‘My legs are long so I refused to let passenger in front of me recline on plane’

A man reports that he was told to upgrade his seat to one with extra legroom when on a flight – but he refused.

Many of us have felt grumpy when we're cramped on a plane journey, but the bloke claims his legs are so long they prevented the seat in front of him from being able to recline.

Some Brits think it's rude to recline anyway while others say it's their right as a passenger.

READ MORE: Flight attendant says you could be upgraded if the person in front reclines their seat

But, the young man claims he didn't have much choice about his fellow passengers seat as his legs means the back of her seat was unable to move for the duration of the four-hour journey.

The passenger, who says he is 196cm (6'5") boarded the plane and settled into his economy seat.

While the economy seat was tight, the man said he had "no issue being uncomfortable for a while, especially for shorter flights".

During the trip – which is classed as medium haul as it was over three hours long – the leggy passenger had his knees "crammed into the seat in front of me", he explained on Reddit.

"The passenger directly in front of me tried to recline, but realised that my knees were preventing her from doing so," he continued.

"She turned around, gave me a dirty look, and attempted to recline again with more force.

"I refused to give up my plane seat for a honeymoon couple – cabin crew hated me.

"I was a little annoyed, but apologised and told her I could not move my legs out of the way without encroaching on the spaces beside me, such as moving my legs to the side into other people's spaces, freeing up space for her.

"She accused me of doing this on purpose just because I wanted more room for myself."

The infuriated woman then suggested he should have paid extra to book an emergency exit seat with more room, to avoiding annoying passengers around him.

"If I'm honest, I feel that people who recline their seats in economy are annoying and inconsiderate, so I didn't exactly bend over backwards to accommodate for her," the man continued.

"For more context, no, I did not check to see if this flight in particular had extra emergency exit seats. Like I said, usually I do not feel the need.

"Should I pay extra for seats with more leg room so that people in front of me can recline even though this is not always a problem?"

In the comments, people were sympathetic to his story.

"I'm a big guy and it's a common problem," one person wrote. "They squeezed every inch out of those aircraft and it's uncomfortable. She should have been more understanding of reality.

"Maybe you could have gotten an isle seat but you paid for your seat as well and are entitled to your space."

Another suggested: "It’s not your fault you’re too tall for her to recline."

Others argued it was the right of air travellers to recline their seats.

"My husband is 6'6" and all of that extra height is in his legs but we don't blame other passengers for the lack of legroom in economy, that's down to the airlines," one person said.

"We ask with respect and politeness if they would be willing to sacrifice use of their reclining seat so he is able to fit into the space. And are grateful if they do."

Another weighed in: "People might have been travelling for ten or fifteen hours already and need to sleep. They may have arthritis or other serious back pain. Not all injuries are visible. You're the inconsiderate one."

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