francophile03

Knee Defenders is featured on pg. 22 in May 2004's Budget Travel.
I don't think I'll be buying them but I'm glad someone has tried to come up with some solution to stop those inconsiderate souls who believe that if a seat reclines why not recline it to the maximum allowable without regard to the person(s) sitting behind them.
It's very very irritating to have this lout in front of you recline while you have your tray table down thereby getting the table shoved practically in your chest.
Last time someone did this to me they had a bulkhead seat so nothing like that happened to him. I should have "accidentally" spilled my drink on his face.

Calamari

Has anyone come up with a seat girdle? I heard that the seats on my upcoming flight are the narrowest in the sky. Not a good combo personally speaking.

francophile03

What airline are you flying (maybe I should say tolerating)?

A seat girdle complements knee defenders, don't you think?

Calamari

Hello francophile. We are flying Swiss. I am spending more time on my exercise bike and less time in front of my fridge in preparation for the trip. If airlines start to charge an "overflow" surplus fee, I could be in trouble.

francophile03

Hi Calamari, I think we'll all be in trouble not only you. Has it come to this now-we practically have to weigh as much as our carryons?

Calamari

LOL! You know that will be next! We will all have to weigh as much or less than our carry ons. That was v. funny.

francophile03

Well, I hope it doesn't give the airlines any ideas, but how else can we fit into those shrinking airline seats?
Flying is so much fun these days

Calamari

Flying really is "painful". I'm stuck in econ class until my kids can afford their own airfares.

Melissajoy

If you use a knee defender, and if you then recline your seat AT ALL, EVEN A CENTIMETER, then you are a hypocrite, and don't sit in back of me, please!

If knee defenders prevent the seat in front of you from reclining at all, and if they force the person in front of you to remain in a completely upright position, then they are JUST AS RUDE as the person who suddenly flings their seat all the way back into your face.

When did rudeness become the answer?

Once in a while someone sits in front of me and flings their seat all the way back. But most of the time, the person in front of me reclines just part-way. Why should you punish this polite person, who is just trying to get comfortable, with a knee defender?

An airline seat that is bolt-upright for the whole trip will soon cause neck and back discomfort...I like to recline my seat a little bit, and I do it slowly and carefully. I glance behind me first. When meals or drinks are served, I place my seat upright...slowly, not abruptly.

Somebody wise told me you're either part of the solution, or you're part of the problem...Knee defenders are mis-named...they should be called "Offenders", not "Defenders".

Some of you people are so aggressive you scare me. I hope you're not on my flight. I'll take the reclining person over the "Knee Defender" any day...at least the reclining person will probably fall asleep, thereby staying out of trouble! You people with the Knee Defenders, poking and prodding others on purpose, are way more scary! Why don't you all just try a Xanax?

It's just a passenger plane...don't make it a war-zone.

If you sit behind me and put a knee defender on my seat, and the guy in front of me reclines all the way back for the whole trip, I will not only get a neck ache and back ache, I will also feel claustrophobic...I do have trouble with my neck, and also I am prone to claustrophobia. Why should you make me suffer neck pain and claustrophobia? I don't know why I'm even posting this. Can you "Knee Defender" fans not see that you are becoming the worst offenders?

It's obvious to me that the only power we really have to make flying more pleasant is power over our own behavior...If you and I try to treat others on the plane the same way we would like to be treated, well, there's 2 more people adding to a more pleasant flying experience. Think about it.

Travelnut

You could buy a set of Knee Defenders and carry on with you. If the person behind you actually uses them, then you offer yours to the person -behind- the Knee Defender to level the playing field a bit.
Or, you could go to the attendants' station frequently for a cup of water, and heaven knows it's a bit unsteady walking up those aisles, so if you slosh a bit of water on another passenger, well, it happens sometimes (be sure to apologize nicely).

Iregeo

An honest, straight forward, question, and please, don't berate me -- If not meant to be reclined, why are airline seats designed to recline? Thank you.

Nikki

Iregeo, my honest, straightforward opinion is that the airlines are not considering the total comfort of their passengers when they put seats so close together that when you recline them all the way you are making the person behind you miserable. Just because the airlines are giving us the opportunity to make the space even more uncomfortable does not mean that we have to use that opportunity to maximize the discomfort.

Why are cars designed to go 120 miles per hour when you can only legally drive them at 65 mph? Just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should.

elle

At 5'7", I'm not exactly super-tall, but I'm shortwaisted with long legs (33" inseam, which makes for some odd tailoring challenges).

