VOTE: Is It Rude To Recline Your Seat On An Airplane?

Unless you regularly fly First Class, traveling on a commercial airplane can be a total nightmare at times!

There’s little to no legroom for the average human being, icky recycled air, and if you’re unlucky enough to get stuck with a middle seat, the experience can be even more uncomfortable than usual. This week, an airline passenger’s video of a man punching the back of her seat reignited a fierce old debate online: is it OK to recline when sitting in economy?

A woman named Wendi Williams (no, not the talk show host!) uploaded this shocking clip (below) of her recent in-flight experience to Twitter:

https://twitter.com/steelersfanOG/status/1226346795741143040?s=20

OMG!

As you can see, the man behind Williams repeatedly hit her seat and did not stop despite noticing he was being recorded. Alongside her video, she included:

“Here’s a great jackhole! He was angry that I reclined my seat and punched it about 9 times – HARD, at which point I began videoing him, and he resigned to this behavior. The other jackhole is the
@AmericanAir flight attendant who reprimanded me and offered him rum!”

The footage was originally captured on a January 31st flight from New Orleans to Charlotte on American Eagle, a subsidiary of American Airlines.

In a series of follow-up tweets directed to the airline’s online customer service account, Williams claimed she suffered lasting physical injuries from the awkward mile-high encounter:

“My name is Wendi Williams. It was flight AA4393, from New Orleans to Charlotte, seat 20D. You clearly want me to do this quietly through a DM. I tried 3 times to do this quietly. I’ve lost time at work, had to visit a doctor, got x-rays, and have has horrible headaches for a week.”

She also shared a copy of her boarding pass and explained her pre-existing neck condition:

“I’m done being quiet! I’ve had extensive neck surgeries – my cervical spine is completely fused, except for C1. You can contact me.”

Williams continued that the man, who appeared to be sitting in the last row and could not recline his own seat, asked her to put her seat back up while he ate off his tray table. She said she complied and then reclined again when he was done — but the passenger started hitting her chair afterward.

When fans started questioning the incident, Wendi continued to plead her case! She noted how an AA flight attendant seemed to downplay her concerns and side with the man:

https://twitter.com/steelersfanOG/status/1226180457152294913?s=20

Later, she informed followers that AA directed her to follow up with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to get any resolution:

“I was contacted by @AmericanAir via phone. Apparently I really do have to contact the FBI to get any resolution. The airline didn’t really accept any culpability, although she apologized and said what happened was wrong – that’s it.”

Dang, that escalated quickly! From a casual dispute to a case for the freaking FBI?! Sheesh!

People are talking plenty online but now, it’s time for YOU to weigh in on this debate! Let us know by voting in our poll (below):

[Image via Universal Pictures/YouTube].