To Recline or Not To Recline, Whose Right is it?.......Knee Defenders!

After dealing with the hassles of getting to the airport, very long check-in and security lines.

you just cant wait to recline your seat and sleep off as soon as the seat belt signs go off.

But wait. What's happening?

Despite pushing that little round silver button ,your seat refuses to recline.

You've just been blocked by the Knee Defender.

The Knee Defender is a gadget that uses two small pieces of plastic, which are clipped on to the arms holding up the tray table. If they are placed snugly against the seat back, that seat is blocked from reclining, keeping the users' knees safe.

 “It gives you the chance to be human beings,” says Ira Goldman, the inventor of the Knee Defender, who has seen traffic to his online store rise 500 times above average since an altercation Last Sunday, a U. S. flight had to make an emergency landing in Chicago after a fight involving a passenger using his laptop who attached a "knee defender" to his tray, preventing the woman in front of him from reclining her seat prompting her to throw a glass of water in his face.

On Wednesday evening, a Miami to Paris flight was forced to turn around after a heated argument over leg room became too much for staff to contain.

 The knee Defender has  been generating controversy ever since, between those who feel it's-my-right-to-recline and stay-outa-my-personal-space proponents vying to out-shout the other .

 The real problem however is undefined property rights over the same four or five inches of space. People don’t agree on who has the rights. The airlines leave it foggy.

Ira Goldman added that he views the Knee Defender as something of an "early warning device." As we all know, people frequently recline with not a thought for the passenger behind them who may have a laptop open, a cup of coffee on a precarious perch, or a "lap baby,"

 The Defender even comes with a courtesy card for your fellow blocked passenger which, in part:

"If you would like to recline your seat at some point during the flight, please let me know and I will try to adjust myself and my Knee Defender so that it can be done safely.

I realize that this may be an inconvenience. If so, I hope you will complain to the airline. Maybe working together we can convince the airlines to provide enough space between rows so that people can recline their seats without banging into other passengers.

Thank you for your understanding

That card, with its passive-aggressive tone, is just asking for trouble.... try it with Naija passengers..lol

The gadget surprisingly does not violate any FAA regulations (it can't be used during taxi, takeoff, and landing, when the tray must be upright), but airlines have the right to forbid its use.
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 A little civility, would go a long way.  For the "Pro-Knee Defenders'" If those in front of you never notice or care, then no harm done. When they do notice, what usually happens is that they complain to a flight attendant that the seat is broken. The flight attendant will know immediately what’s up. In that case you remove them at once and, if necessary, apologize. (No major airline condones their use because they can cause a ruckus in the cabin, as happened last Sunday when a pilot had to divert a plane to eject two unruly passengers.)

And for the "'Anti-Knee Defenders" it will be nice to inform the person behind before reclining your seat so you don't spill hot coffee on them or damage their electronic devices.


should airlines do away with reclining seats altogether? share your thoughts in the comment section.

15 fastest ways of getting on the bad side of a Cabin Crew

1) The first commandment says: “thou shall not lift bags"

Would you still find me attractive with bent back and broken arms? Sorry, we are not being wicked or nonchalant; our rules really say we aren’t allowed to lift your luggage into the overhead bin for you, though we can “assist”.

well as you can see, i also need someone to carry my bag

2) Keep others in mind

Recline your seat back gently so you don’t spill the drink of the person seating behind or even spoil their laptop, please keep your shoe on if you have smelly feet. And yes! You can’t sleep if you snore loudly and have saliva drooling all over. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Mayday! Mayday!!!

3). Come well-equipped

 If you have a baby, BRING DIAPERS. Don’t turn me to a beggar onboard, or make me try to create a diaper out of a sanitary towel…it’s not part of my job description…… how will that even work?

distinguished ladies and gentleman, anyone with spare diapers plz?

4) We are not your maids

Want to start off on the wrong foot with a cabin crew? Put your carry-on luggage in a full overhead bin, leave it sticking out, then take your seat at the window and wait for someone else (me!) to come along and fix it.

are we hotties or maids? make up your mind already.

5) Don’t poke, grab or ‘siiiiii’ me!

