As of: March 6, 2024, 8:02 a.m
By: Franziska Kaindl
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A passenger wanted to fold back her seat back on a 10-hour flight.
But the young woman behind her didn't like that at all.
The space on the plane is limited - and therefore regularly causes commotion among travelers.
It's not just the question of who owns the armrests that constantly concerns passengers.
Opinions also differ when folding back the seat back.
Some people feel restricted as a result, while others want to enjoy maximum comfort.
Two different views collide.
Fellow passenger wants to prevent TikToker from folding back her seat back
If air travelers make themselves too comfortable, it is not always well received by other passengers.
© Franziska Kaindl/DALL-E (AI generated)
For TikTok user Taylor aka “
tfutchh
,” it got to the point where the flight passenger behind her kept trying to push her backrest into the starting position.
“This girl just pushed my seat forward and said I can't recline it on my 10-hour flight because it's too much for her.
“What should I do?” she asks in a video on the platform, which shows her in the machine.
It has been viewed over 2.3 million times.
In a later clip she goes into more detail about the situation: The young woman was sitting in the row behind her with her boyfriend and her mother.
When the fellow passenger tried to stop her from reclining her seat, she thought: “What the hell?
I take anti-anxiety medication, I drank a lot of wine.
It's a 10-hour flight, I want to make myself comfortable, I'm exhausted." A flight attendant who called her for help explained that she only had to fold up the seat for the meal.
That wasn't the end of the matter, however, because "the whole flight I was pushing the button and pushing my seat back because she was pushing it forward the whole damn flight - it was so annoying." She wanted to be on a long flight can fold back their backrest.
“If you want to be comfortable, take first class,” she reportedly told the other passenger.
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Who is right?
TikTok users discuss seatback problem
The comments under the video show how divided opinions are.
Many agree with Taylor that she has the right to recline her seat.
“I don’t understand what everyone has.
On every long-haul flight I've been on, literally everyone has their seat reclined.
People don’t sit up until there’s food.”
“The chairs barely recline anyway, so I don't understand why people always get so angry.
I never cared if people sat back in front of me.”
“For everyone who says it’s rude to sit back: you’re actually mad at the airline.
Just email them to make the seats bigger and give you more space.”
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However, some users also have the opposite opinion - and think it is better to leave the seat where it is:
“I’ve been on a lot of flights and it never occurred to me to sit back.”
“I really wish they would just remove that option.
I have really long legs and I pay for more legroom, but it's still too tight.”
“If someone leans back, I can't put my tray down or I can't reach my bag.
Flying economy class is difficult enough without someone pressing their seat in your face.”
“If someone leans back in front of me, I will make their flight a nightmare.
Because if I can’t do my thing in peace, you can’t either.”
What an ex-flight attendant says about it
A few months ago, a former flight attendant commented on the topic on TikTok.
Their view is very clear: “If you buy a seat on an airplane, you are entitled to the full functionality of that seat.”
This also means that everyone has the right to use their backrest - even if someone very tall were sitting in the seat behind them, who would therefore be even more cramped.