Female plane passenger reclining seat gets into shouting match with male passenger behind her who responds by her pushing her seat back in latest debate on correct flying etiquette.
Define flying etiquette? Going viral is a video of two passengers embroiled in a shouting match during a flight after a female passenger reclined her seat only to have the male passenger sitting behind allegedly ‘push her seat’ repeatedly in retaliation.
TikTok user Graham Nancarrow was the first to upload a video of the fighting to the video-sharing platform.
And while he has since taken it down, someone named Ian Miles Cheong reposted it on X, formerly known as Twitter, where it went viral, gaining more than 10 million views and launching a major argument over who was in the wrong.
She’s allowed to put her seat back. You don’t get to kick it repeatedly just because you want more space. pic.twitter.com/WELD7Qh4Re
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) November 2, 2023
Social media responds
It’s unclear when the incident took place or where the flight was headed, but in the video, the unidentified woman could be heard yelling at the man sitting behind her, ‘The whole trip he pushed my seat. You’ve seen it. You know he did.’
‘I’m allowed to put my seat back,’ the woman repeatedly screamed at her fellow traveler.
‘She’s allowed to put her seat back. You don’t get to kick it repeatedly just because you want more space,’ Ian captioned the clip.
The video elicited a volley of responses from viewers, some of whom agreed with Ian and sided with the woman, and others who said it was ‘an unspoken thing’ that you shouldn’t put your seat back in coach because it’s ‘so cramped and tight’ already.
‘Putting your seat back in coach is an unspoken thing most people don’t do. It’s really the airlines’ fault because they’ve made coach so cramped and tight that putting the seat back shouldn’t even be an option,’ one person responded.
‘I mean, if she wasn’t allowed to put her seat back then why was the seat adjustable?’ asked someone else.
‘They add the recline seat button for a reason. It actually cost the airline extra money to provide this feature, it’s meant to be used,’ another agreed.
So who’s right?
‘Kicking the seat is just a whiny childish move,’ posted another commentator. Responded another, ‘She’s saying the truth. But it’s also true it sucks the person in front of you puts its seat back.’
‘That extra two inches of recline on most planes does nothing. Airliners should do away with recliners in coach,’ suggested a different viewer.
One person praised the woman for ‘standing her ground,’ while another called her ‘pathetic’ for ‘inconveniencing’ the person behind her.
The topic of whether or not it’s acceptable to recline your seat on an airplane has long been debated.
Back in June, an etiquette expert weighed in on the topic, condemning those who put their chairs back on flights.
Etiquette purveyor, Diane Gottsman previously told USA Today: ‘Unless you were sitting in a seat with extra legroom, or in first class, it would be inconsiderate to recline your seat.’
Another expert pointed out that it’s especially rude if someone is working on a laptop or eating a meal on their tray table.
@ichbinvin #stitch with @MEILI ZHANG ♬ original sound – keVin
Reading the room
A few weeks later, a flight attendant who goes by @ichbinvin online took to TikTok in July to share his thoughts on the debate.
‘I know there will be people in the comments saying, “I paid for my ticket I can do whatever I want.” Yes while that may be true it doesn’t make you not an a****le,’ he said.
He explained that before deciding whether or not to put your seat back, you should consider two ‘very important things’ – the length of the flight and the time of day.
‘If you are on a one-hour flight in the middle of the day, there is no need to recline your seat,’ he continued. ‘However if you’re on a one-hour flight at five in the morning you could do it.’
He went on to advise that if your flight is over three hours you can recline your seat at any time.
Anything less than that, he added, ‘You need to read the room and see what’s going on.’
