A Study By

Just recently, Cathay Pacific issued a lifetime ban to two of its passengers following an in-flight incident when another passenger reclined their seat. The situation became chaotic when the couple asked the passenger to put her seat back, and she politely declined.
This resulted in harassment towards the passenger who was eventually escorted to another seat, and the couple receiving a lifetime ban for their behavior.
Was the passenger being outright inconsiderate, or did she have every right to keep her seat reclined?
PointsInspector analyzed over 10,000 Reddit replies to the question: “Is it rude to recline your seat on a plane?”

44% of poll contributors thought it was rude to recline your seat on a plane.
However, some comments added additional nuance to their opinion, with some sitting on the fence with their thoughts depending on various factors:

From a total of 855 comments, we still found that the majority felt it is OK to recline your seat. Comments followed along the lines of:
“Everyone has the right to use facilities they paid for“.
There were a lot of comments that agreed it is fine for people to recline their seats, though a bit of consideration plays a big part on plane etiquette:
“I recline my seat all the time! I generally try to avoid reclining it all the way, but I’m only 5’2″. I figure if they need more room, they can recline their seat as well IMO!🤷♀️”
said one person, while another commented:
“Yes I think it’s fine to recline! I always try to do it slowly & before drinks service starts to minimize disturbing the person behind me!”
Others say it’s OK on a long haul flight, but perhaps inconsiderate in crammed, shorter flights. One person wrote:
“I say reclining is perfectly ok on overnight long haul flights. Anything a few hours or under and daytime flights reclining shouldn’t be allowed – particularly on a domestic aircraft where the legroom is already super limited.”
Another commenter also agreed, saying:
“Short haul where everyone is crammed in – rude. Long haul when you are expected to get a bit of sleep – not rude.”
But let’s not forget the hoards of comments – 301 out of a total 855 comments – who find people who recline their seats are flat-out rude:
“I never recline – it adds minimally to my comfort but absolutely maximizes the discomfort of the person behind me,”
Others weren’t quite so amicable about it, with one individual writing:
“No I never go back as I treat people the way I want to be treated. I also put my knees in the back of the chair in front when they try to recline to stop them doing it.”
Others even mentioned the experiences they’ve had and the damage it caused by the person in front reclining without warning:
“My laptop actually broke from someone just blindly jamming their seat into a reclined position. Laptop was open and the screen got caught under the tray lock and it bent.”
Jason Mills, founder of PointsInspector and seasoned flyer adds his expert tips on the matter:
“Unless you are planning on sleeping, there’s usually no need to recline. So for short haul flights it is unlikely to need to recline, and if you do want to recline, it is always courteous to ask the person behind you.”
He added, “for long haul flights it’s totally acceptable to want to recline, and there’s an expectation around that by most people which the data from this poll supports. If unsure, just ask the person if they mind or give them a whisper of sorry as you recline to show you at least acknowledge the impact this could have on their comfort.”
Jason also provided some tips to avoid this situation or it’s impact on you should you wish to not have a recliner in front of you:
“Traveling Premium Economy, Business Class or Economy with extra leg room can reduce the impact of reclining almost completely. Use travel reward points towards upgrades to minimize the added costs and travel in comfort without worrying about your conscience.”
For his final tip he simply states, “You can make big savings by traveling at off-peak times, which could mean traveling Business Class is viable from a cost point of view, or your travel points can go twice as far – and for long haul flights this should mean a seat that lies flat with no impact on your fellow passengers – so everyone wins.”