Comment by sp8

Comment by sp8 8 hours ago

14 replies

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Sorry for an empty response but this, 100% this. As a person who is WELL over 6' tall, the very idea that the person in front of me might recline is enough to give me significant anxiety throughout a flight. I once saw a design for seats where the base slides forward if you want to recline - the idea being, if you're going to recline you're going to do so into your own space, not the person behind you. I'd be a big advocate of that change in seat design...

Ajedi32 an hour ago

I'm also over 6' and I don't understand the problem? The seats only recline a few degrees, it's not like they're laying on my lap! Even fully reclined there's plenty of space in front of my face, and leg room is barely impacted at all. (Like probably an inch max?)

Granted, I've only flown American and Delta, maybe other airlines are worse in this respect?

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  • lewisgodowski an hour ago

    I'm 6'4" with a lot of my height in my legs. Sitting comfortably (not slouching, mind you), my knees already barely rub against the seat in front of me. As soon as that seat is reclined, my knees get crushed and I have to either sit up even straighter or twist to the side, neither of which are comfortable. Or, I have to pay to be in a higher fare class with more space.

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    • dylan604 37 minutes ago

      Have you tried the exit row instead? Sure, you might have to agree to help others, but if you aren't willing to do that regardless of the row, then that just says a lot about you.

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      • lewisgodowski 6 minutes ago

        Yepp, I generally will try for the exit row or the first row in a section (sacrificing no under seat storage), but they tend to be the first seats booked. Since I'm usually traveling with multiple other people and we prefer sitting together, it makes it pretty difficult to reliably select those seats with extra leg room. I haven't seen any airlines that charge "+$25 for the extra leg room" on 12+ hour international flights, but if they exist I'd love to know which ones they are!

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      • Ajedi32 34 minutes ago

        Many airlines don't let you choose your seat without paying extra. But yeah, maybe if you're that tall that's just an unfortunate extra cost you have to bear.

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        • dylan604 27 minutes ago

          At some point you have to do the math. Is +$25 for the extra leg room worth it for a 3 hour flight? 6 hour flight?

          I flew from DFW to Sydney on a flight that was not fully booked. They made an announcement for a $150 upgrade to have an entire row to yourself. Once in the air, all of the armrests could be raised to allow you to lay flat. $150/17hours $9/hour for a comfortable-ish sleep on a long haul flight. That's better math than the app subscription model threads have.

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  • kaffekaka an hour ago

    6ft plus too, I agree with GP, definitely a problem for me when the seat in front reclines.

    My legs are proportionately longer than my upper body which increases the negative effect.

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    • Ajedi32 an hour ago

      Why does leg length matter? Reclining doesn't impact leg room much since only the upper part of the seat is moving backwards any significant distance, and the space under the seat where my feet go is completely unaffected.

      Are your legs so long you have to sit with your knees pressed against the back of the seat in front of you or something? If so I suppose that's understandable.

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      • royskee 16 minutes ago

        "Are your legs so long you have to sit with your knees pressed against the back of the seat in front of you or something? If so I suppose that's understandable."

        Yes and also for people with long legs, seated in a typical airline seat, their knees will be significantly higher than the top of the seat cushion. So, they get caught up in the sweep of a reclining seatback ahead.

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      • 83 21 minutes ago

        My legs are long enough there isn't room for them to press against the back of the seat. I'm either manspreading into the crevases between seats or in foetal position with my knees halfway up the seat in front of me. A person reclining is excruciating in the former, but in the latter position at least the person in front can't recline as there's no physical space for my body to become more compact. Flying is hell.

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      • kaffekaka 37 minutes ago

        Yes, my knees often/always bump into the seat in front of me, even without it being reclined. If/when it is reclined it means my knees are pressed harder backwards.

        When I can, I pay for extra leg room or get an aisle seat.

        My opinion is strongly that seats should not be reclined. It is inconsiderate.

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        • Ajedi32 32 minutes ago

          I agree that sounds frustrating. Respectfully though, it sounds like you're a special case and that's not a problem which would apply to most people.

          But maybe in the future I'll make a point of checking whether the person behind me is in the 95th percentile of adult male heights before reclining.

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paranoidrobot an hour ago

good news: that seat design is available and some airlines use it.

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  • dylan604 36 minutes ago

    > some airlines use it.

    and there lies the rub.

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