Ingenious Revenge: How a Plane Passenger Stopped the Seat Kneeing Nuisance

Ingenious Revenge
A savvy plane passenger has been hailed for their genius 'revenge' after dealing with an inconsiderate man who wouldn't stop prodding his knees into the back of their seat. The man was on a flight for just an hour and a half, where generally passengers kept their seats upright since the journey was so short. Despite the passenger in question usually following this unwritten rule, they opted to flout their 'short flight rule' to teach a lesson to the person sat behind them. Sharing the incident on Reddit, he detailed: "I could feel a big hard lump moving up and down on the back of my airplane seat." Right as the meal service wrapped up and the cabin crew had cleared away the tray from the disruptive passenger, he wasted no time in pushing his seat all the way back. He recounted the sequence: "Right after the meal service finished and the flight attendant took the tray from the person behind me, I instantly reclined my seat all the way back." A confrontation seemed to loom when he heard the irritated passenger discussing the matter with a flight attendant, but he overheard a staff member confirming that he could indeed recline his seat since the meal service had ended. Trying to appear accommodating, he raised his seat slightly, in a subtle attempt to communicate his initial message without escalating matters. The nudging persisted, however, spurring him to reinforce his point. Determined, he said: "I still feel the hard lump in the back of my seat so I just recline it back down to the maximum and lie my side on the back of the seat and keep pushing down frequently." Defending his actions, he said: "I didn't recline at the start, I only reclined because they were clearly making my seat uncomfortable first, petty revenge I know." While some praised him for 'taking a stand,' others shared their own tales of troublesome fellow passengers. One user recounted: "I had this dude that used the chair as a leverage to get up. He would kick my chair every so often during my 5hr flight. This was after my 12-hour long flight with an additional 4-hour layover. I just wanted peace." Another chimed in with: "My experience was that a passenger behind me was shoving their water bottle in the seat back pocket. While he struggled to get into the pocket it felt like I was being groped the whole time." A third added: "Try being over six feet tall in economy. Even without reclining your seat my knees are jammed in the back of your seat. Either that or I am encroaching on the space next to me if I spread my legs. If you recline, expect some discomfort as I try and stop my legs cramping up from the extra pressure your seat is now exerting on them." Another user chimed in with their personal experience, highlighting the discomfort of air travel for taller individuals: "I'm only 5'2", and my knees are only an inch or so away from the seat in front of me.
I have so much sympathy for taller folks who get the shitty end of the airlines' 'squeeze as many of them in, like sardines, as possible' philosophy. Anyone with height can't spread their legs because they'd be infringing on the other passengers limited leg and foot space, but if they put knees forward then they are pressing into the backbone of the person in the seat in front of them. The average height of American men is 5'9", yet the average seat space is for the height not to exceed 5'6".