So who didn't see a fight on an aircraft coming

[malaise]

as a result of a reclined seat in those cramped economy cabins.
Word is that a man choked a woman who refused to bring her seat forward. So the aircraft made an emergency landing.

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. I've seen them with my own eyes, but a flight has never emergency landed.

The just separated the two like the rabid dogs they were.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

2. This wasn't the first.

I remember hearing of one a few months back as well, and I'm sure there have been more I haven't heard about.

[malaise]

3. And there will be many more

Trust me on that

[Logical]

4. Stop the seats from reclining and problem solved! nt

[NightWatcher]

15. and miss out on that 2 inches of reclining?

I dont even try to recline anymore, esp when crammed on those flying buses on commuter and connector routes.

[gratuitous]

5. I know it makes me feel like taking a swing at someone

Someone tilts their seat back to within an inch of my nose, and I know that for the duration of the flight I can't even breathe normally, makes me want to beat a tattoo on someone's noggin. I don't, of course, but I can certainly understand someone else with less impulse control taking physical exception.

We're going to see more of this, not less, before airlines do anything about it. Air travel seems to be an endurance contest from a reality show more than a way to cover long distances in a relatively short amount of time. "How much can you put up with in six hours" seems to be the airlines' rule of thumb.

[malaise]

6. Meanwhile profit is up

and anything related to comfort is down. There is more comfort on an ordinary bus than in economy on most airlines.

[yeoman6987]

14. It will get worse the more travelers expect the cheapest flight possible

It costs a fortune to fly a jet and most want to pay close to nothing for it.

[LuckyLib]

35. I travel extensively by bus in Mexico and the premier buses

that are very reasonably priced are like the lap of luxury compared to US air travel.

[villager]

38. I take express buses (from L.A. - S.F.) and rail more than I fly....

...and those seats are always roomier than the average airline seat...

[Lizzie Poppet]

10. "Physical exception" can consist of "accidentally" bumping the back of the seat. A lot.

[B Calm]

7. Put more space between seats and problem solved!

[malaise]

8. That would actually be

logical

[whatthehey]

12. ...and competitive suicide

71% of flyers surveyed would not pay ANYTHING more for extra space. So what would they do when asked to pay the quite noticeable amount it would take to remove seats to make up that extra space?

[packman]

9. Open carry on airplanes

would solve this problem.

[KamaAina]

11. Samuel L. Jackson would agree

[malaise]

13. They'd solve the argument and kill everyone with the first shot that hits the

fuselage

[packman]

16. Doesn't that sort of define "open carry"

shoot and kill everyone.

Story about airplane fuselages:
My brother worked on fuselages, sealing up leaks basically during their down time and doing fuselage maintenance. He told me the worst thing they ever did was ban smoking on airplanes. Seems the tar, nicotine and other shit from smoking would make it easy to detect leaks and where patch work had to be done because of the trails they left behind when the plane was pressurized.

[malaise]

18. Wow - that's interesting

and yes open carry will kill

[zipplewrath]

17. Actually, no

Mythbusters did a segment on this. It takes a pretty big hole to cause much in the way of catastrophic decompression. Mostly you just end up with a very quick leak, that could be patched with a sock.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

26. A single bullet hole would not decompress a commercial airliner n/t

[Eleanors38]

19. Zen has developed a causal relationship between reclining & my gastro-intestinal relief mechanism.

[Tipperary]

20. I hope they throw the book at that fool.

Inexcusable.

[malaise]

21. I agree - who chokes someone because they're angry?

He must pay

[Tipperary]

22. Not to mention that he is a man who attacked a woman. FROM BEHIND.

A real prize there.

[onenote]

23. No one who pays attention to these things. Not a new event.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/02/travel/airline-seat-recline-diversion/

[MuseRider]

24. Probably 30 years ago

I was on a flight and was sitting next to a man who seemed really irritated. Back then flying was almost nice. The man sitting in front of him put his seat back and it scrunched the paper my seat neighbor was reading. He got mad, started banging the seat with his knees and yelling and in one split second started hitting the guy in front with his rolled up newspaper. It was all stopped and quieted in a moments time. These days I am pretty sure it would have become a horrible row. Flying is uncomfortable, we are uncomfortable and civility seems to be lacking. Such a shame.

[MineralMan]

25. "That's as far back as it goes."

