To recline or not to recline? That appears to be the question.
Wendi Williams was on an American Airlines flight from New Orleans to Charlotte, recently, when she decided to lay back and rest, as I’m sure many people do when flying. Williams was in the row right before the last, and when she put her seat back, the man sitting behind her was not happy about it, according to CBS 12.
The man was stuck sitting upright the whole time since the seats in the last row of a plane do not move. To express his frustration with Williams being in the space, he decided the appropriate response was to repeatedly punch her chair.
When Williams complained to flight attendants about the repeated jabs, she was the one reprimanded.
@BravoAndy Here’s a great jackhole! He was angry that I reclined my seat and punched it about 9 times – HARD, at which point I began videoing him, and he resigned to this behavior. The other jackhole is the @AmericanAir flight attendant who reprimanded me and offered him rum! pic.twitter.com/dHeUysrKTu
— wendi (@steelersfanOG) February 9, 2020
Williams recorded the encounter and posted it to Twitter, which has now sparked a debate on whether or not passengers should recline their seats. A few have decided they are "no reclining" passengers.
XFL's Anthony Johnson weighs in, during a sideline interview, on whether it's okay to recline in your seat on an airplane.pic.twitter.com/cEwiTbFGfl
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) February 15, 2020
I have a bad back and I've never reclined my seat. I do not understand the folks who think their comfort is more important than everyone elses. We're all suffering.
— Joelle Monique ✍???? (@JoelleMonique) February 13, 2020
Many were pro-recline.
These folks on here talmbout “it’s in poor taste to recline you airplane seat without asking the person behind you first…” Jesus Christ ???? ???? ????
— [sawn-OH] ♎️ (@sonowe_) February 13, 2020
Counterpoint: The seats are literally made and meant to recline and it is not possible to recline the seat into someone's lap. It's wild 'cause seat on GO buses recline and people recline them all the time and nobody acts this ridiculously when they do
— ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? by Kevin Richardson (@KORichardson) February 13, 2020
I was today year’s old when I found out that you’re not supposed to recline a seat that you paid for on airplane. Who decided this?
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) February 14, 2020
Most decided that whether you decided to lay back or not, do not be the guy who punches the seat.
(I don’t typically #recline my #airplane seat because I don’t feel enough of a difference.)
???????????? BUT IN THE EVENT THAT I CHOOSE TO RECLINE… whew chile no. pic.twitter.com/IpfQoE5bJt
— Katiera Winfrey (@Katiera_Winfrey) February 13, 2020
People will fight about ANYTHING. I just read the responses to her video. HE WAS IN THE WRONG! Of course it is ok to recline your seat on an airplane – that is what the reclining button is for. This infuriates me – the comments are disgusting. That guy is SO immature.
— Felicia (@bwaybaby629) February 13, 2020
Others relayed the man was lucky they weren't the ones in the seat in front of him.
Say more, sis.
The CEO of Delta, Ed Bastian, eventually chimed in on the conversation.
"I think customers have the right to recline. We've been testing reduced recline … But I think that the proper thing to do is if you're going to recline into somebody, that you ask if it's OK first," he said.
American Airlines is aware of the incident and is looking into it.
Couldn't be us.
