“Recline your seat and get your space back”
That sounds very reasonable but just don’t ever take a seat on the last row on Southwest. They don’t recline an inch and you are trapped in here.
I am only 5’3” so I have never been bothered by the seat in front of me reclining but I can understand how tall people feel trapped in any seat.
That's true on most airliners. The answer is to not be late in checking in to get an earlier boarding pass, or on other airlines to not wait until the last minute to book.
In either case, I wouldn't want the last person to book to control the seat reclines for everyone else, just because their seat won't recline.
Of course, this was less of a problem when the airlines offered more space between rows.
Over the years, the airlines increased and decreased row spacing as a marketing campaign or to relieve fuel cost pressures. On the one hand, they would advertise more leg room over their competitors, and on the other hand they would maximize profits per flight by cramming more people into a plane. Now they have "economy plus" in the front with more leg room (and +$50 per seat), and regular economy behind.
Maybe what's next is a new generation of seat that only reclines if you pay an extra $7 for the privilege (just like for movies or internet now).
-PJ