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A Fight Over Legroom Forced a Plane to Divert: Airlines Should Have Seen This Coming

The Knee Defender, as it turns out, is not strictly prohibited by the Federal Aviation Administration but is banned by most major U.S. airlines, including United.
#Transportation #Aviation #Legroom #airlines #Fight Over Legroom
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On Sunday, United Airlines Flight 1462 from Newark to Denver was forced to divert to Chicago. When the plane landed at O'Hare International Airport, city police and TSA officers escorted from the aircraft two passengers who had caused an in-flight kerfuffle. The cause of their fight? Legroom. The fight began after the first offending passenger (the Transportation Security Administration declined to give names) deployed the Knee Defender. This pocket-sized travel device locks in place the fold-out tray on the back of airline seats, preventing the person in front of you from reclining. It retails for $21.95, which seems a small price to pay for uninfringed legspace during an otherwise crammed flight. From the AP: The fight started when the male passenger, seated in a middle seat of row 12, used the Knee Defender to stop the woman in front of him from reclining while he was on his laptop, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak. A flight attendant asked him to remove the device and he refused. The woman then stood up, turned around and threw a cup of water at him, the official says. That's when United decided to land in Chicago. The two passengers were not allowed to continue to Denver. The Knee Defender, as it turns out, is not strictly prohibited by the Federal Aviation Administration but is banned by most major U.S. airlines, including United.* Still, you can't really blame the passenger for trying, especially since airlines seem in the business of cramming ever-more passengers into ever-smaller seats. Seats that spanned 18.5 inches throughout the 1990s and early 2000s today have dwindled to just 16.5 inches in width. The space between rows has dropped by about 10 percent, from 34 inches to just 32 or 30 or even a measly 28 inches. At the same time, the typical passenger has grown taller and packed on extra pounds.  Shrinking and shortening seats, as Matthew Klein wrote earlier this year, are a sort of hidden inflation. Even if ticket prices themselves don't go up, paying the same amount for a worse customer experience makes the flight effectively more expensive. The trend shows no signs of reversing. A new "seating device" idea from Airbus replaces traditional seat cushions with bicycle-like ones and eliminates the tray table and headrest altogether. Late last month, Businessweek appended a story on airline legroom in Boeing aircrafts with this advisory: "The next version of Boeing's 737, the world's most popular jetliner, will have 200 seats. It was introduced in 1967 with 100." Reclining seats, of course, compound the shrinking-seat problem by allowing the most egregious recliners to steal the last few inches of legroom from the reclined-upon. The Knee Defender is one attempt to pre-empt this. You can also politely ask the recliner to retract his chair, but that often doesn't go over well. Slate's Dan Kois has suggested a more comprehensive fix: ban airplanes from installing reclining seats at all. The cheap and much-hated Spirit Airlines does this—packing more passengers onto its flights than carriers like JetBlue and United but keeping its seats rigidly upright. Boeing is toying with seats that recline less. Taking away legroom and squishing people into planes like sardines makes great economic sense for airlines, but sooner or later someone was bound to crack. That happened on Sunday with United Airlines Flight 1462. The irony in this case was that the quibbling passengers were seated in the Economy Plus section—where there was already an extra four inches of space. Source: Slate
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Marjz annotated1+ month ago

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration says it hasn't banned the device as it doesn't have an impact on passenger safety. ...

Should the Knee Defender be banned? - CNN.com

A squabble over a device that limits how far a seat can recline has brought inflight etiquette into the spotlight again.

www.cnn.com

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Marjz annotated1+ month ago

According to Associated Press, cops called after fliers fight over seat recline ...

