| Thanks to all the recent press about reclining airline seats, I have a question for you:
When do airline passengers have a right to recline their seat?
A. Whenever they want, it’s their seat.
B. Almost never, c’mon, there’s someone sitting behind them.
C. It depends on the height of the passengers.
D. None of the above. You’re asking the wrong question.
If you answered D., you are absolutely correct. The question is not whether it’s proper to recline a seat or not, but why airlines do not provide their customers with enough space to sit comfortably in the first place.
Of course, the airlines would much rather you focus on answers A., B., and C. In fact, they’d rather you focus on anything that distracts you from the real issue of them packing in more and more passengers (and profits) by reducing legroom and narrowing seats.
Speaking of What’s Kicking
What started this current round of debate? Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably seen the YouTube video of a particularly irate passenger banging the reclined seat in front of him. And unless you’ve sworn off air travel all together, chances are you’ve either been the kickee or the kicker (or at least thought about it) on a recent flight.
My incredibly eloquent friend and best keynote speaker, Crystal Washington, posted THIS on Facebook:
“This is a fabulous example of misdirection. Now people are debating flight etiquette. The ROOT of the problem isn’t a need for better communication or etiquette between seat mates. The issue is shrinking seat pitch (space between one point on a seat and the exact same point on the seat in front of it). This has shrunk by 2-5 inches over the last 30 years. A single inch can mean the difference between knees touching the seat in front of it or having a little space; 2-5 inches is extremely significant.”
Attached to her Facebook post was a VIDEO LINK. It showed Ed Bastian, the CEO of Delta Airlines suggesting that the problem is caused by passengers and not the airlines. And if that wasn’t enough to blow the arrow right off your BS meter, scroll to 1:55 in the video. That’s where the perpetually smiling Bastian points out that he “never reclines.” Why? Because as the CEO of the airline, he “doesn’t think (he) should be reclining (his) seat.” Of course, that brings up a second question – when was the last time you think the CEO of Delta Airlines sat in a center seat in the rear of the airplane’s economy coach section? Maybe, like, oh I don’t know… NEVER??!!
Why is Flying Like Recycling Trash?
One of Crystal’s readers, Courtney Clark added:
“This reminds me of the Adam Ruins Everything episode about recycling. They discuss how the popular trend toward recycling started when companies stopped using re-useable glass bottles in order to save money and shifted to cheaper (for them) plastic and aluminum. Then they created public awareness campaigns calling the public “litterbugs” for creating so much trash. So the companies saved themselves money and then blamed us, the consumers, for the garbage created by the shift. This sound a lot like the same blame-shifting situation.”
I fly to some of the best keynote speaker gigs in the country and the world almost every week. Each time I get on an airplane I am stunned by the airlines blatant attempt to wring every single penny out of their customers. They shamelessly remove virtually every creature comfort, from legroom and seat width, to beverages, Wi-Fi, and snacks; from carry-on luggage allowances to checked baggage limits. And then they have the impudence to try to sell those “perks” back to us at wildly inflated prices.
Snacks, luggage allowances, and enough legroom to fit comfortably are not indulgences, they are the prerequisites for safe and comfortable flights. They are also the hallmarks of brand value and loyalty. While frequent flyer programs and geographical necessity might make passengers grudginly stick with an airline, only punctual, comfortable, delightful, and safe service will make customers like that same carrier. When the airlines figure this out and start treating their passengers like human beings instead of treating us like cargo, we’ll all be better off. |
You’re right, of course, but as long as people insist on paying the lowest possible price for their flight, airlines are incentivized to figure out how much they can cheapen the experience!
Well said, as usual Bruce! Airlines should be hiring you 🙂
Great post!
Reminds me of the City of Miami Beach forcing us to use paper straws (that last one minute) in a beverage in lieu of plastic straws because the beaches are LITTERED with plastic straws that might possibly end up in a turtle’s nose. Paper straws , they say are biodegradable. But doesn’t this lead to the demise of 1,000,000s of oxygen producing trees? In the 60s and 70s that was a huge issue. Now it isn’t? Gulp. Just keep littering though. Don’t enforce the littering laws. Don’t fine the litter bugs. Confrontation is difficult. If the plastic straws found the garbage cans we wouldn’t have to worry. If the recycling machines could be designed to handle straws we wouldn’t have to cut down trees. That oil based petroleum carbon footprint “drill baby drill” turtle killing straw!
Interesting alternate view: yes it’s infuriating that airlines have reduced seat pitch over time and made once-included bennies now ala carte add-ons. BUT we as consumers – along with insane pricing pressure among competing carriers – have also forced them to keep their fares far lower than they might otherwise be. Basically, we’re often paying little more per given economy flight than we were a decade or two ago. Don’t believe it? Wade into your Quickbooks and look at a few of your airfares from 2010. Or 2000. Or 1990. And that’s despite taxes, landing fees, and nav gas probably all costing Acme Air lots more than they once did.
This reality doesn’t excuse asshole-ean behavior by either recliners or kickers, but it’s important to acknowledge it’s not all the fault of greedy airlines. As consumers, we demand that they price their base product like its 1999. So if the economy fare seat pitch is uncomfortably tight, pop for a Premium Economy seat at a reasonable upcharge. Or indulge in Business Class. Meanwhile, if you’re in the back (likely with me), expecting cooperation and courtesy re: lean-backs is just reasonable flying etiquette. Which oughta be taught along with use-of-turn-signals, door-holding, and other interpersonal acknowledgment skills. We are all in this together.
Thank you, Bruce. I couldn’t agree with you more!!!
Fantastic perspective with the accompanying challenge of determining how I (as a parent, Disciple of Christ, husband and business owner) try to shift the blame from myself (misdirection) to others instead of dealing with my own choices, actions, motives and heart. Thanks Bruce!
Another name for what the airlines are doing is called misdirection. It’s something (sadly) our esteemed president is brilliant at. And he gets away with it because he can. He learned how to do this from Roy Cohn.
So, a good follow on question is…why do the seats recline at all? What percentage of passengers DO the airlines think “should” recline? As you noted so well (and Crystal and Lisa)…the airlines created this murky service. And now their customers are punching each other! Take some responsibility. When the result of your service is frustration and occasional violence…that’s a CLUE that something is quite awry!!!!!!
My theory for many years now is that the Airline’s endgame is to gradually keep making the experience of being onboard so uncomfortable that they will finally be able to charge us to exit, which we will gladly do, creating a new revenue stream for themselves.
Hah!! Never thought of that! Brilliant!!