Home » Entitled passenger needlessly reclines both seats in his row irritating the guy behind him
Recline one seat or lounge across two. Don't do both. Or at least that's the common sentiment from folks who found a recent passenger's entitled behavior way out of line when he reclined both seats in his empty row and then laid down making it impossible for the passenger behind him to use his laptop.

Entitled passenger needlessly reclines both seats in his row irritating the guy behind him

by Staff Writer

Recline one seat or lounge across two. Don’t do both. Or at least that’s the common sentiment from folks who found a recent passenger’s entitled behavior way out of line when he reclined both seats in his empty row and then laid down making it impossible for the passenger behind him to use his laptop.


Reddit’s most interesting and arguably most fun subreddit is /AmITheA**hole where a myriad of interesting real world situations are presented for the internet to measure, weigh and levy judgment on. While the topics in this wild west of a subreddit run the gamut one topic that comes up semi-frequently is the slights that are encountered when traveling.

One recent poster shared his story of encountering an unusually entitled passenger in front of him who, in his mind, was way out of line.

As the story goes, the flight wasn’t a full flight and the poster intended to work on his laptop while on the flight. In a coach seat this is already a challenge given the tight confines of modern air travel, but when a passenger in front of you reclines their seat (which is their right) laptop use is more or less impossible.

Fortunately for this passenger, his row was empty so he simply moved himself and his laptop over to the next seat and attempted to continue working on his laptop.

However, the man in front of him also had an empty row and he decided to recline BOTH seats in his row before then laying down and sleeping.

AITA: Two seat recliner on plane from AmItheAsshole

Seat reclining is a touchy subject on planes. The tight confines of air travel mean that reclining one’s seat can make a difference for someone who’s crammed into a small seat. However, for the person behind them, it can ruin a trip. Opinions rage across all sides on the proper etiquette for reclining one’s seat while traveling. Some say you should never recline your seat while others say it’s your seat, you paid for it, recline it to your heart’s content.

Still, others suggest you should recline, but don’t be jerk about it. For example: Examine the person behind you and gauge how disruptive this will be to them. If they are using their laptop, maybe don’t recline. If they are a 9-year boy, maybe you can recline. Always ask the person if it’s ok, and maybe don’t recline it all the way.

There are no hard and fast rules about seat reclining here unlike the well-known unofficial rule about the middle seat getting the armrest, but some common sense and courtesy don’t hurt.

How about you dear reader? What would you have done in this situation? Got the flight attendant involved? Went full ‘air-rage Karen?” Ignored the person and watched a movie on your phone instead of pounding out some emails? Drop us a comment below!


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2 comments

Joey September 24, 2022 - 6:38 am

While sitting in economy, I’m ok with reclining. However, I always ask the person in front of me to put his/her seat upright during mealtimes as it’s hard for me to eat while the seat in front of me is fully reclined. I’ve always kindly asked and never had any issue. Of course, after the meal is done, the person in front of me is welcome to recline the seat again.

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Gene September 25, 2022 - 10:17 am

Absolutely nothing wrung with reclining both seats.

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