Cops called after fliers fight over seat recline

NEW YORK (AP) — Airline passengers have come to expect a tiny escape from the confined space of today's packed planes: the ability to recline their seat a few inches. When one passenger was denied that bit of personal space Sunday, it led to a heated argument and the unscheduled landing of their plane, just halfway to its destination. The fight started on a United Airlines flight because one passenger was using the Knee Defender, a $21.95 gadget that attaches to a passenger's tray table and prevents the person in front of them from reclining. The Federal Aviation Administration leaves it up to individual airlines to set rules about the device. United Airlines said it prohibits use of the device, like all major U.S. airlines. Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air take the reclining mechanisms out of their seats, leaving them permanently upright. The dispute on United Flight 1462 from Newark, New Jersey to Denver escalated to the point where the airline decided to divert to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, according to Transportation Security Administration spokesman Ross Feinstein. Chicago Police and TSA officers met the flight, spoke to the passengers — a man and a woman, both 48 — and "deemed it a customer service issue," Feinstein said. The TSA would not name the passengers. The plane then continued to Denver without them, arriving 1 hour and 38 minutes late, according to the airline's website. The Federal Aviation Administration can impose a civil fine of up to $25,000 for passengers who are unruly. In this case, no arrest was made, according to airport spokesman Gregg Cunningham. The fight started when the male passenger, seated in a middle seat of row 12, used the Knee Defender to stop the woman in front of him from reclining while he was on his laptop, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak. A flight attendant asked him to remove the device and he refused. The woman then stood up, turned around and threw a cup of water at him, the official says. That's when United decided to land in Chicago. The two passengers were not allowed to continue to Denver. Both passengers were sitting in United's Economy Plus section, the part of the plane that has four more inches of legroom than the rest of coach. __ Scott Mayerowitz can be reached at https://twitter.com/GlobeTrotScott.

bigstory.ap.org

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Marjz annotated1+ month ago

Spirit Airlines the most hated budget airline, here's why? ...

Here's Why Spirit Is The Most Hated Airline In The U.S. | Fast Company | Business + Innovation

A just-completed 5-year study reveals that the company receives far and away the most consumer complaints of any domestic airline.

www.fastcompany.com

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Marjz annotated1+ month ago

Airline Legroom: Boeing and Airbus Help Shrink It Even More ...

Plane Makers Add Seats to Help Airlines Boost Profits - Businessweek

Plane makers are adding seats to help airlines boost profits

www.businessweek.com

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Marjz annotated1+ month ago

The patent describes a "seating device with reduced bulk for an aircraft" complete with rotating armrests and a mechanism that allows the "saddle" and backrest to fold upwards, out of the way to allow passengers to squeeze into their window seat. The seating position also appears higher, increasing the vertical legroom in order to compensate for the severely reduced horizontal legroom. ...

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Marjz annotated1+ month ago

In addition to shortening seat bottoms and compressing seat backs, the airline will probably reduce legroom by a few inches to bring it in line with the industry standard. ...

The Hidden Cost of a Cramped Airline Seat - Bloomberg View

Official inflation statistics often miss declines in the quality of services.

www.bloombergview.com

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Marjz annotated1+ month ago

Matthew C. Klein writes for Bloomberg View about the economy and financial markets. He previously wrote for the Economist magazine and its economics blog, Free Exchange. ...

Matthew C. Klein (M_C_Klein) on Twitter

The latest from Matthew C. Klein (@M_C_Klein). FT Alphavillain. I took the background picture (of Everest). Chicagoan in exile

twitter.com

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Marjz annotated1+ month ago

The average airline seat is 31 inches

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Marjz annotated1+ month ago

The Knee Defender uses two small pieces of plastic which are clipped on to the arms holding up the tray table. It was was invented by Ira Goldman, a 6-foot-3 resident of Washington, D.C., who put it on the market in 2003. ...

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Marjz annotated1+ month ago

Tips to help you get the most legroom on airplanes

How to get the most legroom on airplanes - Baltimore Travel | Examiner.com

Have you ever ridden on an airplane, only to find the passenger in front of you basically sitting on your lap?

www.examiner.com

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Marjz annotated1+ month ago

Kerfuffle [ker-fuhf-uh l] a commotion or fuss

Kerfuffle | Define Kerfuffle at Dictionary.com

Kerfuffle definition, Chiefly British Informal. a fuss; commotion. See more.

dictionary.reference.com

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Marjz annotated1+ month ago

United Airlines Flight 1462 Diverts Over 'Knee Defender' Fight ...

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Marjz annotated1+ month ago

United Airlines Flight 1462 was forced to divert to Chicago. ...

Knee Defender fight: United Airlines Flight 1462 diverted over legroom kerfuffle.

On Sunday, United Airlines Flight 1462 from Newark to Denver was forced to divert to Chicago. When the plane landed at O'Hare International Airport, city police and TSA officers escorted from the aircraft two passengers who had caused an in-flight kerfuffle. The cause of their fight? Legroom. The fight began...

www.slate.com

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Marjz created this page1+ month ago

Hello world. It's a new page!

Marjz annotated1+ month ago

The Knee Defender, as it turns out, is not strictly prohibited by the Federal Aviation Administration but is banned by most major U.S. airlines, including United. ...

#Transportation #Aviation #Legroom #airlines #Fight Over Legroom
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Marjz edited1+ month ago

A Fight Over Legroom Forced a Plane to Divert: Airlines Should Have Seen This Coming

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