Reclining Your Airplane Seat, The Big Debate

For me, it's pretty simple. I don't do it and I don't want other people to do it. For others, it's also pretty simple. The seat reclines and it's my right to recline my seat. In an editorial article in the USA Today, Christopher Elliot wrote about why reclining your airline seat is just wrong. As a 6'2" passenger, I could not agree more.

While some travelers feel that the one to two inches of reclining is just enough to rest their head back or get just a little more comfortable, most understand that over the past few years seats have gone from 36 inches of pitch (a way to measure leg room) to just 28 inches. Those inches matter. Those inches are the slightest room that my knees have to move and when you recline my knees are are completely pinned. You can also totally forget about putting your tray table down.

Search online and you will see that the debate rages on in full force, and while I consider myself someone who will happily listen to both sides of an argument, this is one where I put my foot down. We are all crammed and want to get to where we are going as quickly as possible. Don't recline your airline seat.