A little row with a fellow passenger - don't judge me!

I was on a flight last night, and was travelling in the back of the bus...basically, no business class seating on that particular flight, and therefore, really no choice. So, a few minutes after the seat belt sign was switched off, I took down my laptop from the overhead bins, and decided to finish off some work. Suddenly - and it always is without warning, right? - the chap in front of me sharply reclines his seat, almost crushing my laptop screen. I think I noticed some movement of the seat right up front, and so instinctively moved my laptop towards me to give it a bit more space. Clearly, it was a case of him actively reclining his seat. In the end, no damage done.

[I'd like to add here, that I've always - particularly after reading much about this debated topic over the last few years - given fair warning to the passenger behind me. So it was only natural for me to expect to be dealt with in the same manner.]

Nonetheless, I tapped the gentleman (I use that word generally, not that he was particularly gentle about anything he did), and very politely told him that he could have told me that he was planning to recline his seat, and give me sufficient notice to protect my stuff. In the past, I've normally had responses on the lines of "I'll do what I want", but this guy was different - he said he didn't know what was happening, and he had no control over how much the seat reclined. Now, I can't prove it to a judge and jury, and it is my word against his, but it was clear from his actions at the time, that there was nothing that wasn't under his control.

I almost lost it at that moment, but I didn't want to create a scene.

Pic courtesy: Cnn.com

So I kept it together, waiting and hoping that an opportunity would arise, where I could give back as good as I got. And it wasn't long coming. A few minutes later, the guy was dozing off, and put his hand over the top of his seat back, partially covering my TV screen. I tapped him on the fingers - well, I might have done some damage - and he immediately turned around and barked "What???". So I told him that his fingers were blocking my view. He replied, at a volume that made heads turn up to three rows in front, that I needed to have manners.

I think that's when I lost it. I first responded by saying that he should be thinking of that himself before reclining his seat. Then, my seatmate, who was asleep through most of this (and had just woken up at that What???) asked me what was happening. So I told him about "this a**h**e" and "m*****f****r" who was irritating the heck out of me - all this, well within the offender's earshot. He immediately turned around and challenged me as to whether I was referring to him by those names. I replied, saying "Why do you think so? Are you feeling guilty?" or something to that effect. The guy went absolutely red in the face, and I did a mental whoop of joy!

I tweeted this a few days back:

And I stand by it. I think it is time either airlines did something about this, or passengers took things in their own hands. The latter could have very disastrous consequences, so I'd rather the airlines took some enforceable action.

I'm not feeling particularly proud about my handling of this episode. To be honest, such incidents get me down as much as they enrage me, and I don't think I've ever reacted this violently. Nonetheless, I believe the time has come for passengers to protect their real estate in the sky, particularly when it is at the potential cost of their privacy and their property.

What's your view on reclining seats?