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The Great Recline Debate

September 9, 2014  | Written by Jessica Sammut
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Illustration: Adam Mullin
Illustration: Adam Mullin

To recline or not to recline? This question is currently under much debate after a United Airlines flight traveling from Newark to Denver was forced to divert because a fight broke out between two passengers arguing over a reclining seat. The fight started when a woman, who tried to recline her seat, found out that the man behind her was using the Knee Defender, a $22 gadget that prevents an airline passenger’s seat from reclining. Within days, two more flights were diverted for the same reason, sparking even further debate on all outlets including social media.

As people took to Twitter to slug it out, two things quickly became clear. One, travelers have strong opinions when it comes to their legroom rights in the sky; and two, you are either a pro-recliner or an anti-recliner, as seen below:

Pro-recliner

https://twitter.com/joshgreenman/status/505532011315224576

https://twitter.com/jbarro/status/504644173266710528

Anti-recliner

https://twitter.com/andrewlint/status/507578493052256256

https://twitter.com/BrianMahabee/status/507735016672350208

Or you are just a very inconsiderate human being like this guy:

Although the majority of Americans are against the Knee Defender, you can only cross your fingers and hope you don’t sit in front of someone like @BCAppelbaum on your next flight. Passengers may also choose to fly with airlines that already banned or have now banned the device on their flights.

Airlines that have banned the Knee Defender:

  • United Airlines (and all other major US airlines)

  • Qantas

  • Virgin Australia

  • Jetstar

  • Air Canada

Airlines such as Allegiant Air and Spirit Airlines simply do not offer a reclining option on their aircrafts and, as a result, are immune to recline-rage on board their flights. Allegient and Spirit fly with Acro Aircraft seats, which are pre-reclined and fixed so there is no need for a Knee Defender. In addition to being immune to recline-rage, Allegiant estimates that the fixed-back seat design saves them $3.5 million a year and conserves 110,000 gallons of fuel. Well then, Allegiant and Spirit for the win-win!

Although it’s too early to tell if other airlines will follow suit with fixed-back seating, certainly no solution can come from dwelling on who is to blame for the recent spike in on-board disputes. If anything, the Knee Defender debacle has presented us with a unique opportunity to gain mass industry insights directly from travelers and help us achieve what we are all striving for, the enhancement of the passenger experience.