Knee Defender - What is your opinion?

[littlegram]

On a recent flight a plane was diverted mid-flight because a passenger was using the Knee Defender, which are two devices that clamp on your tray table preventing the passenger in front of you from reclining. The passenger in front complained, the flight attendant asked the passenger who used the device to remove it, he refused and a "fight" broke out. (the front passenger stood up and threw a glass of water on the passenger behind her)

I fly quite a bit for work and space is very limited. I never recline my seat out of courtesy, but that is a personal choice. So, what is your opinion? Should people be allowed to use this device or not and why/why not?

[Deleted]

Oh I thought it's something that protects from arrows.

[Reeve]

Seems a bit passive aggressive. If you honestly don't want the person in front of you to lean back, ask them not to. If they choose to lean back anyway, tough luck. It's their right as a passenger to make use of the facilities the airline has provided them.

I'm a 6'5" guy. I'm quite accustomed to getting my knees destroyed by the person in front of me. I simply take it as a given, and if I'm really not wanting to deal with it that day, I purchase an economy plus seat. I never hesitate to lean my seat back, because no one ever seems to hesitate to lean their seat back into my knees.

[Nefastus]

Oh I thought it's something that protects from arrows.

Same! What if he took an arrow to his knee?

[Deleted]

On a recent flight a plane was diverted mid-flight because a passenger was using the Knee Defender, which are two devices that clamp on your tray table preventing the passenger in front of you from reclining. The passenger in front complained, the flight attendant asked the passenger who used the device to remove it, he refused and a "fight" broke out. (the front passenger stood up and threw a glass of water on the passenger behind her)

I fly quite a bit for work and space is very limited. I never recline my seat out of courtesy, but that is a personal choice. So, what is your opinion? Should people be allowed to use this device or not and why/why not?

Long haul, people can recline their seats, the passenger should have done as the flight attendant asked and stopped being a selfish prick, this is why I for instance pay to be seated in seats with more leg room. if you dont want to do that, take your chances.
And do what hte flight crew tell you.

short haul, unless its night, no need to recline so doing so is just plain rude.

ok airline seats are not large, but a lot of this is due to the increasing girth of people, so you know join a gym, and dont make someone else's flight, which they also paid for, a misery because you were to cheap to buy a seat with more room, or too fat to fit.

[Reeve]

A luxury problem if I ever heard of one....

Especially if the person who uses a knee defender uses it because he/she is obese. If they are 7 feet tall...then I understand the use.

Keep in mind that many airlines, especially domestic American flights, are now using seats that are freaking tiny, and packing them in super close. I'm not a fat man, but I have a hard time forcing my hips into some of these seats at times. And then because the seat is so narrow and often the armrest doesn't come up, my legs are forced directly forward, so I can't spread them out to the sides to fit them in better. Even when I can spread them, then I'm impinging on the space of the passenger next to me, which makes both me and them uncomfortable. This is even worse when sitting next to another tall or obese person.

Frankly. The seats the airlines use in economy class simply aren't big enough for people over 6 feet tall or with a 38 or larger waist, and large portions of the population are that size or larger now. Instead of increasing the seat size (or not decreasing it), they've just packed them in even tighter in the back of the plane and added Economy plus for all those people who have the extra cash not to be in a cattle car.

[Deleted]

Oh I thought it's something that protects from arrows.

Me too but I think it perfectly fine to use it. Some people are just too selfish and they need to be put in their place.

[Mondroc]

Long haul, people can recline their seats, the passenger should have done as the flight attendant asked and stopped being a selfish prick

short haul, unless its night, no need to recline so doing so is just plain rude.

I agree... Though regardless if you have a problem with how the seats work, that is an issue between you and the airline. Out of courtesy I don't put my seat back and nobody has put theirs back in front of me.. but I wouldn't ever stop someone from doing so as they are just utilizing a feature given to them by the airline. As I said, if you have a problem with that then that is between you and the airline, not the person using the equipment properly.

Edit: This may be because I'm in Europe though, I'm not entirely sure how seat sizes are here compared to there. I don't have any sort of reference. Maybe the seats are just bigger :P

[Annoying]

As a 5'7" guy, I recline. I paid for the seat, including its reclining function.

