Via iStockphoto / @mmarkroberts TikTok
A man reclined his seat on a flight to Germany and got a rude awakening. We have to ask to recline seats now?
Over the years, debates have swarmed about airlines maximizing the number of passengers on a flight. So much so that a couple of years back, a prototype circulated of an alleged proposed double-decker airplane. The pushback was swift and harsh. In today’s air travel, people are already cramped, and the idea of having a person sitting above made some shutter. But apparently now, a new unspoken airline etiquette has been unlocked: asking for permission before reclining the seat.
Popular TikToker Mark Roberts (@mmarkroberts) was recently on a flight to Germany, where this specific request was made. He reclined his seat and was met with annoyance and a subsequent request to straighten his seat.
“I don’t know who needs to hear this, but if you are on an airplane and you want to recline your seat, you do not need to ask permission from anyone,” Roberts says.
In the three-minute video, he details how he reclined his chair on the flight, and the woman behind hovered over and began speaking to him. Mimicking the high-pitched voice of a woman, he comedically recounts the dialogue exchange between the two. The story escalated when he refused her request to put his seat back in the upright position. Unhappy with his response, he says she called a flight attendant.
According to Roberts, the woman threw two “hissy fits” and kicked his chair for the remainder of the flight—whether it was due to lack of space or her being upset is undetermined.
“The most annoying part was as she was throwing her hissy fit, I just turned around to see what was going on. And brother, she is reclined in her set, yet she wanted me to ‘unrecline’ in my seat,” Roberts says.
Perhaps she asked first.
Should You Ask Before Reclining Seat?
A widely debated topic, the majority of the 245 comments left on the video sided with the woman. Commenters believe that, given the limited amount of space on aircrafts, you should ask permission to recline the seat.
One user even went so far as to say it was selfish to recline the seat.
“I’d normally say it’s fine but if she’s close enough to lean over you no shade that’s kinda selfish,” one said.
Another stated, “I fly all over the world and I never recline unless nobody is behind me.”
People feel very strongly about their legroom on flights and may have visceral responses to someone trying to recline their seat.
“I recently sat in the very back row and saw the person in front of me wanted to recline, so I quickly put my knee up because I am NOT giving that space up,” another said.
But there were also commenters who thought it was ridiculous not to use the function or that an etiquette would be applied to something that seemed trivial to them.
“People complaining about someone using something that was made for that are annoying. Like just recline your seat too, you will just be more comfy and maybe also have a nap,” another argued.
The Rules Of Engagement On Seat Reclining
Over the years, the seat spacing on aircrafts has gotten smaller in order to increase passenger-to-flight ratio. In the 1970s, the seat spacing was about 35 inches. Today, the standard is 27 inches with options to purchase premium seats with more space. Airlines decreased the spacing to offer cheaper flight options, hoping to also increase the customer base.
Lisa Mirza Grotts is an etiquette expert. By her standards, when reclining your seat, it should be done with “self-awareness, social awareness, and situational awareness. Further consideration during meal time is crucial,” she told Travel + Leisure. She believes that seat reclining should be done gradually, and the person attempting the recline should at least make eye contact with the person behind them.
Overall, experts agree that it is OK to recline your seat on an aircraft. The option would not be available if the practice was discouraged. But how you do it is just as important as when you do it.
BroBible reached out to Roberts for comment.