Man sparks fierce debate after passenger slams him for reclining his plane seat in first class

A frequent flier has sparked heated arguments after revealing he got into a fight with a fellow passenger about leaning back in his seat.

The Reddit user has revived the ongoing conversation about airplane etiquette, with an expert recently sharing the 20 rules to follow while traveling.

Now a first class passenger has revealed that he faced criticism and frequent angry looks after reclining his seat.

He wondered if he was wrong Am I the A**hole? subreddit for moving his seat back despite requests from the person behind him to stop.

In his viral post, he started by explaining that he’s a frequent flyer at 6’3″ and 350 pounds.

‘A much-discussed topic, I get it. I fly 150,000 miles a year, so my routine is quite frequent. Paid for first class since I’m a big guy (6’3″ and 350 lbs) – after the thing at 3,000 feet I look back to make sure the person behind me doesn’t have a laptop or anything, then slide slowly my chair back,” he explained.

‘Especially in the front of the plane, which usually doesn’t bother anyone.’

The traveler added that the flight was almost five hours long and he didn’t want to spend the whole time uncomfortable.

However, when he tried to get comfortable, he received backlash from the fellow pilot behind him.

“This flight was about 4.5 hours across the US, and within 20 seconds of me leaning back, a guy taps me on the shoulder and says, ‘Raise your goddamn seat.'”

The Reddit user was shocked by the man’s demands and decided to let a flight attendant handle it.

He continued, “Really surprised, I slid it up to appease the man, but called the flight attendant and told her I intended to put it back after meal service and asked her to notify the man.

“She assured me that’s my prerogative, so I didn’t worry about it.”

Once the meal service was over, the Reddit user decided to try leaning back in his chair again.

“After the meal, I did my routine and reclined the chair. Dude taps me again and says, “I asked you to raise your chair, man.” I turn around and say, “You can talk to the flight attendant about it,” he said.

“He called her over and she repeated that I had the right to sit back.”

The frequent flyer then revealed that things calmed down after that, but he did get some angry looks when he got off the plane.

“No big fight after that, that’s pretty much where it ended. Guy was also about the same size as me, but first class is really plenty of room. However, he glared at me when we got out,” the original poster said.

“Honestly, I feel like I was respectful about it, but I just didn’t sit up for more than 4 hours after paying for a ticket in the first place.”

Many viewers rushed to the comment section and sided with the Reddit user.

One person commented, “It honestly sounds like you were more considerate than most.

“You searched on a laptop — which is a super thoughtful move that probably only frequent flyers would think of. That man got more than a little right. First class has plenty of space.

“You paid for a chair that reclines. The flight attendant supported you. Who knows why that guy acted like you were stupid in his cheerios, but it’s not you, my friend.’

Another person added, “It doesn’t bother me much when people recline their chairs, even though I’m a big girl, because it’s their right as paying customers to use all the features available.”

“And you’re right, there’s a LOT of space in first class, so it shouldn’t have encroached on his space.”

A third social media user said, “You get the opportunity to sit back for a reason. Since he was about the same size as you, all the more so he should understand why you leaned back.’

“Everyone has the option to sit back and can choose to or not. That is it! If the person behind you decides not to lean back, they’re choosing to have less space, but they shouldn’t tell you you can’t do that,” someone else wrote.

“It doesn’t matter where you sit, you paid for your seat and full range of motion. Sit back,” one comment read.

“You paid for a chair that reclines. You checked that the table was not in use and that you would not bump into the person’s knees. You did nothing wrong,” another wrote.

Someone else said, “You were in first class with plenty of room and the guy behind you could have leaned back too!”

One person added: ‘The seats can be reclined so that people can lean into them. It’s part of the service you pay for. The flight attendant is right: you have the right to recline your seat.

“That guy was rude about it too. He could have asked nicely and probably would have gotten a better result.’

And while the majority of users on the social media platform agreed with him, others dismissed him for disrespecting others.

One person said, “I wouldn’t call you an asshole, but annoying.”

This latest debate comes after DailyMail.com columnist Jaci Stephen explained her thoughts on switching seats.

Jaci confessed that she “absolutely refuses” to switch seats, no matter how angry the passenger requesting the transfer may get.

In her confession, she explained that she travels a lot and chooses her seat carefully long in advance, she noted that she even chooses which direction she wants to face while traveling.

Jaci added that in the past many passengers have yelled at her and looked at her in annoyance, but she doesn’t mind as she noted that it is her ‘right to refuse’.