To recline or not to recline, that is the question

Just did the SQ flight to Singapore. Not long enough to sleep, so you just need to keep yourself entertained for 6+ hrs. 

I found that it was the perfect length to watch all 3 Fantastic Beasts movies. 

Lucky I was happy to sit still for the duration, as it happens. 

We were near the front, and I’m convinced that the girl in front of me is used to sitting in business class. 

Just after take-off, she slammed her seat into full recline mode. Oh, good, I suddenly get widescreen!!

As we all know, business class seats recline within their own footprint, while economy footprints overlap in a delightful herringbone pattern . Some tighter than others.  

Even when she wandered off to the loo, the seat stayed back. The only respite was during the dinner service. If her arms could reach the tray, she probably wouldn’t have done it then either. 

Interestingly, your tray is almost unusable when the seat it is attached to is hovering over your lap. I was given a Beer can and a plastic cup. The cup just fits in the drink recess under the cantilever. The can? No chance. 

Surely this is a major bugbear for economy passengers the world over. Etiquette suggests that you ask, or at least warn the schmuck behind you that they’re about to become a pastrami on rye. 

Etiquette schmetiquette!! Not with today’s increasingly regressive generations. 

I’m wondering if the seat designers can do something about this. Here’s a thought…

• If the seats are linked, each seat can automatically recline say 50% of the recline triggered by the seat in front. 
• For example, if I recline my seat 100% of its maximum, the seat behind me automatically reclines 50% of its maximum, and the one behind that, 25% of its maximum. 
  

Three rows is probably enough to remove the pain point for row 2. 

Also, now that these would need to be electrically driven, the crew can set all seats to return to upright all at once. 

The obvious downside is that this is only an economy problem, so airlines are less likely to spend much on these seats. 

There are probably a thousand reasons why an airline or a designer would think this is a stupid idea, but hey, outside the box is my happy place.