Ever wondered why your seat won’t recline on the plane? Well according to one American Airlines pilot, there’s two very important reasons – and it’s quite interesting…
Let’s face it, we all love to travel.
Whether it’s a city break or long haul trip which promises a lot of sun, sea and sand, it’s all exciting. But before you get to enjoy the perks of a holiday abroad, there’s the journey on a flight which many might find rather uncomfortable.
Of course, once you’re past the security process and find your gate, you finally get to sit comfortably in your seat waiting for take-off, at least you’d hope so. Well often in some cases, your chair might not recline on the flight and there’s two reasons why.
American Airlines pilot Steve, who boasts 220,000 followers on TikTok, usually delights fans with interesting knowledge on flight secrets and recently, the frustrating reason cabin crew still go through security.
Now in a recent post, he discussed reclining your chair. He said: “You just got back into your seat, you’re all comfy, you built your little nest, you put all your electronics away, put all the stuff in the overhead compartment and you’re thinking to yourself, it’s time to relax, I’m going to recline my seat a little bit.
“So you push that button and the seat won’t recline, you push it again and it just won’t recline, you’re like what in the world is going on? It’s one of two things my friends, either you’re up in the back row against the bulkhead and that seat isn’t going to recline, why because there’s a wall behind you. And the other is you’re in front of an emergency exit row.”
Captain Steve continued: “You didn’t score that nice exit row seat with the extra legroom, you scored the seat in front of the exit row that won’t recline. No matter what you do and how hard you push that button, that seat isn’t going back. Why?
“Because we need to leave it in an unimpeded path out through that exit so people don’t stumble or fall, there’s nothing that impedes their progress. On many of those seats, there’s not even a tray table, so the guy sitting in the exit row doesn’t have a tray table, it comes out of the compartment next to him.”
The pilot claimed the purpose is all down to safety. So the next time you jump on the flight, make sure you take a look at the seat before you try to recline. Because if you’re in front of the exit row, you certainly won’t be able to adjust your seat.
Since the post was shared, it racked up 6,400 likes and over 150 comments. One said: “Wow, now that is a new one!” Another added: “Ahh, that’s why!” And a third chimed in: “Thank you Captain!” While a fourth gushed: “Love this guy, I learn so much!”