<p>Jerks are jerks at any altitude.</p>
<p>Oh, OK, now I understand, zoos. </p>
<p>Hayden said:
This is so true! On a recent transatlantic trip I used my pillow at my neck to try to minimize the top of the seat headrest. It was incredibly uncomfortable and I found myself tilting my neck to try to get comfortable to no avail.I am just 5’ tall and I’ve always thought that the size of the seats was made for people pretty close to my size. For a nation that likes to super-size everything, it’s astounding that airlines have gotten away with tiny airline seats. I think a good compromise to the reclining issue is just a very slight recline.</p>
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Better hope you are not sitting behind me on a redeye or int’l flight. </p>
<p>Go to sleeeeep… I-) I-) I-) </p>
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</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_11/sr11_252.pdf”>NCHS - 404 Error - Resource Not Available;
<p>Table 12 indicates that the median man is 69.3" tall; 5th-95th percentile is 64.3" and 74.1".</p>
<p>Table 20 indicates that the median man has a 99.4cm (39.1") waist circumference; 5th-95th percentile is 77.9cm (30.7") and 128.1cm (50.4").</p>
<p>Table 35 indicates that the median man has a 40.8cm (16.1") upper leg length; 5th-95th percentile is 35.6cm (14.0") and 45.9cm (18.1").</p>
<p><a href=“Short-haul Economy Class Comparison Chart - SeatGuru”>Short-haul Economy Class Comparison Chart - SeatGuru;
<p>It appears that typical economy class seats have 31" seat pitch (some of which is taken up by the padding in the seat) and 17" width.</p>
<p>I only fly during daytime/ early evening.
I don’t recline my seat, as I don’t sleep during those hours.
I feel people who do recline their seat enough for me to count the hairs on their balding head are rude because they are impinging on my personal space which goes from my seat to the ceiling.
I think people who need to sleep during daytime flights of six hrs or less should get business/first class where they can do so more comfortably.</p>
<p>I don’t suppose Sky Mall sells Knee Defenders. :)</p>
<p>Once, (in the 90’s) I sat behind a couple who reclined and the male had one arm around his girlfriend/wife and his other arm upright, hand around the rim of the overhead compartment, which gave him more leverage that allowed him to use his weight to push his seatback closer into me by a couple of extra inches. The difference between his seatback and the woman’s was huge. RUDE! I had zero room to even shift a little bit, much less cross my legs, without hitting him, which rocked both of them because of the way they were cuddling. I was a wimp and didn’t say anything, but I did send them forward a few times by crossing and uncrossing my legs. He turned all the way around to give me a look. I gave him one back. I wish I’d had the courage to say something. I was younger and not confident enough to speak up. Was a miserable four hour flight for me. I don’t fly much any more, which is a good thing. </p>
<p>Does the CDC have widths? The typical economy seat is 17" wide. Mr. Fang and I just measured shoulder width. My shoulders are 17" wide. He is tall and lanky-- his shoulders are around 19" wide. </p>
<p>I agree with whoever posted upthread that seats are narrower than the average normal-weight guy’s shoulders. So some guy who sits next to me is going to be impinging on my shoulder room, and I have none to spare him.</p>
<p>EK writes that someone who reclines their seat is impinging on her personal space. That is exactly the issue here: whose space is the space that a seat reclines into? Is that space EK’s personal space? Apparently not. Since US airlines permit people to recline, that space is the space of the person who bought the reclining seat.</p>
<p>Hunt, I’m with you. A little courtesy can go a long way but in this day and age, courtesy has been replaced by ‘what’s in it for me?’</p>
<p>When I decide to recline I always do so slowly, to give the guy or gal behind me a chance to let me know if it’s a problem. But courtesy doesn’t always bring results. On one flight, when I began to slowly recline, the dimwit behind me SLAMMED my seat with his hands, without saying a word.</p>
<p>For shorter flights, instead of squabbling travelers squeezed into airline seats the size of a toothpaste box, we need more trains. Have you ever taken Amtrak? The seats are huge. It’s bliss.</p>
<p>I travel on Amtrak regularly, and it is bliss compared to flying (which I avoid like the plague). But going more than 200 miles by train is not practical. I wish this country would get on the ball with high-speed, high-quality rail service. There are quite a few city pairs separated by 500 mile or so. We took the bullet train in Japan over 30 years ago, and I took the high-speed train in France 10 years ago. </p>
<p>This year is the 50th anniversary of the shinkansen (Japanese bullet train). And we’re here still arguing over airplane seat recline… </p>
<p>The bullet train was incredible. It was so smooth that there was no feeling of traveling fast, unless you looked out the window and saw the scenery flying by.</p>
<p>My H is 6’2" and lanky, with very broad shoulders. Sitting in an airplane seat is pretty much torture for him. His shoulders simply do not fit, nor do his legs without significant discomfort. I, on the other hand, fit neatly into any seat without being unable to stretch my legs, but I have some claustrophobia which is set off by the roof curving too close over my head, so when I’m booking flights I always try to get two aisle seats across from each other. I usually recline very slightly, just to get a comfortable angle, except on transatlantic flights where I want to sleep, and so does everyone else, apparently. </p>
<p>Pity the poor people on the back row. They have nowhere TO recline even if the people in front recline into them.</p>
<p>One of the problems with airline seats is that they don’t always recline slowly. They often jerk back, sometimes jamming the rear tray into the person behind. Years ago, when seats were farther apart, I would recline. Now I only recline on long-haul flights and to sleep (if I can).</p>
<p>Another gripe: The overseas night flights now show two movies. If a screen is right in front of you, it’s hard to ignore. Years ago, the cabin was darkened after supper and most people settled down. The movie would come on after people got their children to sleep. Now, there is constant movement and entertainment, which makes it hard for anyone to sleep.</p>
<p>On the flights to and from South Africa this summer (some were on Delta and some were on Virgin Air), everyone had a small screen in front of them, and we could select movies, TV shows, games, or music. The flights were very quiet and dark.</p>
<p>I asked for exit row seats this time. Wonderful!</p>
<p>I once was fortunate enough to be assigned the seat right next to the emergency exit. There was no seat in front of me! But the man who sat in the middle seat, next to me, had an injury that made it really uncomfortable for him to sit without legroom. So I offered him my seat and he happily accepted - actually offered to pay me for it (which, of course, I refused). </p>
<p>^^ Injury in an emergency exit row…I wouldn’t be comfortable with that!</p>
<p>
I would have been the first to get the FA to move him. The man’s comfort does not outweigh my (and the other passengers’) safety.</p>
<p>What airplanes are you guys flying on? In cattle coach, where I travel, the amount that it is even POSSIBLE to recline is about 2.5 inches. No more than that. You barely move when you recline, and there is no way in he** that you are infringing on anyone’s air space. Maybe things are different up in business class…
BTW, my hubby is 6’ 5’. Flying is hell for us budget travel types.</p>