To Recline or Not to Recline?
That is the question, whether it is nobler to sit upright through an entire flight or suffer the slings and arrows of pushing your seat all the way back. Where do you sit in this debate?
Here's a question: Where do you sit on the airline seatback debate? To recline or not to recline? What's your take?
I've been sitting in a few Air Canada seats lately courtesy of my work with Ski Canada magazine. Flying alone always sparks writing ideas. Plus I love to people-watch, even if it means watching myself.
I note of late I stare fixedly at the seatback in front of me, willing it not to recline. And I try to recline my own seat only when sleeping on an overnight flight once the meal service is complete. So, yes... I'm a card-carrying member of the thou-shalt-not-put-your-seat-back debate.
How about you? Are you as persnickety, as paranoid, as sanctimonius as me? Hard to believe, I'm not always right.
Where do you sit?
A piece recently in Outside Magazine got me thinking about this. "Some passengers contend that adjustable airline seats are meant to recline and that leaning back is an in-flight right," the writer says, "while others view reclining as disrespectful."
I'm firmly in Camp Disrespectful.
Blame my position on mild PTSD. Last year on a flight home from Europe the little old lady in front of me (she really was elderly, and she really was only 90lbs soaking wet) went bananas over a seat reclining incident. More like, she lost her shit.
The man in front of her put his seat back, and because this pissed her off so badly, she slammed her own seat all the way back, too. She did this during dinner just as I was handed a cup of hot tea. Yes, it sloshed. Yes, my pasta ended up in my lap. And yes, cleaning crews are still trying to remove tomato stains from 32B.
But that was just the start.
Jostling ensued as I scrambled to tidy up. It's true, I may have bumped her seat. It's also true that at that point I didn't care. But I do care now. Because that was it. I may as well have pressed the red button on a nuke. SHE. WENT. OFF. Not on me but on the poor guy ahead of her.
I repeat, she lost her shit.
The little old lady (pejorative, I’m aware) hauled herself up, dropped about 3,000 F-bombs, took hold of the man’s seatback and shook it so hard I thought the poor fella’s head would snap off.
Pandemonium ensued. Lots more F-bombs were dropped. Overhead flight-attendant-help-me! buttons glowed yellow and they came running. Warnings were issued that the plane would make an “emergency landing” if the woman didn’t calm down. Nevermind that we were mid-way over the Atlantic.
Who Me? Jostle Her Seat?
Naturally, I remained serene as the two nutcases ahead of me fought it out. Who me? Jostle her seat? No, no, no. I was perfectly innocent in the entire affair. (I admit to suffering some anxiety the national guard would encircle our aircraft, rifles drawn on the tarmac upon landing in Toronto, which happened to me once on a United flight to Steamboat… but that's a story for another STORY.)
On this flight I simply shrank into 32B, put on my Jackie-O sunglasses and pretended to sleep… with my seatback upright.
“Cleaning crews are still trying to remove tomato stains from 32B.”
And that's why, these days when the seatbelt sign goes off I stare fixedly at the seat ahead of me. It's the reason for my mild PTSD, not to mention my severe denial. In my future I see therapy. Who me? Exaggerate? Honest folks, there’s been no over-dramatization here 🤞.
But I'm curious, what's your position on airline seat reclination? To recline or not to recline? Where do you sit in this sordid mess? Drop me a comment.
I Hope…
In the meantime, I hope you read my new book, Summers with Miss Elizabeth, and I hope you love the story as much as I do. I promise it’ll make you laugh and cry. Plus, on your next flight it’ll be a useful distraction from the F-bombing passenger in 31B. The book is coming May 1, 2024, available for pre-order HERE.
OR, better yet, JOIN ME for my BOOK LAUNCH, a summer party by the water in Muskoka: MAY 11, 2024. You can get a peek at the book there. Everyone’s invited. 3 - 5 pm at The Boathouse at Taboo Resort in Gravenhurst, on Muskoka Lake. That’s in CANADA, by the way.
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT here or on Instagram or Facebook, I’d love to hear from you.
Lori Knowles is a writer, author, journalist, co-editor of Ski Canada magazine, and editor of MuskokaStyle.com. Her first novel, Summers with Miss Elizabeth, is out May 1, stay tuned to LORI’S STORIES.
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I'm definitely in the do not recline camp. Either fix the seat back permanently in the upright position, or give each seat more room to roam. My last flight was on a smaller Airbus, with minimalist seats that created more space. Great, right? Until the 12 year old in front of me slammed his seatback into my face while watching videos as his Dad sat in silence beside him, and I practiced my death stare. Nobody died, no flight attendants were called, and no space was had by me.
Hmmm ok, I think I am bit of a loner over in my camp. I’m a recliner. There, I said it! I’m a slow, slide on in, easy does it respectful recliner though.I ease into it, giving the person behind me plenty of notice that I’m comin’ in! When I get up during the flight, I also avoid eye contact with them 😉