No one likes to be poked, but it’s even worse on the plane because you’re sitting down and we’re not, so it’s usually in a very personal area. You poke me, I ignore you! Please always Make use of the call button, or use the classic “excuse me”.

'nuff said!

6). I am not a kindergarten class teacher

Passengers are always coming up with one complain or the other. ”Can you tell him to put his seat up?” “She won’t share the armrest.”  can you tell the baby to stop wailing? ''can you ask him why he farted''?. really??? So what should I do? Am I a teacher? Sort out your problems and leave me out of it.

call it empathy or whatever.... i can"t be bothered.

7). Can’t you wait a moment?

Do you really have to use the lavatory right now? While we’re struggling with a heavy food cart down the aisle?

you really want me to pull this cart back? it won't happen

8). Take note of what is happening around you.

If you hear us calling for the attention of a medical doctor, or see us running around with oxygen and first aid kits, it’s not the right time to ask for water, and it’s also not the time for you to come do your eyewitness thing. Remain seated we would let you know when we need audience.  Thank you.

9). Pay attention to your child/children

If you’re travelling with a small child and you keep hearing chimes, please ensure it’s not your child that is playing with the cabin crew call buttons. Also take note:  The safety information cards in the seat pocket are not toys and please try not mess up your area with snacks or whatever

ladies and gentleman on the right side of the aircraft is the city of ....WHATTTTT???

10) It’s just an aircraft toilet, nothing more, nothing less.

The lavatory door is not rocket science. Just push it!

aha! that''s the "push here"... i told you, its not rocket science

11). We don’t own a stationery shop

If you’re traveling overseas, do yourself a favour and bring a pen for those immigration forms. Yes I have a few, but I can’t carry 100!

12) Be mindful of your condition

For example: Don’t check-in your inhaler into the cargo hold if you are asthmatic, always have it on you, don’t struggle for the exit row seat if you are obese…. Unless of course you want me to use our famous lie to get you off the seat “sorry sir/ma, we don’t allow the use of extension seat belts on exit row seats thank you.” lol

....have a memorable flight, madam.

13). Politeness goes a long way

‘Please’ and ‘thank you’ would get you the best of everything onboard the aircraft any day, anytime. Really is it that difficult to say hello and goodbye? We say it uncountable times on every flight and only a handful of people respond. Why?

 ...or starve.

14) Listen.

Me: Would you like rice or pasta ma’am, ma’am: chips will be fine. Chips??? Really??? Did you just hear me say chips?  Or are you just trying to annoy me?

15) Ask sensible questions

Passenger:  why can’t I see blue skies? The last time I flew to the US I saw blue sky, when I flew to Australia I saw blue sky, on my way back from Singapore I saw blue sky. So why can’t I see blue sky on your flight?  Crew: (talks within himself) Mr world traveller, we know this your tactics, but I can assure you that the beautiful lady seating beside you is still not impressed, so keep looking for blue skies.

The Top 9 weirdest Things Left Onboard An Aircraft by Passengers

All passengers are responsible for ensuring that they do not leave any item behind when disembarking from the aircraft…useful, useless or irritating items...and of course if you listen to in-flight announcements you wouldn’t leave any item behind, however as we all know , no matter how many public announcements we do, people still manage to leave behind their prized, over-prized, and sometimes very weird and strange possessions on board.  I’m not just talking about items like mobile phones, ipads, car keys, credit cards, books or even  international passports, but items like Viagra, used condoms (I’m not joking) are just to mention but a few.  Please don’t ask me why they come onboard with some of these things because I am also wondering why.

all items are intact, yes i mean your wedding ring, viagra etc

So I decided to talk to my fellow cabin crew, and you will be amazed at the results.

Enjoy!!!

Warning: you may need to suspend reading this if you are eating. Yea!!! I mean it.

9) BAGGAGE:  the fuss passengers make on board the aircraft just to bring in their luggage, stow their luggage, fight with another passenger for putting a bag on their suit case or laptops, or fight with the crew for suggesting they check the bag in, they grumble if you ask them to put it under the seats. Sincerely, the issue with bags are endless and it’s usually a major source of headache for cabin crew. So it’s usually surprising at the end of the flight to find these same passengers strolling of the aircraft leaving their bags behind. At the end of a flight, I had 3 bags left behind.

its not my job to stow your BIG bags sir!!!

