“A flight attendant asked him to remove the device and he refused.”
Game, set, MATCH.
The lady would have done well to let this play out.
1. Those seats are designed to RECLINE.
2. The “Knee Defender” is not part of the aircraft.
3. The deviced mentioned in #2 (above) interferes with a designed feature of the aircraft.
4. Instructions/requests/DEMANDS from aircrew are to be followed, per FAA regs and federal law.
I feel sorry for people who are large/tall or need to work, but an arrangement should be discussed before you decide that the seat in front of you (which the person occupying it has purchased) should not function as designed.
Yeah, well, I'm 6'2" and have a 34" inseam. They get to recline until they hit my knees and no more. They have no more right to their recliner (which is an optional, not required, function of that seat), than I do my kneecaps (which are a required, not optional, part of a properly-functioning anatomy).
“I feel sorry for people who are large/tall or need to work, but an arrangement should be discussed before you decide that the seat in front of you (which the person occupying it has purchased) should not function as designed.”
I agree with you, and I’m a tall person. Hey, I like to be able to recline my seat, too.