Woman Reclines Her Seat On A 13 Hour Flight From Istanbul To Denver, Then The Man Behind Her Keeps Shoving It Back Up Even After Flight Attendants Step In

Susan Parker

28 minutes ago

Thirteen hours is a long time to sit in an airplane seat. It is an even longer time if the person behind you keeps shoving yours.

Sarah McCoy, who posts as @sassaramcy on TikTok, says that is what happened on her flight from Istanbul, Turkey, to Denver, Colorado. BroBible shared her account, which has reignited the age-old argument over reclining.

“Don’t Push My Seat,” She Told The Man Behind Her

During the wind-down part of the flight, McCoy says she reclined her seat. Almost immediately after, she says, the man behind her shoved it and demanded she put it back up. She declined.

“Don’t push my seat,” she recalls telling him. “She has hers reclined in front of me, so I am going to have mine reclined.”

The dispute continued, so McCoy says she brought in a flight attendant.

Even With A Flight Attendant Standing There, He Kept Shoving, She Says

According to her telling, the man kept shoving the seat even while the attendant was present. The attendant told him McCoy did not have to put her seat up and that everyone can have their seats reclined.

He then insisted that the woman in front of McCoy needed to put her seat up as well.

The flight attendants instructed him to stop shoving the seat or they would have to move him, McCoy says. Once they left, she says, he went right back to pushing.

McCoy says she alerted the attendant once more. In disbelief, the attendant returned to de-escalate the situation, she says.

“If I Pay For A Reclining Seat, I’m Reclining,” One Commenter Says

It is a decision many travelers debate. When a story like this comes up, it stirs the same discussion about seating etiquette and an airline’s responsibility to its customers.

“If I pay for a reclining seat, I’m reclining. If you don’t want someone reclining in front of you buy a bulkhead seat,” said one commenter. Another pointed out, “He can pay for an upgrade if having the space is that important to him.”

Others sympathized with the man behind. “I really hate that they build these planes to have so little space, that reclining is actually encroaching,” complained one commenter, who said that on a flight several months ago they leaned forward for a second and the person in front reclined and smacked them in the head.

“You might dislike it, but it’s not the person who needs to recline’s fault,” another responded. “It’s the airlines that design the plane interiors that way. Take it up with them.”

The Twist: He Swapped Seats With His Wife And Landed Behind McCoy’s Boyfriend

For her part, McCoy says she stayed reclined, and she made it back to Denver. But the story did not end with the attendants.

After some time without a resolution, the man behind her switched seats with his wife. That put him behind McCoy’s boyfriend, who also had his seat reclined, and the disgruntled passenger made no secret of his feelings.

“Yup. They’ll harass a woman but they’ll respect another man,” McCoy says, adding that it upset her.

Why Airline Seats Keep Getting Tighter And Pricier

BroBible points out that seat choice matters to travelers, with 95% agreeing it does. Customers spend time weighing where to sit and whether extra legroom is worth the money.

Premium seating, the site explains, was created in 1992 by Eva Airlines as a bridge for flyers who wanted more luxury than economy but did not have a business-class budget. It was more than legroom, with better food choices, upgraded entertainment and a luxury seat.

The site says today’s airlines often miss the mark on that experience. Premium economy seating is described as the most profitable seats on a plane, even above business class.

According to American Airlines, roughly half of its revenue comes from just 33% of its seating. “Those 30% of seats, they’re only going to grow in our fleet as the reconfigurations come on board as the new aircraft deliveries come on,” said CEO Robert Isom at a Morgan Stanley industry conference.

BroBible adds that Allegiant, JetBlue and Southwest are all reconfiguring or launching new fleets with more premium seating.

Etiquette Tips For Anyone Who Reclines Or Gets Reclined On

The article’s bottom line is that yes, you can recline your seat on a flight. If you want to be courteous, it offers two simple rules.

Do not recline during meal time.
Make eye contact or signal the person behind you before you recline.

BroBible also offers seat-picking advice. Window seats reign supreme for comfort and flexibility, it says, because you can rest your head and only have one neighbor, with the exception of A11, which is typically a windowless window seat. Over-the-wing seats are good for nervous flyers who dislike turbulence, and aisle seats suit people who need quick access to the restroom or feel claustrophobic.

A few general habits can keep a long flight peaceful for everyone on board.

Never shove or kick a seat. Press the call button and let the crew handle it, as McCoy did.
If a seat is bothering you, ask politely first. A kind word often works better than a shove.
Pick your seat for your priorities, whether that is a window, an aisle or extra legroom.

McCoy says she is staying reclined. Next time you board a long flight, a little courtesy might keep the peace for 13 hours.