In otherwords, I need more leg room than most people my size. But still, I would never ever do this to a fellow traveler. If you explain your situation, most people will be accomodating, although I'm always surprised about how territorial and inconsiderate some people will be in a communal space.

On our last flight, the woman in front of my husband never even bothered to check to see if he had food or beverages on his tray and then reclined with such ferocity that she splashed his wine all over his pants. We both gave her some passive-agressive kicks for that.

francophile03

Irego, I guess it's like asking, if I have to sneeze and cough why bother putting my hand to my mouth?

Iregeo

So, you're saying it's simply common courtesy to not recline your seat. I'm sorry, I just don't agree. On the othere hand, I don't advocate that all passengers must fully and forcefully recline their seats, for the entire flight, as soon as they board.

I don't have an answer, but, as has been said previously on this and other posts, it is an issue of airline economics, to be taken up with the airlines. IMO, it is not the fault of the passenger who sits in front of you, using his seat as it was designed to be used. He should not be required to sacrifice his comfort because you are taller than he.

mcgeezer

I read this post just before I went to Central Europe last month and I'm glad someone started this discussion.
I had always been in the, "I am therefore I recline" , camp but now I've mended my ways and ask beforehand. It is unconscionable that anyone under 6'4 should sit in the exit seats. I gave up my aisle seat to a tall young man who was folded like a paperclip into a middle seat. Of course he paid for my "generosity" as I cliimbed over him all across the Atlantic... but that's another subject.

CarolA

Hey hopscoth,
Your height does not make you any more qualified to open the exit door. I am 5'4" and I can do it (I have!)

Height is not the consideration used when assigning bulkhead and exit row seats. (Frequent flyer status helps!)

You may think me rude, but I will not give up my exit row or bulkhead seat to tall people.

However, I will not slam my seat back into your knees either.

cmeyer54

I'm not especially tall (5'7) but have found that if my knees are inadvertantly jammed into someone's back when they recline suddenly, they often relent. There have been times when I actually couldn't move my legs due to the cramped space. On one flight, an older woman in a mumu and large straw hat decided to recline her seat into my husband's lap - he's 6'3 and had an aisle seat. He couldn't move, his knees were pinned and SHE COMPlAINED. Her irate husband suggested my husband put his legs in the aisle which the flight attendent said wouldn't work with the beverage carts, etc. The older woman was given a bottle of champaign for her inconvenience. My husband, a 100k+ annual flier was given zip....needless to say, he switched airlines. If I have the need to recline, I always look around first...a little common courtesy is all it takes.

francophile03

I didn't say not to recline your seat!

I am saying to have the decency to be courteous about it. There are people sitting behind you who are affected greatly if you decide to recline alllll the way. I mean-not you in particular-there have been other passengers who-if it were possible-would recline their seats to a complete flat position. And they do not even check first they just get right to it. I have had my food and drinks almost spill if I had not steadied my tray quickly. As soon as the aircraft is not even settled in the air right after takeoff they just can't wait to recline their seats. Then I have to sit in a more cramped position just so they can be comfortable. In fact, some don't even want to put their seats in the upright position just before landing until the flight attendant tells them.

hopscotch

My dear CarolA, you wrote:

<<Message: Hey hopscoth,
Your height does not make you any more qualified to open the exit door. I am 5'4" and I can do it (I have!)>>

OK, next time please open the door for me so I can go out and ride on the wing. Then I'll have plenty of knee room.

<<Height is not the consideration used when assigning bulkhead and exit row seats. (Frequent flyer status helps!)>>

Thanks for that observation. On my last flight I was knocked out of an exit row seat at the boarding gate in favor of an elderly gentleman and a petite lady. The attendant gave me a flimsy excuse. Could it have been because I put the miles on my Delta FF card and not on NW who was operating the plane? Plus, I bought the ticket at a steal on Hotwire.com, 50% lower than any price on Travelocity.com. You may be on to something here. Thanks for the item.

<<You may think me rude, but I will not give up my exit row or bulkhead seat to tall people.>>

If I was you I would also decline. None of us have any obligation other than civil courtesy to other passengers on a plane. You're not rude, but perhaps a bit sassy and that's certainly OK for a woman in the world we live in.

<<However, I will not slam my seat back into your knees either.>>

My left knee and my right knee thank you very much. But I can't count on you to be sitting in front of me so I'm going to buy a pair of these KDs just for my piece of mind.