Airline
Passengers! Is There a "Right to Recline?"
by Roz Warren
It’s
called the Knee Defender. But I prefer to think
of it as the Schmuck Identifier. It was dreamed
up by a tall man who was tired of getting his
knees slammed whenever the person seated in front
of him on an airplane reclined. So he designed a
device that, when attached to your tray table,
prevents the person in front of you from
reclining. At all.
He didn’t
just quietly go about protecting his own knees.
He marketed the Knee Defender online. Sales
took off. And the in flight seat-related
skirmishing began!
On a recent
United Airlines flight, a traveler slapped one on
his tray table after takeoff, to make sure he’d
have sufficient space to use his laptop.
When the woman whose seat he was immobilizing
asked him to remove it, he refused. She appealed
to the flight attendants, who also told him to
remove it. He refused. Several times.
So she threw a
glass of water at him.
The result?
The pilot made an emergency landing, and both
passengers were hauled off the plane. I didn’t
learn about this incident on the nightly news,
but on a humor website. Which is where it
belongs. Because it‘s ridiculous.
Whatever
happened to compromise? And communication? As we
tell our children -- “Share!” And if
conflict develops? “Use your words.”
This is basic
kindergarten stuff, people.
Flight is a
miracle that too many people take for granted. If
you could go back and tell someone who was around
when the Wrights made their first flight, that
100 years later planes would routinely fly us
across the country within hours, and that rather
than feeling wonder and gratitude, we’d
squabble over whether our seats recline, she’d
think we were insane.
I reclined my
own seat on a recent flight from Philly to
Chicago, intending to relax and read. Immediately,
there was a tap on my shoulder.
“Uh…
excuse me?” asked a male voice.
When I glanced
at the fellow behind me, it was clear why he’d
spoken up.
He was very
tall. Basketball player tall. Circus performer
tall! Folded into his itty bitty airline seat,
knees up near his chin, he couldn’t have
looked more miserable.
“Got it,”
I said, and put my seat back up. I didn’t
feel irate. Nor was I tempted to begin lobbing
the pretzels I was snacking on at him. Mostly I
felt very lucky to be just five feet 6 inches
tall.
Flying with my
seat in the full, upright position wasn’t as
comfy as being able to lean back, but I was
warmed by that sense of quiet satisfaction you
get from knowing that you’ve done something
nice for another person.
I’m
grateful, in retrospect, that The Tall Man didn’t
just jam a device into his tray table. That he
relied, instead, on my understanding and civility.
He gave me the
opportunity to do the right thing. And I did.
Sure, I’ll
admit that when I read about that little flap at
30,000 feet, I wanted to cheer when I learned
that the inconvenienced traveler had doused her
“oppressor.” Too often, we polite,
well-mannered people just sit and take it.
Was he a
selfish schmuck? You bet! Did he richly deserve
that little airplane shower? Hell, yes! But the
truth remains that neither of these folks behaved
like grown ups.
Being a grown-up
-- rather than a toddler -- means
recognizing that world doesn’t revolve
around you. All your needs won’t always be
met. The needs of others matter too. And if your
needs are in conflict? You communicate. You work
things out. And if you can’t?
Don‘t
start throwing stuff.
Instead, ask
the flight attendant - nicely -- for a bloody
Mary. Sit back, enjoy your drink, gaze out the
window at the big puffy clouds and thank God for
the wonder that is 21st century aviation. (And
if you want to indulge in a little fantasy about
the airline mangling another traveler’s
luggage? There’s no harm in that.) Soon the
pilot will get you safely to your destination.
After which,
you’ll never have to set eyes on that
schmuck in the seat behind you again.
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