A man has been slammed for reclining his plane seat on a 90-minute flight – despite knowing the passenger behind him was very tall.
He explained how he was travelling from New York to Cleveland and decided to recline his seat for maximum comfort on the flight, despite it being a short journey. However, this caused problems for the 6’4 man sitting behind him.
The man said on Reddit: “So about 90 mins. I’m a very small man (5’2). The guy behind me was very tall (6’4 or so). Once we were allowed to, I reclined my seat. He immediately started getting huffy, tapping against the seat.
“He also made a comment to the person sitting next to him (who was a stranger). ‘Oh, I guess this little guy needs all that room’.
“The tapping was annoying but not a big deal. And I put my headphones on and wasn’t able to hear whatever huffy crap he was saying.”
When the seatbelt sign came on before landing, the man put his chair back into the upright position and heard the guy behind him “fake” a sigh of relief.
He said: “Tall guy, almost on queue, let out a huge fake sigh of relief and said “finally” to the stranger. When we stood to get our carry on stuff, he was trying to give me the awful stink eye but I just ignored him.”
Wanting to know whether he’s in the wrong for reclining his seat, he has taken to social media to ask users for their opinions. In response, one user said: “You had to recline on a 90-minute flight? Plus you don’t need the room and tall guy behind you? Brutal.”
Another user added: “Hot take but I think anyone who reclines their seat when someone is sitting behind them is an a***hole.” A third user said: “The seat was probably touching his knees. Did you really need to recline during a 90-minute flight?
“Once you heard that it was bothering him could you have talked to him and come up with a compromise? Maybe only partially reclining? I’m only 5’6 ish and I know I get claustrophobic and cramped when people recline. I can’t imagine being 6’4 and having it happen.”