A traveller has sparked debate after recounting an incident on a plane where they nearly broke down in tears due to an honest blunder.
On their return flight to the UK, during the second leg of a seven-hour journey, the 19-year-old attempted to get comfortable by reclining their seat. However, in doing so, they inadvertently knocked over the beverage of the person sitting behind them.
Sharing their story on Reddit, they explained: “About four hours in I recline my seat to take a nap, and this lady behind me just screeches and swears.
“I turn around, because I had reclined my seat her drink had spilled. I felt so terrible, apologised and she just says don’t recline your seat and proceeds to say it’s fine.
“I give her about 40 mins to finish her drink, turn back around to ask if she’s done. She ignores me, she flat out ignores me. I sit there saying ‘excuse me ma’am’ like 5x and she doesn’t even waft an eyelid.”
Feeling increasingly distressed, the young passenger tried to regain their composure, only to be finally noticed by the seemingly indifferent woman in her 50s.
Continuing their tale, they said: “I could feel myself getting upset. Then I just stare at her until she finally acknowledges me, I say, ‘Can I put my seat back now’ and she just shows me her drink. This attitude honestly just made me so upset.”
In search of resolution, they summoned the flight attendant and attempted to calmly relay what had happened, but were simply told that all passengers are entitled to recline their seats whenever they wish.
“He tells me that I can just recline the seat without asking her, and I say that I got yelled at and she was just mean.
“He just looks at me confused, goes to the lady and says that I want to recline my seat, therefore he’s going to do it for me.
“She gets angry, she says the table hits her belly, she can’t watch her movie, says she doesn’t have enough space and just complains.
“The flight attendant just says ‘This is how the aircraft is built, if you look around there are multiple people who have their seats reclined. If you want to complain, you are free to do so in the airways site’.”
The cabin crew member then departed whilst the passenger began pushing against the seat in response.
They revealed: “I just ignore it until she stops, she complains to her friend very loudly about how I reclined my seat and how inconsiderate I was.
“Probably because she got no reaction out of me, she calls the cabin manager, and for obvious reasons the cabin manager defends me too.
“The flight attendant asks if I’m okay, and gives me a squeeze on the shoulder. If I hadn’t received that reassurance I think I would have just cried.”
Fortunately, fellow users were swift to provide support regarding the uncomfortable incident.
Responding to the post, one commenter noted: “If reclining caused drinks to spill if they’re placed normally, in the little groove in the table, you would think it would happen all the time. She must have been doing something weird.”
Another user chimed in with a nostalgic perspective: “When I flew in the 70s and 80s, few if any folks griped about others reclining their seats. Then airlines got greedy and reduced the seat pitch to fit more seats. Now I hear about seat reclining drama every week on Reddit.”
A third contributor weighed in on the debate, sympathising with the recliner: “It was your seat to recline, people are just mean, I’m glad the flight attendants were nice.”