Airline seats are too cramped

Ive always said that Airline seats should not have a reclining facility. My solution would be to have the seats set at a slight recline which would be suitable for reading, sleeping, eating etc and be done with !

There is nothing worse than someone who when right after take off, rams their seat as far back as possible. What boils my **** even more is when parents recline the seats of small children all the way back ! Its simply not needed when the child then spends the rest of the flight jumping around in even closer proximity to you than if their seat was up.

Dear All, thanks for the comments about my flight. It was with British Airways, Cairo to Heathrow. The airline does have a check-in wotsit machine where you can check yourself in and pick a seat but obviously the Cairo part of the flight just had a coffee machine and a bucket to wee in (though I think the wee bucket was connected to the coffee machine from the taste of their coffee). Anyway, next time I will cause a rumpus and be prepared to get arrested as I've had no reply from British Airways Customer Service Department. Think they must all be on Goggle buying socks. As for Ryanair, have used them a few times and had no problems. Easyjet are the same type of set-up, you get what you pay for as always. Happy flying or just don't bother. Cheers.

Well youthful griper go on Ryan air site and the 1p flights are there. I dont agree that you should get top class service for the same money its just not possible is it. ??? Work it out like this, the airlines pay staff less so we can travel cheaper and this in turn attracts staff who are basically not the best. The best always get paid more. I myself work in an industry where we get paid depending how good you are. The world you are looking for would never work. Its us as the paying public that set the critria ,we asked for cheaper fares got them and expected top class service. The service you want is caled first class. If you can afford it then fine if not then accept your lot. No good buying a Skoda then driving past a BMW and complaining to your dealer that your car does not look as good or perform as good. Ryan air rock.

We went to Dublin a year or so ago on a touring holiday so the flights were included with the whole deal. At the time, I don't recall them being advertised at 1p. There was 4 of us flying but we were only allowed 3 items of luggage so had to pay the surcharge. The person paying the surcharge was then 'upgraded' so they could board ahead of everyone else.

I don't dispute good deals and the 'you get what you pay for' attitude it's just the disorderly bit that gets me. Flying to Dublin with Ryanair was our first time with a low-cost airline so we didn't really know what to expect. They got us there and back safely.

Anyway, no matter how much or how little you pay, you should still receive a good level of customer service whether you're paying 1p or £100.

Youthful griper. What do you expect for a 1p as thats all I pay to travel to Dublin. If you want first class then im afraid you need to pay for it. I love ryan air but I have also flown first class to Asia as thats a longer flight and comfort is required. So as the old saying goes " You get what you pay for and if you no like then use someone else" Simple really as there are tons of airlines to choose from. 1p to Dublin weel done Ryan air.

As for the reclining seats. I get annoyed when the person in front has finished eating their meal and straight away wants to recline their seat meaning your meal can end up on the floor. Especially if the person in front is of a much larger build, you wonder if the seat will actually stop reclining towards you.

I tend to leave my knees where they are if the person infront is arrogant and force them to not recline so much. After all, I've got knee cushioning from all the magazines etc in the seat pocket. All they'll feel is a lump in their back.

I've flown with Ryanair twice and what I don't like about the way they do things is that boarding isn't structured. Someone mentioned Air Canada in previous comments. We've flown Air Canada, Continental Airlines, BA, MyTravel, Thomas Cook, Thomson etc and each time we've been allowed to choose our seats - emergency exit row because you get the most leg room.

Ryanair they just announce boarding and everyone rushes in because it's like getting a bus, your seats aren't allocated to you personally, whereas on the above operators they are. All Ryanair do is make sure the number of seats on the plane matches the number of passengers wanting that flight. It reminds me of an abattoir. Open the gates and the cattle go flooding in with no cares about what lurks inside.

All the airlines we've gone with have been with the package and all have been excellent except Ryanair which for the above reasons, was a let down, plus the cabin crew had no obvious customer care training.

Suffered a very similar experience on an Easyjet flight recently, and I reckon you can put them in the same boat as Ryanair, no frills, not-so-low-cost and no manners. The flight was two hours late, complete lack of communication throughout and then boarding announced before the plane was even ready. The result was a full load of passengers standing around for another half hour in half hearted queues. The doors opened and it was every person for themselves, no order, just utter chaos. The group I was with ended up scattered across the aircraft because we were last on (even though we were halfway down the queue to begin with). This was partly due to the complete lack of manners displayed by the other passengers (I guess we're British then!). Can't say as I'd blame them though, it was the early hours and everyone was fed up with being mucked around.

This comment from airlinequality.com sums up Ryanair. Others are less complimentary!

.... the boarding scrum was underway. I asked the Ryanair girl in charge of boarding (all of nineteen) why the announcement for boarding, if it was made at all, was inaudible in the ladies toilets. She turned on me and said "If you say another word I will stop you from boarding and you will be barred from ever flying Ryanair again." I am sixty years old and deeply resented having to allow a teenager in a cheap uniform to speak to me like that. I had no choice but to use them -t hey are the only carrier with a direct flight from London to Kerry - otherwise wild horses would never get me to use the no-frills, not-so-low cost, no manners airline ever again. Ryanair's success is a total mystery to me - and the website bookings site is just begging you to make the slightest error, it does smack of entrapment and utter ruthlessness. And as for any redress from customer service on that strange thing called a phone - don't make me laugh. Ryanair is a horror story all the way through.

You're right - all the airlines want is your money. Don't know where or why you were travelling, but I would recommend staying in the UK or using Eurostar in future. Air travel is killing the planet anyway and there are countless fabulous places to visit here without flying anywhere. Naturally there might be the odd overseas funeral or similar, but then one would be so upset that one wouldn't care about the git in the seat in front anyway.

Unfortunately, some people can't afford to buy seats on the flights that give you more leg room and as a result, they chose to fly with Ryanair or the like and have to "put up" with less than adequate leg room. I agree that you get what you pay for and that with budget airlines you can't expect the earth. However, common courtesy costs nothing and in the case in question, the person in front should have put their seat up again. I never recline my seat on an airline unless I am sure that the person behind me will have space and unbruised knees. I have spent many a flight staring down the nostrils of some ignoranus who has insisted on reclining their seat into my lap without a thought to my discomfort and have vowed never to put anyone else through the same misery!

Sid, amongst the ignorant drivel that some people write here, your comments stand out like a beacon of common sense and reason! Well said.