I’m 6′5″ and usually rely on bracing my knees against the seat in front any time I see the person in front move their hand near the recliner lever. They usually try a couple of times and then give up in frustration thinking that their seat must be broken. I don’t mind people reclining their seat if there is room to do it, but if I’m in cattle class, generally there isn’t. Great idea for a product.

This is a terrible idea that enables the manufacturer to profit from theft.

The reclining radius of the seat in front of me belongs to the person occupying that seat. If they choose not to recline their seat, hooray, I get a bonus, but they if they do choose to recline their seat they are not being “insensitive” or “a passenger from hell.” The passenger from hell is the one who steals space from the passenger who has paid for it by depriving them of the use of their space.

People who find it impossible to be comfortable in the admittedly cramped coach seats need to plan a vacation that doesn’t involve air travel or upgrade to roomier seats. For business travel, make the case with your employer that you cannot fly coach. But don’t steal space from other passengers!