Woman shares 'unethical hack' to stop plane passengers reclining seat in front

A plane passenger sparked debate after sharing a controversial plane 'hack' to deal with people reclining their chairs in front of you.

If only we could all fly first-class everywhere; we'd never have this problem.

The unfortunate reality is on most plane journeys we're confined to economy where your knees are pressed up against the chair in front of you and you're stuck eating your dinner off a table in your lap - and that's if the person in front of you stays upright.

If they choose to kick back and relax, it's a whole different story.

At that point, your dinner is pressed into your stomach, and you have to become a contortionist if you need a wee.

One answer to the problem is to recline your own chair, but a radio station listener in Australia has shared another solution.

The passenger called into Nova to share her ‘unethical life hack’ with show hosts Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald, Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli and Kate Ritchie. She claimed she'd found a way to stop people from reclining their seats by creating a bit of a chilly atmosphere.

She began: “When you’re flying economy, and the person in front of you is very inconsiderate and reclines their chair all the way back…?"

Kelly/Pexels

The woman continued: "You know the air-con vents in the top? [Well] you can swivel them around. I swivel it right on their face and turn it up full blast.”

This leaves the passenger with two options: either deal with the cold wind blasting into their face, or sit back upright out of the stream.

It's a bit of a harsh response to someone who just wants to relax, but the passenger who came up with the idea obviously thinks it's worth it to make sure she hangs on to what little space she's given.

Fitzgerald agreed, saying: “That’s a belter and they can’t complain.”

Co-host Wipfli agreed, commending the radio caller for ‘outdoing herself’ in executing this controversial comfort hack.

Not everyone was on the same page though, with one person commenting on the move after hearing her 'hack' on TikTok.

They commented: “How is reclining one’s seat inconsiderate? When you pay for the seat, you pay for all the features?”

Another added: “I don’t get it. When did we, the commoners in steerage, decide our fellow travellers cannot recline their seat? RECLINE AWAY, DARLINGS. FIND COMFORT."

A third viewer suggested airplanes should remove the recline feature altogether, writing: “They should remove the recline feature on planes. I once had a guy in my space for 14 hours.”