A United Airlines passenger was captured on video repeatedly throwing his body into his seat for nearly two hours, apparently upset that the very tall passenger behind him was blocking his ability to recline. Whatever the reason, this is not how adults behave on airplanes.

United Passenger Repeatedly Body Slams Seat For Two Hours In Bizarre Inflight Meltdown

A bizarre video from a United Airlines flight shows a passenger repeatedly slamming his body backward into his seat, apparently frustrated that he could not recline.

The incident reportedly occurred on United flight UA1377, an early morning flight from Denver (DEN) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD). The video was posted by a passenger seated nearby, who said the man repeatedly slammed his body into the seat every few minutes for two hours straight.

The reported reason? The passenger seated behind him was 6’7” and his knees were apparently pressed into the seatback, preventing or limiting recline.

Man threw a tantrum on our 6am flight
by
u/there_was_a_mollusk in
unitedairlines

That may be annoying, but it does not justify acting like a toddler in a car seat!

According to the passenger who posted the video, the tall man sitting behind the seat-slammer was “completely unbothered,” even as the seat kept hitting his knees. The poster added that the flight attendant was aware of the situation, but the most bizarre part was the lack of communication from the man who was clearly upset.

If your seat will not recline because the person behind you is very tall, ask the flight attendant for help. Politely explain the problem. Ask whether another seat is available. Ask if the person behind you can shift slightly. Or (radical thought, I know!) accept that on a short Denver to Chicago flight, you may not be able to recline.

What you should not do is repeatedly launch your body backward into the seat like you are a little child.

Recline Is A Right, But Not A License To Be A Jerk

I generally take the position that if an airline installs reclining seats, passengers are entitled to recline them. I know some people disagree, especially in economy class, but the seat has a recline button for a reason.

That said, rights still require a little common sense.

If the person behind you is unusually tall and physically cannot avoid having his knees pressed into your seatback, maybe the problem is not that he is “stealing” your recline. Maybe the problem is that airlines have squeezed too many seats into cabins and human beings are not all built to fit neatly into 30 inches (or even 34 inches in this case since it was EconomyPlus) of pitch.

This is where flight attendants can help, but only if passengers behave like adults long enough to ask for help…

There may have been no perfect solution. On a hub-to-hub route maybe the flight was full and maybe no one wanted to swap seats. But repeatedly body slamming the seat accomplished nothing except making the man look ridiculous.

I’m a bit dismayed here that the flight attendants did not tell this jerk to cease and desist or be arrested upon landing for battery (and maybe even assault if the tall guy feared this would continue and cause injury).

CONCLUSION

A United passenger reportedly spent two hours repeatedly slamming his body into his seat because the very tall passenger behind him may have prevented him from reclining.

While I understand the frustration and also understand why tall passengers hate economy class, slamming your seat backward every few minutes is childish, disruptive, and potentially damaging.

If your seat will not recline, ask for help. If help is not available, endure the short flight like the rest of us.

The 6’7” passenger behind him reportedly remained completely unbothered. Good for him. Sometimes the best response to ridiculous behavior is refusing to engage with it.

Hat Tip: PYOK