A mum has sparked an online debate after saying she was sworn at and prevented from reclining her seat on a flight by the passenger behind her.
Taking to Mumsnet, the woman explained that she suffers from back pain and had paid extra for a seat in economy.
However, she was unable to recline her seat for the duration of the seven-hour flight as the woman sitting behind had her child on her lap, the Daily Star reports.
At one point, she tried to put it back just slightly to get more comfortable, but says the mum behind "got angry and swore".
The woman admitted feeling annoyed about the situation and asked others online whether they thought she was being unreasonable.
The mum said: "The flight was around seven hours long. I had paid extra to have the exit seat in economy, as I was suffering from a bad back.
“I paid quite a lot extra for the seat, it's something I try to do, as I have back problems and it helps.
“The woman behind me had quite a big child on her lap during the flight and was sat next to the child's father.
“Because of this, I was unable to recline my seat for the entire flight."
She continued: “I tried very gently reclining it a little at some stage [before I had seen the child] but she was angry and swore, so I put it upright.
“Who was unreasonable here? Or do we generally think anyone reclining their seat is unreasonable?
“I tend to recline my seat on very long flights, when the lights are dimmed for sleeping, as do most others on those flights. I don't recline on short-haul.”
In the replies, some women agreed with the mum with the child.
One person said: “I personally think it’s unreasonable to recline your seat unless it’s overnight and I’d never do it. But respect others think differently. I wouldn’t have sworn (well only to myself).”
While another agreed and stated: “Generally, reclining the seat is antisocial unless, for example, it is night time and there is a sort of domino effect of everyone reclining at the same time. This rarely works.”
But others were on the poster’s side.
One woman noted: “I think a lot of people would try to sleep on a seven or eight-hour flight so you are not unreasonable at all.”
And, another added: “I think if the seat reclines it’s perfectly fine to recline it. Except during meal service, and I’d also lean around to tell the person I was going to recline it.”
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