I paid for reclining seat on flight but mum with baby shouted at me for using it

A WOMAN in pain who paid extra for a reclining plane seat has let fly at a mother with a baby who kept shouting at her for leaning back.

A passenger has complained on an online forum about her ordeal on a seven-hour flight, enduring fury from behind her on-board.

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She described the “nightmarish” journey which she says involved incessant abuse from a cross mum sitting behind, who took exception to her reclining chair.

Yet she has met a mixed reception online, with some sympathising after suffering similar travel misery – yet others suggested her own plane etiquette was to blame.

The peeved passenger with the bad back insisted she paid a hefty extra fee to ensure she could sit in a little more comfort – only to find herself pestered every time she attempted moving her seat back.

The “angry” mother in the seat behind – with “quite a big child on her lap” – not only shouted but swore every time the chair reclined, according to the account on Mumsnet.

The unhappy traveller shared with fellow users: “I tried very gently reclining it a little at some stage (before I had seen the child) but she was angry and swore, so I put it upright.

“Who was unreasonable here? Or do we generally think anyone reclining their seat is unreasonable?

“I tend to recline my seat on very long flights, when the lights are dimmed for sleeping, as do most others on those flights. I don’t recline on a short haul.”

One fellow Mumsnet reader advised in response: “It’s only socially acceptable to recline your seat on an overnight flight when the person behind you has also reclined theirs.

“Any other time means you’ll burn in the fiery pits of hell.

“It’s like cooking fish in the office microwave – just because you technically can, doesn’t mean you should.”

But others were more sympathetic to the original poster, insisting: “I would have reclined my seat, given no f***s at her swearing, and asked the air stewards to explain to her that if she chose to restrict her own space by not paying for a separate seat for her child then that was her lookout.

“I don’t trade my own comfort for somebody else’s penny-pinching. But I’m good at speaking up for myself and appreciate not everyone is.”

To recline or not to recline divides opinion among seasoned travellers such as Fox News correspondent Matt Finn as well as professional flight experts – so much so that some airlines are now even removing the option all together.

Even if you do insist on leaning back, posture experts have warned getting the angle wrong could prove counter-productive.

Etiquette experts have also advised on when “never” to do so – though others have pointed out the more courteous options if you still feel the need.

And yet rows invariably rage on as passengers with different outlooks find themselves on-board in the air in close confinement.