I've taken some flights where I kinda wish I had one. Compared with football player and other big folks, my size at 6'2"seems just a little on the high side of normal. But when the seat in front of me in coach class (all I ever fly) has come back, I've sometimes felt my knee squeezed in ways that is uncomfortable bordering on intolerable. In such circumstance I've used my arms to hold the seat in front of me upright and told the occupant "I'm sorry, but if you lean back, it will crush my legs." Nobody every escalated on me. If a flight attendant had confronted me on it, I would not have become belligerent, but would have very honestly let them know that the rest of the flight would have been like medieval torture.
I never recline my seat when someone of any size is behind me. Seems like sort of a dick move to recline it. I am just under 6' 1" with pretty long legs. I am not above kneeing back when people in front of me bounce into me with their seat reclined all the way. I fit, but just barely. My knees will be on the seat in front when it is reclined so any movement hits me in the knees. The FAA really needs to regulate this. It is sad that the market cannot, but I do not think it can. Consumers and the airlines just are not addressing this.
Ya'll need to start flying Southwest. I'm 6'3" and fly 1-2 times a month. I've never had a problem. With this being on the west mall did I miss something else?
I'm just over 6', and I can barely fit without my knees getting crushed when someone reclines. I just assume that I can't fully recline my seat without crushing the knees of the person behind me, and I think it's rude to recline your seat if you know it's going to cause discomfort to the person behind you. Generally, I only slightly recline my seat - just enough not to be sitting all the way up but not fat back enough that the passenger behind me has me lying on his legs. Of course, the problem is that the airlines (especially in the US) are too greedy to give a ****.
The airlines are too greedy? Didn't most of them just come out of bankruptcy? I agree on the knee thing though, torture when someone leans back on my 6'2 frame, just upgrade to first class, problem solved. I especially hate it when it is a little kid whose feet can't even touch the ground!!!!
Here is a link to a story about what could be considered overzealous use of the $22 knee defender. The Link
Dealing with Labor Unions that are crooked as hell, Operations, Pilots, Flight Attendants, and Maintenance; more unions than most businesses, fluctuating fuel prices, limited ability to purchase main product(airplane), price wars, insurance issues, Federal Regulations.......I would say that airlines are one of the most difficult companies in this country to run. But it sounds like you disagree, all good.
Until we open up domestic flights to foreign companies we will always deal with this ****. They have a captive audience and thats never a good thing for the consumer. Also, consumers searching for the cheapest fares without any concern for quality has forced the airlines to cram people on flights, not feed them, and charge them for everything under the sun. The flight will be full if its $2 cheaper than the other carriers. I will personally pay a little more for Jet Blue because live tv on a flight is the ****.
The genetic lottery that gave me height for any position in football, unfortunately did't give me the athleticism to play any of them especially well. I think there are advantages to being tall but if you've flown or airlines or test driven sporty cars, you know there are advantages to being 5'5". Also, I wasn't talking about having my knee restricted. I mean literally the seat in front of me was pushing my patella into my femur, wedging that big bone hard against the cushion behind me. Flesh is being bruised and bone is under stress. I'm not buying a knee protector and I wouldn't break the law or disobey a flight attendant to protect space. So far I've been able to charm my way out of torture. Also, it wasn't every flight on every airline. Most times there is enough room for the seat for the person in front of me to recline without binding my leg or I maybe I could shift them into leg space from an unsold seat.
I guess I so take for granted the advantages of being tall -- able to see and clean the top of my refrigerator without a stepstool, for example, that I don''t feel superior to people that are 5'5". When it comes to sitting in stadium seating, airplane seating or finding a comfortable spot around a crowded restaurant table, you really do have an advantage on me and if you are oblivious to it, I'm sorry. I used to really enjoy the Mazda 626. But when it came time about 1990 to replace the "85 I'd enjoyed I no longer fit in the model. Unless I reclined the seat at a ridiculous position for driving, my eyes were at the top of the windshield and I could't see out without leaning my head ot the side. Mind you that car was no subcompact. Lots of cars don't fit me today, including my wife's full size Nissan SUV, where I need to sit in the back seat so my head won't brush the ceiling.
I will take Lufthansa or any other Euro carrier over a US carrier any day. I have made many flights to Europe and try to accommodate the person behind me, but I'm not giving up a reclining position on an overnight flight because it makes you uncomfortable. If you want space, pay for it, if not take what you get and deal with it. Ask for an exit seat or pay for it if it costs extra.
Crockett, this is a fun not so serious non-partisan topic. So don't take this personally, but that last post of yours is one of the dumbest things I've read on West Mall. It's so entitled, it almost seems like you're joking and mocking short people. Seating at restaurants vs being able to clean the top of your fridge? Really? That's the advantage you highlight for being tall? You're complaining because you're not comfortable in some Japanese clown car? The Effect of Physical Height on Workplace Success and Income - University of North Carolina
