Is the recline on the decline?
Sardine-can airplane seating could soon become the norm, as artificial intelligence previously predicted.
Flight experts claim that the reclining seat could be scrapped from economy class amid soaring concerns over space, fuel costs and even inflight kerfuffles.
“This trend has been occurring for several years now, and I think it will continue,” William McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, told Condé Nast Traveler of the controversial phenomenon. “Lighter seats are what the airlines want because with the cost of jet fuel, they are always looking to reduce weight onboard.”
The logic is that non-reclining seats require fewer mechanical bells and whistles, thereby reducing their weight.
That, in turn, lightens the overall load on airplanes, effectively scaling back costs.
Not to mention that seat reclining has resulted in a multitude of mid-air mishaps from spilled coffee to broken laptops and even inflight spats.
“There is no question that [reclining seats] are potential triggers for unruly behavior for a variety of reasons,” Philip Baum, visiting professor of aviation security at the UK’s Coventry University, declared at an international conference on how to handle unruly flyers.
Many inflight tiffs have stemmed from passengers leaning their seats back in a manner that the person behind them deems intrusive, as seenin multiple viral videos.
This past fall, an airplane passenger was filmed vehemently defending her right to recline against a passenger who kept pushing her seat upright.
For that reason, phasing out reclining seats is a “blessing in disguise,” said McGee, who sees the change as inevitable.
“The airlines have pitted passenger against passenger in the ‘right to recline’ wars, and it’s led to discomfort, fist fights, arrests and overall misery,” he said. “When reclining inconveniences and disturbs the passengers behind, then it’s problematic.”
He sees it as part of an overall trend of dwindling economy-class luxuries, which has seen airlines do away with complimentary bag checks, meals and seat selection privileges in the section.
Interestingly, non-reclining seats are nothing new. Budget carriers Spirit and Allegiant have offered nearly upright or “pre-reclined” seats for years.
Meanwhile, several years ago, US airlines like Delta, United, American and Southwest scaled back coach seat recline space to an average of just 2 inches instead of the previous standard, a more luxuriant 4 inches, Condé Nast Traveler.
This comes amid an apparent downsizing offensive that came to a head earlier this year after Southwest Airlines unveiled their next-generation interiors slated for 2025, which included super thin, lounge-style RECARO seats.
The accommodations caused a sky-high stir online.
“What I’m seeing is rock-hard seats,” said one unimpressed viewer under a TikTok video showcasing the seats.
“So you’re telling me I need to bring my own seat cushion,” snarked another, while a third quipped, “Ozempic even got our seats.”
However, Southwest insists that RECARO seats will boast the same legroom, seat width and recline capabilities as the current iterations.
