Woman argues with passenger behind her over reclining her seat on 10-hour flight - so who was right?

‘If I paid for a seat that reclines imma recline it,’ one viewer says

A traveller has claimed she argued with a plane passenger behind her over reclining her seat.

On 16 February, a frustrated TikToker took to social media to ask her followers for advice. As a travel content creator, it’s not unusual for Taylor to share the intimate details of her excursions. However, in this instance, she was seeking suggestions from people.

Taylor posted a close-up video of her face with an on-screen caption that read: “Y’all, this girl just shoved my seat forward and said I’m not allowed to recline for my 10-hour flight because it’s too much for her.”

“What do I do?” she continued. “What would you do?”

With about 1.2 million views on TikTok, Taylor received over 5,000 comments from followers offering candid recommendations.

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. I wouldn’t like it if someone [did] it to me so I don’t do it to them,” one individual wrote, while another said: “Been on loads of long flights and have never even considered reclining.”

Fellow influencer, Madeline White, added: “Y’all are insane… if I paid for a seat that reclines imma recline it!!! And if the person behind you recline theirs also… they have the same amount of room.”

“Idk what everyone else is on about. Every long haul flight I have been on literally EVERYONE reclines. People only sit up when food comes,” another person agreed.

Meanwhile, one woman noted: “The chairs barely recline to begin with I don’t see why people get so mad. I’ve never cared when the person in front of me reclines!”

“If someone reclines on me I can’t open the tray or reach my bag. Flying economy is difficult enough without someone pressing their seat into your face,” a TikTok user confessed.

However, another traveller proclaimed: “I’m 6ft tall - I buy the seat with more room because I NEVER assume the person in front won’t recline (as is their right).”

“Love this,” Taylor responded.

In a follow-up video, Taylor explained the entire situation from her perspective. According to her, when she initially reclined her seat, the girl behind her “shoved” it back toward her.

“Her mom was like she’s uncomfortable, it’s too small for her,” Taylor claimed. “Then, they were like throwing a fit.”

Taylor prefaced the situation by saying that she’d been flying all day and it was her last flight home. Still, the woman, her boyfriend, and her mother were still supposedly complaining that no one was reclining their seats.

According to Taylor, the fellow passenger then allegedly called the flight attendant over. The flight attendant told Taylor she was allowed to recline her seat, but she needed to put it up for “food service,” to which Taylor said she “always did that”. However, the woman behind her allegedly kept inching her seat forward the whole flight, and Taylor kept inching it back in a reclined position.

The Independent has contacted Taylor for a comment.