When it comes to flying, you're forced into a pressurized metal tube in close proximity to hundreds of other people for hours on end and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. Whether it's the guy coughing and spluttering next to you or a kid running up and down the aisle screaming at the top of his lungs, there's no escape from behaviour that could tip you over the edge.
Out of all the horrible and annoying things that can spoil your flight, seat reclining is swiftly becoming one of the most infamous. A Delta flight was recently diverted to Jacksonville after a particularly aggressive seat reclining argument developed onboard, just the latest in a spate of similar diversions over the past couple of weeks.
In this case, someone reclined the seat, bumping a woman on the head (which she had been resting on the tray table), causing her to become aggressive. She was subsequently removed from the flight on the ground in Jacksonville. Another nasty argument developed when a passenger used Knee Defender to lock the seat in front of him upright. The passenger ahead wasn't too pleased and threw a glass of water at him.
Do the majority American frequent flyers wake up at night, doused in sweat, panicking at the thought of somebody reclining a seat on their knees? In fact the vast majority of travelers are annoyed when unruly children are knowingly brought onboard by their parents, according to a survey by Fivethirtyeight. 73 percent of people get irritated when the person sitting beside them asks to get up and go for a walk. What about the new and infamous phenomenon of seat reclining? That bugs just under half of flyers. So, the next time you're flying, think before you recline - 41 percent of people on your plane won't be happy too about it.
*Click below to enlarge (charted by Statista)
