A Study By

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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?”

Pie chart showing statistics on results for many people think it is rude to recline a seat on a flight

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:

Pie chart showing results on comments from people deciding whether it is rude or not to recline your seat on a flight.

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:

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:

said one person, while another commented:

Others say it’s OK on a long haul flight, but perhaps inconsiderate in crammed, shorter flights. One person wrote:

Another commenter also agreed, saying:

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:

Others weren’t quite so amicable about it, with one individual writing:

Others even mentioned the experiences they’ve had and the damage it caused by the person in front reclining without warning:


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.”