Having just returned from an American Airlines flight from San Jose, Ca to Dallas Texas, I can personally vouch for the fact that there is no longer room between seats to recline. That is, if you care one whit about anyone else's comfort but your own. On the flight to Dallas, an older man (we are in our 60's) reclined his seat in front of my husband. Hubby is 6'2 tall, but short legged. He only has a 32" inseam, yet his knees were tight against the seat back, and he was sitting fully upright, and there was nothing else he could do. He was already extremely uncomfortable, and when the seat was reclined, he started wriggling and moving, as he now had someone's head almost in his lap. The older gentlemen asked if there was a problem, and hubby said he was sorry, but his knees were tight against the seat and he couldn't move them. The man then put his seat back upright, apologized, and remarked that it was pretty poor engineering.

On the flight home, a younger man flying with his daughter, about 5 or 6, reclined his seat into my lap. I am short, only 5'2" and my knees weren't a problem, but his head in my lap was. I swear to you, I could have combed his hair from where I was in proximity to him. And the worst was that he kept it reclined the whole flight, but didn't spend much time in that position, leaning over to his daughter often (she was perfectly behaved). So while his head kept moving, the seat leaning down over me made it impossible to even read with the book lying down. I had to hold it upright to my face, with my elbows pinned to my sides. And to add to that, a young couple behind me, with a small boy about two, let the boy kick the back of my seat the entire flight and never once corrected him about it.

Do you see a trend here? We did. The older folks care about other people as well as themselves, and are courteous and considerate. The younger people couldn't care less. Yes, You bought a ticket that entitled you to recline your seat. And how about the 350 lb man who also bought a ticket. Would you like him to sit beside you? We all have to care a little bit about each other's comfort as well as our own. We're all in this together. A little courtesy would go a long way in an experience that is no longer any fun no matter how you look at it. Air travel is expensive, inconvenient, uncomfortable, and often embarrassing. None of us would fly if there was another way of getting somewhere in the same time. Can't we each take a little care to make the experience as pleasant as we can for ALL of us, not just yourself?

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