Via iStockphoto / @sassaramcy TikTok
Sarah McCoy (@sassaramcy) was on a 13-hour flight from Istanbul, Turkey, to Denver, Colorado, when a man kept messing with her seat.
Seating on an airplane is a big deal.
After choosing a destination and settling on a flight price, customers spend time strategically mulling over where to sit and if forking over money for extra legroom is worth it. The hard truth is, where you sit is a matter of control, convenience and comfort. In fact, 95% of travelers agree that seat choice matters. So it is no wonder there is yet another incident regarding seats on an airplane.
Sarah McCoy (@sassaramcy) was on a 13-hour flight from Istanbul, Turkey, to Denver, Colorado. During the wind-down session of the flight, she says she reclined her seat. Almost immediately after, she says the man behind her shoved her seat, demanding she put it back up. She declined.
“‘Don’t push my seat,'” she recalls demanding. “‘She has hers [seat] reclined in front of me, so I am going to have mine reclined.'”
The dispute continued, so McCoy says she opted to get a flight attendant involved. Based on her retelling of the story, even while the flight attendant was present, the man behind her continued to shove her seat. After informing him that McCoy does not have to put her seat up and everyone can have their seats reclined, he insisted to the flight attendant that the woman in front of McCoy needed to put her seat up as well.
The flight attendants instructed him to stop shoving the seat, or they will have to move him, McCoy continues. Once they left, she says he resumed pushing the seat. McCoy says she alerted the attendant once more. In disbelief, the attendant returned to de-escalate the situation, she says.
What’s The History Of Premium Seating?
It’s a decision that many consciously debate on flights. To recline or not to recline? When situations like this arise, it consistently stirs debate and discourse about seating etiquette and the airline’s responsibility to its customers.
“If I pay for a reclining seat, I’m reclining. If you don’t want someone reclining in front of you buy a bulkhead seat,” said one commenter.
Another commenter also pointed out, “He can pay for an upgrade if having the space is that important to him.”
While premium or bulkhead seating is often touted as a resolve for customers who need more space on flights, it was not the original intent of the seating. Created in 1992 by Eva Airlines, premium seating was introduced as a bridge for flyers who wanted more luxury than economy class but did not have a business-class budget. Eva Airlines did not simply provide more legroom for consumers. They created an experience—better food choices, upgraded entertainment, and a luxury seat, in addition to more legroom.
Airlines today often miss the mark on the experience of premium seating, leaving travelers second guessing if the extra money is worth it.
“I really hate that they build these planes to have so little space, that reclining is actually encroaching. Several months ago I was on a flight and I leaned forward for a second and the person in front of me reclined and smacked me in the head,” complained one commenter.
“You might dislike it, but it’s not the person who needs to recline’s fault,” another responded. “It’s the airlines that design the plane interiors that way. Take it up with them. All of the passengers are in the same uncomfortable position. Misery doesn’t need company here.”
The Economy Of Premium Seating
Airlines know that seating is a premium issue for travelers. But with tightening budgets due to higher costs, now more than ever, airlines are looking for ways to increase shareholder value (profits). Seating is an easy way to do so, as premium economy seating is the most profitable seats on a plane, even above business class. According to American Airlines, roughly half of their revenue comes from just 33% of its seating.
“Those 30% of seats, they’re only going to grow in our fleet as the reconfigurations come on board as the new aircraft deliveries come on,” said American Airlines CEO Robert Isom at a Morgan Stanley industry conference.
Allegiant, JetBlue, and budget carrier Southwest are all reconfiguring or launching new fleets for inclusion of more premium seating. To increase flight-to-flyer ratios, seat pitches will more than likely shrink, causing the demand for premium seating to increase, out of necessity—not out of passenger desires being met.
What’s The Best Place To Sit On A Plane?
All economy seats are not created equal. But getting the best seat really depends on your priority. Without getting into the weeds of it, on comfort and flexibility, window seats reign supreme for airplane seating (except A11, as it’s typically a windowless window seat). Window seats allow you to rest your heads, only have one person as a neighbor and have a view, to boot.
Over the wing seats are good for nervous flyers who do not like turbulence. Aisle seats are good for people who need quick accessibility to the restroom or are claustrophobic.
For McCoy’s flight, she says she stayed reclined, and she did make it back to Denver. But instead of the story ending with the attendants, the plot thickened. After some time without a resolve, the man behind her switched seats with his wife, landing him behind McCoy’s boyfriend, who also had his seat reclined. The disgruntled passenger made no qualms about it.
“Yup. They’ll harass a woman but they’ll respect another man. It absolutely [upsets] me off,” McCoy says.
Just to be clear, yes, you can recline your seat on a flight. If you want to be courteous about it, there are two simple rules to follow. One, make sure you are not trying to recline during meal time. Secondly, at least make eye contact or signal the person behind you with your intent to recline.
BroBible reached out to McCoy for comment.