too small a space.

And frankly, it is unreasonable for people to expect OTHER people not to use a feature of the seat for which they have paid.

As I said in the other thread on this subject: Clearly, as a species, we've exceeded our grasp in being able to handle that many people crammed into that small of a space. Incidents like this will continue until either people are given more room or seats no longer recline.

(However, if people are not given more room, they will simply find something else to fight over.)

[snooper2]

14. Really, another thread on this? Can we officially add the "Knee Defender" to the DU Wars room?

[Atman]

15. I've never seen another thread on this subject.

After 12 years here, first I've heard of the subject. Sorry to have upset you.