Man fumes as plane passenger leans seat back 'without asking permission'

08 October 2023 , 08:28

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He had to spend the whole flight cramped due to the woman in front reclining her seat for the whole flight (Image: Getty Images/blue jean images RF)

We all dread being stuck on a nightmare flight, struggling to relax due to noisy passengers on a plane can be frustrating. While some habits can be overlooked, other times we may want to speak out to avoid an uncomfortable journey.

After enduring long security lines, expensive food, and crowded seating areas, many of us hope to relieve our stress on the flight and sit back and relax. But unfortunately, that isn't always the case and our irritation can sometimes come from being disturbed by other passengers whilst trying to get some sleep, or by others annoyingly hogging the toilet.

Sharing one of the common situations that annoy people on a plane journey, a man said his brother believed it had been rude when a woman seated in front of him leaned her seat back without telling him first, and reclined it for the duration of the flight, meaning his legs were cramped in the already tight space.

Taking to Reddit, the man said: "My brother and I disagree here, he was on a 12-hour flight and the lady in front of him leaned her seat at the very beginning of the flight. He got mad because she didn’t ask him for permission, and then he spent the whole flight annoyed blocking her seat with his knees."

He continued: "I said to him that she doesn’t have to ask for his permission. When you pay for your seat you pay for the right to lean it. And what if the person behind says no? I wouldn’t risk it. He says it’s just polite and you can always find an agreement."

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"I am flying a lot more than him (this was his first) and I never heard anyone asking for permission. But the relatives he was flying with all agreed with him, and they asked for permission themselves. So, settle this for me, should we ask for permission before leaning our seats on a plane?"

Some were in disagreement. One user commented: "I always ask permission because I've got longer legs so when people lean back it usually causes me a ton of discomfort so I like to make sure that the person behind me won't have that and if they do I can just not recline."

While another person added: "You don't need to ask for permission, it's your seat. It is courteous to recline slowly though so if they've got a laptop or something set up you don't just smash it." A third person wrote: "You don't need to ask permission. However, I always will ask. I think it's just being courteous."

Ayaan Ali