8) FOOD: yea! I’m not talking about cookies and the rest, but stew, soup….Well prepared delicacies and some not-so-well-prepared-really-smelly-stuff, makes me wonder what they put in it, maybe dead rats. Why would someone go through the stress of preparing a meal, and forget it on board? Common! Be creative!

is that smell from your food?

o

7) MONEY: real money!!! Not chicken change but millions. If I have that kind of money I wouldn’t even blink an eyelid talk less of leaving it behind on an airplane. The most annoying part is they come back for it, and make you count every penny of it, to make sure it’s complete. As if the torture of seeing the money and knowing that someone can actually forget that amount of money is not enough…. They make the cabin crew count it….. some people just want to watch the world burn.

can i have some plz?

6) USED CONDOMS:  are you thinking what I’m thinking? Lol… well this was found on the last row of seat by a colleague. Don’t ask me when or how it was used…   dear Mr. /Mrs. on-board-condom-user, please do us the honour of disposing “your” waste properly. I mean what the hell are we supposed to do with your used condom? Cook soup with it? Ewwww…. The torture you go through as a cabin crew…..phewwww….

plz remember to take with you all your "personal items" including this.

5) WEDDING RING: you are a married man; you’re relieved to be getting away from the wife and kids for a few days. After all, she’s getting fatter by the day… is she really? Or so you claim? And suddenly you notice the beautiful young lady sitting down next to you. You start winking, chatting, and flirting. Then, you realise you still have your wedding ring on and she’s not wearing one. It comes off and you slip it into your seat pocket and as you leave the plane the ring stays behind. I have a feeling that  people like this are actually the ones who leave the used condoms behind!  Good-luck trying to explain to wifey how you misplaced your ring.

let her have some peace, and while u r at it, put your ring back on

4) SEX TOYS: aha! Cabin crew have seen it all. Viagra pills, handcuffs, dildos; black and huge, pink and with lubricant half used…. One would think no one would ever have the guts to come back to claim a forgotten sex toy: sorry to burst your bubbles…..a man actually came back to get the pink dildo and used lubricant…. Emmm…ok… let’s just say he came back to get it for his female friend’, who was probably too shy and embarrassed to come back….end of story. “clearsthroat”.

....or just take it with you

3) BODILY FLUIDS:  this one is super irritating and disgusting. How do you explain saliva in a bottle or nylon bag, piss in a bottle, catarrh, dirty diapers, soiled sanitary towels, vomits, etc .  The worst part is they leave all these disgusting items in the seat pocket or lying around in the cabin. For crying out loud there is a toilet in the aircraft…. It’s totally FREE to use… you don’t have to pay a dime. I wonder what will happen when airlines start charging to use the toilet. Not only are these irritating they are also health hazard to crew who clean the aircraft and also crew who conduct security check on the aircraft. This is another reason why gloves are a must for every cabin crew.

plz don"t put that in the seat pocket, thanks for your understanding.

2)SACRIFICE/JUJU/JAZZ: emmmm… I don’t know how to explain this, a colleague was doing her security checks after disembarking all passengers, saw an unclaimed bag, called in security , the bag was opened and behold; a calabash with palm oil and amala inside of it. (I kid you not)… everyone had to take a step back…lol… fear of the unknown. But trust me no one came back to claim it.

if you think im going to touch that, then you better think again.

1) CHILDREN!!!:

Oh yes, this will always and forever top the chart of the craziest and weirdest things people leave on board. How can you forget your child on board???  A human being??? Sincerely mothers really need to pay attention to their kids. 

A family of 5 disembarked from the airplane leaving the last child behind, I found the child when I was doing  my security checks, soundly asleep. The most annoying part of this story is that it took the airline rep we called to stop the family to ask them if they had forgotten anything on board, it was only then they remembered the baby of the house… but as usual they tried to blame it on the crew.

identification please?

Ok so now you know. The top 9 nine random things passengers leave on board….. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen please, please and please on behalf of all cabin crew, always remember to take “all your personal items” with you when disembarking, that is; if you don’t want the crew going through your phones and ipads laughing at all your naughty pictures….. Yea! We have seen a lot of really naughty pictures. Don’t come onboard and scatter your stuff all over the place as if you are in your bedroom. Aint nobody gat the time to clean up your mess. You Have Been WARNED!

