Man loses it on fellow passenger during flight; 'This altercation was VERY DRAMATIC.' AITA?

When this woman gets into a complicated altercation on a flight, she asks the internet:

"AITA for getting into it with a passenger on a flight"?

I’m on a 4 hour flight. (M)The passenger in front of me is about 6’6”, weighs at least 275-300lbs. He’s in a broken chair. When he sits down, it lists heavily on one side. He reclined it completely during taxi and takeoff, which made it impossible for me to lean forward; if I were to drop my phone for example...

there’s no chance I’m getting it until he leaves his seat. When we hit cruise altitude, I also recline my chair - but no more than half way.

The passenger behind me takes exception to it. She sharply drives her knee into my spine. I’m almost embarrassed to admit how uncomfortable it made me. So, I sat up and turned around to ask her to kindly stop. I see that her seat is fully reclined, and she’s slouching to the bottom of her chair with her knees up on my seat.

I ask her to kindly stop. She became instantly defensive and angry. She tells me, “No. I have long legs. If you don’t like it, put your chair up or change seats”. I explained my situation, and she begins cursing me out.

Her husband, sitting two seats over (there was an empty chair between them) then starts swearing at me, shouting loudly so multiple rows can hear him say, “that’s my Fin wife you’re talking to! Stfu and sit down!”

Out of frustration I tell the guy I wasn’t talking to him. Now the wife is back at it, also telling me stfu and sit down. I give up.

As I turn around to sit back down, I notice that one of the flight attendants is standing there watching the entire exchange.

I asked her for assistance, explaining that her knee was in my back, the chair in front of me was fully reclined and broken, and that the passengers were clearly being rude. The flight attendant's response, verbatim, was "deal with it". She stared at me and then walked away.

AITA? I’ve flown over a hundred times in the last decade and more than 30 times this year alone. I’ve never seen this level of anger and downright rudeness from a flight attendant. In fact, I wasn’t even in my seat.

The guy beside me got it wrong but he was lights out asleep as soon as we buckled up and I didn’t want to bother him. Should I have been more patient? Would I be less of an A if I took the highroad and let rude people be rude?

Has anyone encountered this before? What can I glean from this to avoid this in the future? What am I missing? aita?

Let's see what readers thought.

dreamkhy writes:

NTA. Ever since Covid, passengers have lost sense of human decency. It’s like these people are playing a game on who gets to be the most belligerent fool there is and winner gets to go viral via TikTok.

The flight attendant who should have addressed it is probably burnt out with all these shenanigans. Not an excuse but I can only speculate. You, OP, were just an innocent bystander in these chaotic changes we’re dealing with.

godflighcre writes:

YTA. You had a bad flight, and that sucks—for you. You don’t get to make everyone else’s flight bad, too.

If you’re that concerned about your comfort and space while flying, spring for first class. Thats what I do. It’s more expensive but I avoid these kinds of problems. Also, the cabin staff practically trip over themselves to provide for your every comfort because they know what your business is worth to the airline.

Also, and I don’t say this lightly, major asshole vibes for mentioning the weight of the guy in front of you. It makes you sound like a judgmental prick.

pickratc writes:

NTA. You paid for your seat, and you have every right to recline it within the airline's specified limits. The passenger behind you had no business jabbing her knee into your back; that's just plain rude and invasive.

The flight attendant's response was nothing short of terrible. They should have handled the situation and ensured everyone's comfort on the flight. Saying "deal with it" is unprofessional and dismissive of your valid concerns.

Don't let rude behaviour slide. You have a right to a comfortable flight, just like every other passenger. Stand up for yourself and involve the flight crew if necessary. This situation reflects poorly on the airline's customer service, and passengers should not have to tolerate such behaviour.