A string of disturbing encounters in recent months on commercial airliners has brought the issue of recliner safety back to the front page. Air rage incidents have been increasing across the United States. Expectedly, the concern of seat reclining has emerged as a hot-button topic for airline execs and travelers alike.
A violent fight turned a Delta Air Lines flight into a flying battlefield. One passenger allegedly punched a fellow passenger in the chest after an argument about an airline seat that was reclining. As a grieving retiree soon discovered, the process can sometimes lead to costly, uncomfortable surprises. The reclining seat in front of him didn’t help either. Though more space for reclining seats does improve passenger comfort, it usually does the opposite for anyone sitting behind them. Understandably, the angle of recline can quickly go from the making of a blissful flight to the ultimate airplane annoyance. One traveler’s comfort-seeking quest almost always comes at the expense of another’s personal space.
This issue is only made worse with the availability of alcohol on flights, which can increase tensions between passengers. As people recline their seats shortly after takeoff, many others find themselves unable to enjoy their space. As one passenger graphically described a scenario, the customer directly in front of them reclined her seat as soon as she sat down and proceeded to jiggle all seven painful hours waking the dead right behind her.
It’s something that experts have started to worry about with increasing in-flight altercations. As if banning reclining seats would be the easiest fix to stem air rage. Passengers and transportation specialists alike have been irritated and discomforted by these seat configurations. They have joined forces to demand that something be done to fix it. In fact, some have jokingly called for Donald Trump to maybe pick up the phone and end the reclining seat crisis. This comment harkens back to the way he’s managed Union Station in the past.
And even when we have those comedic undertones, the truth is just as scary. We cannot ignore the dramatic jump in air rage incidents and the psychological trauma associated with the new torture devices we call seats. Reclining seats are bad for passengers, too. This isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s a safety issue that passengers are forced to endure. Many even quip that whoever solves this problem should be given a Nobel Peace Prize!
Either way the conversation goes, the seat reclining discussion is clearly just beginning. Other riders savor the life of leisure at home in their chairs. The torment they inflict on people strapped in behind them greatly exceeds any good. This means the industry must be honest about today’s seating configurations. Are they really putting the needs of all airplane passengers first, or have they outlived their usefulness and should be replaced with something that is friendlier to everyone flying?