And once again hope you enjoyed your flight, looking forward to welcoming you on board our future flight. Thank you for flying Angel Air.

why you should listen to in-flight announcement and safety demo.

When was the last time you actually listened to an airlines pre-flight safety demo or any announcement made on board? I mean, REALLY  listened?  Not only does it make your cabin crew look foolish when nobody puts down their iPad or newspaper, but because so few people listen anymore, when there is an emergency people panic and don't follow even the most basic safety procedures. Did you know, for example, that only a small fraction of the passengers flying on that US Airways flight 1549 that landed in the Hudson River exited the plane with their life vests? It's true.

The Aircraft pre-flight safety demonstration  is a detailed explanation given before takeoff to airline passengers about the safety features of an aircraft.

On smaller aircraft this may take place in the form of a live briefing performed by cabin crew standing up in the aisles, while another flight attendant narrates over the public address system. Smaller jets and turboprops, where there may be only one cabin crew sometimes use recorded narration accompanying a live demonstration. On many larger aircraft equipped with in-flight entertainment, safety demonstrations may take place in the form of a video, which typically lasts 2 to 6 minutes.

 The most significant role of a cabin crew onboard is to ensure passenger safety….. yes!!!  not serving tea and coffee.  In so doing; they make several announcements before, during and after the flight.  The first announcement takes place while boarding, this is to remind you of the destination of the flight…. Trust me on so many occasions people board the wrong the flight, and find themselves in point A instead of point B. Also this announcements brings to your notice any issue with your luggage,this explains why on some occasion passengers get to their final destination and find out their luggage was left behind in their point of origin. For obvious safety reasons luggage not identified by their owners are usually left behind.

Another announcement takes place before the aircraft leaves the gate; it’s an Aircraft Safety Demonstration specific for each type of aircraft and includes a demonstration alerting passengers of safety. Please keep in mind that this announcement/safety

 demonstration scripts vary greatly according to the aircraft type and of course the airline, so its important to actually look around you to get use to the configuration of that particular aircraft. when it comes to air travel, don’t feel you’ve heard it all or seen it all. 

The Aircraft safety Demonstration is a very important announcement that you might want to really pay attention to if you love your life. So stop your Sudoku,candy crush and temple run  for a minute, remove those headsets: the music can wait, stop winking at the cabin crew and LISTEN.  knowing in advance where the exits are makes a dramatic difference to your chances of survival if we have to evacuate the aircraft. Also, please keep your seat belt fastened when seated, even if the seat-belt light is not illuminated. This is to protect you from the risk of clear-air turbulence, a rare but extremely nasty form of disturbance that can cause severe injury. Imagine the heavy food trolleys jumping into the air and bashing into the overhead lockers, and you will have some idea of how nasty it can be. I don't want to scare you. Still, keep that seat belt fastened all the same.

when listening to an Aircraft Safety Demonstration, its important to take note of the following;

• the emergency brace position (sometimes called the safety position) to be used during an emergency landing
• the use of the seat belt. Some airlines recommend or require that passengers keep their seatbelt fastened at all times in case of unexpected turbulence.
• the location and use of the emergency exits, and emergency floor lighting
• the requirements for sitting in an emergency exit row . please bear in mind that exit row passengers may be required to assist the crew in an evacuation.
• the use of the oxygen mask, please remember that you should always fit your own mask before helping children, the disabled, or persons requiring assistance.

• the location and use of the life vests.
• the use of passenger seat cushions as flotation devices
• reminders -

• that smoking is not allowed on board, including in the lavatories
• that federal law prohibits tampering with, disabling or destroying lavatory smoke detectors
• that the use of mobile phones is not allowed during flight, unless placed in "flight safe mode" or the wireless capability is turned off
• that laptops and other electronics may only be used once the aircraft is at cruising altitude and the Captain turns off the fasten seat-belt sign. and passengers should ask cabin crew prior to using electronics devices.

• that seatbacks and tray tables should be in their upright and locked position and carry-on luggage stowed in the overhead locker or underneath a seat prior to takeoff.
• to review the safety information card prior to takeoff.