I've had to say that a few times on flights, when the person in front of me reclined the seat and then proceeded to keep trying violently to make it recline more. After about five minutes, I lean in and say that quietly, but firmly, to the person ahead of me.

Personally, I don't recline my seat in coach. I don't because it's annoying to me when people do. It makes it almost impossible to use my laptop during the flight. It's every passenger's right, of course, to use the features on the plane. I understand that. I just don't do it, since I have no desire to annoy the person behind me.

But, when someone keeps bouncing against the back of their seat, trying to make it recline more, I don't have to tolerate that crap.

"That's as far back as it goes, sir (or madam, if that's the case)." Usually that stops the additional annoyance.

Then there are the seat back kickers, usually children. My tolerance for that ends rather quickly. When it does, I speak to the adult next to the child and say, "Please have your child stop kicking the seat." That doesn't work as well, and often needs to be repeated during the flight.

[randys1]

27. Peasants shouldn't be flying on planes in the first place.

In the good ole days only rich people could be found on an American passenger plane, and that is the way God wants it, by the way.

Surely the more of you peasants who want to fly have to understand that there is a profit level that is expected in capitalism and anything less than that profit means you will have to get used to less and less space, but remember, you shouldnt be flying in the first place, peasants.


Now the same goes for good steakhouses, having to wait in line for my table behind some peasant?

Pisses me off.

If you think that pisses me off, can you imagine how pissed I am going to be if I need a liver or kidney and some peasant is in line ahead of me for that!

Capitalism is designed to solve these problems for rich people...so peasants, just shut the fuck up.



i refuse to put a sarcasm thingy here because if you are challenged even that wont help you

[Cleita]

33. I actually flew back in those days and before jet airplanes were used when flying was

more elegant even in coach. It seems people were better behaved and the stewardesses, as they were called then, were nurses so they could cope with medical emergencies. Yet when air travel became more and more like riding the Greyhound, the prices never came down although the quality of the food and service did. But unless you fly on standby for reduced or free fare, these are the only people I would remotely qualify as peasants because travel is still expensive for the average wallet. Maybe the FAA or other regulatory agency needs to step in and standardize the seating so it's not so cramped.

[Travis_0004]

28. I've never understood the hate for reclining the seat

I'm going to recline my seat, and I've never been upset with somebody in front of me reclining theirs.

I'm 6'3, so I'm not a small guy. Is Yao Ming flying economy?

[Cleita]

29. Years ago, in 1965, I worked for Continental Airlines and one of my jobs was filing the incident

reports the crew must make when there is a problem in flight and you'd be surprised at what happens when passengers go amok. Picking fights with usually a crew member but sometimes another passenger isn't that rare. Back then most of the incidents were alcohol related but I could see space related issues too. Then there's also problems with a passenger locking themselves in the bathroom and refusing to come out, and medical emergencies like heart attacks and miscarriages as well. It made me very happy not to be in one of the flight crews.

[malaise]

32. Yep there are lots of stories and experiences

but it is rare for an aircraft to make an emergency landing over the choking of a female passenger over a reclined seat.

[Cleita]

34. They do it more often than you think. It just doesn't make the news.

The crew restrains the passenger. They can make a citizens arrest, if needed, and they head for the nearest airport where the passenger is put off the plane and often into the hands of the law, or an ambulance, depending on what they were deplaned for.

[olddots]

30. Passengers should be hypnotized into a trance state before entering airports

stripped naked and cavity searched before bording then de hipnotized when they reach their destination .Don't laugh this could raise profits for the bastards who fly on private jets .

[Cleita]

37. Maybe putting them in suspended animation for the duration of the trip could be done.

Then they wouldn't even need seats. You could stack them in bunks like cord wood. That would make a lot of use of limited space and more profits for the airline.

[Initech]

31. One time I was on a flight to Detroit...

And I got my laptop out so I could watch a movie, and the guy in front of me leans his chair back as far as he could, and then gives me a dirty look when I asked if he could not lean so far back so I could use my laptop. Some people just suck.

[malaise]

36. Yep lots of inconsiderate morons

are sitting around civilized people.

[sdfernando]

39. Stupid idiots...

you know what you are getting into when you buy the damned tickets...if you need or want more room, do what I do and pay to upgrade. Most airlines offer some premium seats with more leg room and substantially less than 1st class.