Nine out of ten travellers have said they want to see an end to reclining seats on planes, according to a survey.
The survey showed that 91 per cent of people said they believed short-distance flights should either ban reclining seats altogether, or have set times during which seats can be reclined.
The survey of more than 1,000 flyers by travel search site Skyscanner also showed that 43 per cent felt long-distance flights should implement set times during which passengers are allowed to recline their seat, while a third said a reclined seat had caused them discomfort and three per cent said they had been injured by a reclined set.
A ban could also delight cabin crew – in a separate survey, 60 per cent said they had witnessed an argument between passengers over reclined seats.
“The strong support for a change in reclined seat procedures makes sense”, says psychologist Dr Becky Spelman, Clinical Director at the Private Therapy Clinic in Harley Street. “The effect of people reclining their seat can result in various negative emotions such as anger, stress, anxiety, frustration and upset for the passenger behind them. This emotional impact can result in a whole range of unhelpful behaviours, including air rage.”
“This is partly because there are two general personality types while travelling. There’s the ‘Altruistic Soul’, who is considerate of others, and the ‘Selfish Ego’. The latter of which will look to increase their comfort at the expense of others.”
In fact, Skyscanner’s survey found that 70% of selfish egos would not be put off reclining their seat even if the person behind was pregnant while 80% wouldn’t care if the person behind was elderly or frail.
Women aged 18-24 were the most likely to display ‘Altruistic Soul’ tendencies in the survey, while men over the age of 35 were more likely to exhibit ‘Selfish Ego’ characteristics.
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