[Kalis]

She paid for a service, he restricted her use of that service, which he shouldn't have done and was rightfully ordered to cease. She threw a glass of water over him, which she shouldn't have done.

Both were rightfully ejected from the plane, and his inconsideratation for other passengers' is primarily at fault.

[Reeve]

As a 5'7" guy, I recline. I paid for the seat, including its reclining function.

Sometimes when I'm sitting in an airplane, which I do a lot, I look over at the 5'6" person next to me jealously. When it's like a 40 pound kid who can stick their legs straight out and barely touch the seat in front of them, while having like three inches to the sides of their seat on either side of their hip, I get more jealous. When I see that 4 year old sitting in a first class seat, I almost have to laugh internally at the sheer wastefulness.

[Annoying]

Sometimes when I'm sitting in an airplane, which I do a lot, I look over at the 5'6" person next to me jealously. When it's like a 40 pound kid who can stick their legs straight out and barely touch the seat in front of them, while having like three inches to the sides of their seat on either side of their hip, I get more jealous. When I see that 4 year old sitting in a first class seat, I almost have to laugh internally at the sheer wastefulness.

It's alright though. Once you're off the plane, life is, statistically at least, easier for you.

[Reeve]

It's alright though. Once you're off the plane, life is, statistically at least, easier for you.

In some very important ways, yes. In the largest quantity of ways, hell no.

[ifrah]

As long as they rise the seatback during meal services I don't mind at all people who recline. I do it as well. Long flights (6-10hrs) without reclining would be absolute hell. If some cunt would block myself from doing it, sure as hell it would annoy the shit out of me. He has his seat, I have mine, simple as that. On short flights, recline or not, does not really matter. If you can't handle the economy class, the business class is there for you (wish my company would do that)

[Sunseeker]

Wouldn't that also be a danger to the safety of other passengers and hinder their ability to escape in an emergency?

[Mermaid]

I personally never recline my seat back because I know some really tall people can struggle with leg room and I want to be considerate, but I won't fault others for doing so because they paid for their seat. However, I would most definitely take issue with someone telling me I can't recline my own seat if I decided I wanted to recline. Throwing water at other passengers is just childish, but so is using a device to disallow a passenger the full use of their seat. They were both in the wrong in this situation.

[Vizardlorde]

It's alright though. Once you're off the plane, life is, statistically at least, easier for you.

Doorways were not made for giants, standard home measurements like counter tops or kitchen drawers were not made for giants, clothes shoes pretty much everything is more difficult when you are 1ft+ taller than the average.

[Adam Jensen]

Oh I thought it's something that protects from arrows.

Are you a Whiterun Guard IRL?

@OP: Fly JetBlue, get an Even More Space seat. They're roomy enough to recline without pissing off the guy behind you.

[Frogguh]

On a recent flight a plane was diverted mid-flight because a passenger was using the Knee Defender, which are two devices that clamp on your tray table preventing the passenger in front of you from reclining. The passenger in front complained, the flight attendant asked the passenger who used the device to remove it, he refused and a "fight" broke out. (the front passenger stood up and threw a glass of water on the passenger behind her)

I fly quite a bit for work and space is very limited. I never recline my seat out of courtesy, but that is a personal choice. So, what is your opinion? Should people be allowed to use this device or not and why/why not?

Honestly they were both douchebags, but the ultimate douchebag is the airline that designed the seating. Basically, the person in front pays for their seat and half the space in the seat behind them due to the reclining function, but the person in back has also paid for that space in front of them. So basically the airline has made a system in which two people pay for and thus have valid claims to the same space, so of course there is going to be tension. I see no more problem with using the Knee Defender than with reclining one's seat into the space of the person behind you. Both are douchey moves, but it's ultimately the airline's fault.

[Hraklea]

You shouldn't be allowed to use it because the person in front of you paid for the reclining option. You can either your flights from other company, buy the ticket for the sit in front of you, or negotiate with the person in front of you (if they paid but can't recline because of you, you should pay part of their money back).