Whether last row of economy reclines just depends on how that airline put their seats on that particular model. Some have full recline, some have limited, some have none. Need to check with seatguru.com and then ask around. [Plenty of wrong info on seatguru.com.]

Thursdays,
Try grabbing the armrest instead.

Thursday, that's one of my pet peeves too!

Lucky my last few flights have been way up the front of the plane so that has stopped the seat pullers... but it doesn't stop the sniffers. Oh how I hate sniffing ANYWHERE. Eew.

I love a recent first class flight from Qatar when one arab guy refused to put his seat up when the plane took off. His wives/relatives were so embarassed as the flight attended appealed to them to have him move his seat. He just ignored them. You cannot seem to win sometimes. I feel sorry for the flight attendants having to deal with all the difference traveller nuances.

"Try grabbing the armrest instead."

There is a risk with that strategy. If you miss, your hand could end up on the person't crotch instead.

If you're in a middle seat, the person in the aisle should get up and let you out. Just forget trying to climb over someone. And unless one has fairly serious mobility issues, there is no need to grab the seatback in front of you to get out.

I have some balance issues. And I don't "grab", I put my hand on the back of the seat.

Yes, the person in the last row will want to blow their nose in the middle of the flight, and someone in the front row will want to clear their throat during the flight, but if you get a smooth flight with no babies crying, I think you should give thanks to God. You have had a chance to do something that many just dream about--flying across the world.

(And the person sitting next to you may not have a George W. Bush haircut)

Hopefully, you are flying on a non U.S. airline and you won't have to pay $7 for a glass of wine to put you to sleep.

Many of the above responses sound as though each seat has no relationship to any other, or to people in other seats. Folks, airline seats are not little private enclaves!

Underhill, are you directing your bit of wisdom at the jerks who are rude and abusive or the ones who are bothered by that behavior. Unless one or two of the former slipped in a remark earlier, the ones posting here are the latter.

Of course there's a solution! Find an airline that has at least a couple of seats where there are only two outside the aisle. Some still have a 2-4-2 or 2-3-3 configuration, but even those that don't usually have a couple of rows where the plane tapers off and leaves only two seats outside the aisle. Book early and get those.

Also, it depends what you mean by a VERY long flight. My first flight took nearly 24 hours and stopped in Bombay! A nightmare!! Try to break the flight up with an overnight stop and sleeping will be less important to you. Our favourite stops are Sydney-Perth-Singapore-Rome, usually ending up in France or the UK overland; and Sydney-Honolulu-Seattle, staying for up to 5 days in Honolulu. That limits our flying time to less than 12 hours, not too bad considering we are clinging upside down to the Earth, far FAR