I find that Facebook, like most social media, is 5% catching up with friends and family, 5% funny memes and about 90% garbage. I saw a Facebook reel recently where I am not quite sure which category it falls into. If it’s real, then it’s garbage, but I tend to think that this was staged for the video, but not actually used on a flight, in which case chalk it up as “funny”. What do you think?
When you don’t want the seat in front of you to recline
The reel is short, and just shows someone on an airplane seat with the caption “When you don’t want the seat in front of you to recline”. It then shows the person wedge their water bottle in between the tray table and the lip of the seat in front of them.
I’m not 100% sure that this would actually work (in preventing the person in front of you from reclining), but it’s possible. It works on the same principle as the “Knee Defender” device.
Is this allowed?
So, let me just give the short answer as to whether this would be allowed which is “no”. Reclining the seat is part of the purchase of the seat / flight, and you are not allowed to suppress or prevent the seat in front of you from reclining. If this happened to you, then just call the flight attendant, who will tell the person to stop it.
Do you recline your seat on a plane?
I am a firm believer that you paid for a seat, and you have the right to recline. However, I personally do not recline, unless it’s a redeye flight or one where I am actually sleeping. Yes, it is annoying when the person in front of you reclines, and yes, airline seats do not give you much room, but if you want more space, then buy more space (like a business class ticket). We all know what we’re getting when we sign up to fly an economy flight.
The comments on the Facebook post were mixed
- Why is there an option to recline if you can’t recline ???? I’m a flight attendant and when someone complains about this I tell them passengers are allowed to recline just don’t do it without checking to make sure you’re not shocking the person behind you
- It doesn’t bother me if someone reclines. The airlines wouldn’t make them that way if they weren’t supposed to recline. I’m ok with it.
- It’s not ok to recline because people behind have a tray with stuff on it and a screen to use so it’s selfish.
- Yes I paid for that seat and it is meant to recline . I think what’s being shown here is rude
- The seats recline so little that it really isn’t an issue for the person behind. Before you ask, I am 6 feet. If you need/want more leg room, pay for it.
- If the person in front of me wants to recline, it’s their right. Is it selfish? Sure. But they can do it, and I won’t complain. It’s just about practicing tolerance. I myself only recline if no one is behind me. Reclining is in poor taste/bad manners.
The Bottom Line
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What do you think of this airplane “strategy”? Leave your thoughts in the comments below
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at
I paid for the seat in my small car, and I have the right to recline it, but when someone is in the backseat, it doesn’t mean I “should” recline it.
I’m 6’4″. I am willing to pay extra – up to a point – for more space and often fork out for domestic first class. Among the problems are that there may not always be a seat with more legroom available. That puts me with everyone else in tight coach seats. I almost never recline unless I’m in business class on a long haul flight because as miserable as it is I’m not trying to make the person behind me suffer when I can avoid it. If the person in front of me reclines, they get my knees in their back. That’s not for fun or malice, because depending on how long this goes on my knees will ache for up to a couple of days afterwards, but because my knees have no place else to go.
Ultimately I think your theories are great in theory but exclude some practical considerations from real world scenarios.