Posted on 10/24/2003 1:35:02 PM PDT by leadpencil1
WASHINGTON (AP) - Every cramped air traveler may have the right to lean his seat back, but Ira Goldman sees airplane justice from another perspective - that of the person behind - and he's found a way to even the score.
Goldman invented the Knee Defender, a beeper-sized block of plastic that lets passengers prevent the seat in front of them from reclining.
The gadget, which went on sale about a month ago on the Internet for $10, has sparked heated debate in online chat rooms, and aviation officials worry about the disagreements that will be generated at 30,000 feet.
Alison Duquette, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the product violates no FAA regulations, so it would be up to individual airlines to prohibit it.
Northwest Airlines (NWB) said it will ban the Knee Defender from all flights. Other carriers, such as American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, acknowledged concerns about safety - not to mention the comfort of passengers who want to recline - but are still figuring out what to do.
The safety concerns stem from the design, because the Knee Defender works only when the tray table is down. The hard plastic block, which has an inch-wide groove down the middle, fits around the arm of a tray table and acts as a barrier to the seat's backward movement.
"We have tested this product on several seat types and find that when installed, should someone try to force the seat to recline, the tray table assembly can break," said Mary Stanik, a Northwest spokeswoman. "If the seat is damaged, including the tray table, in flight, it may adversely affect passenger evacuation in the event of an emergency."
Goldman said he would stop selling the product if the airlines prove it unsafe, but so far he's unmoved by their arguments. The 50-year-old Washington, D.C., resident, who's 6-foot-4, said he didn't invent Knee Defender so fliers would be able to "hog scarce space," but rather for the physical well-being of tall travelers like himself.
"If I hadn't been bashed in the knees over and over again, this wouldn't have been invented," said Goldman, who estimated that nearly 1,000 Knee Defenders have been ordered. At the very least, he said the device could be a useful "early warning system" for long-legged fliers or people using laptops, enabling them to ask the passenger in front not to recline.
"Be polite to fellow passengers," says a sticker affixed to each Knee Defender.
Kevin Gross of San Francisco, who ordered a Knee Defender but hasn't yet used it, said he would immediately remove the device if asked to by a passenger or flight attendant. But Gross is betting it'll go undetected in most cases, since travelers will just assume the seat is busted and not make a fuss.
Don't count on 50-year-old Dan Hammer of White Plains, N.Y., to be so docile.
"If I saw somebody that put the Knee Defender on the seat behind me so that I can't go back, I'll be very upset," Hammer said.
That's just the kind of high dudgeon that worries Dawn Deeks, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants.
After all, flight attendants already often ask passengers not to lean back too far, and they would be the ones to police any disputes.
To Deeks, the Knee Defender is "an insensitive knee-jerk reaction to insensitive people" that would only inflame tempers.
The problem with leg space is not people reclining in front of you but the airlines placing seats as close as they can to maximize profits. Some have backed off that because business travelers got wise and started to fly airlines that were less cramped. What good are closer seats if the plane is only 50% full because people don't like flying your cramped planes?
There, fixed it for you.
Incidentally, I never recline myself because I can't stand the rude people who invariably try to do so when I'm behind them.
And they didn't pay good money to have some inconsiderate self fixiated jerk tell them that they can't recline their seat.
Try working on a laptop when the seat reclines "only a few degrees" and your knees are already under your own chin.
My approach to consideration is that if you do something that puts you in someone else's space you are the jerk not the person behind you. Most people who recline have the "it's my world you're lucky to be in it" approach to life. The person reclining is the one creating the problem.
I apologize for calling you a jerk, however I do not take back the "self fixiated" remark.
Try working on a laptop when the seat reclines "only a few degrees" and your knees are already under your own chin.
Wow! How tall are you?
My approach to consideration is that if you do something that puts you in someone else's space you are the jerk not the person behind you.
There have been studies on people who have problems with people invading their personal space. Might try reading one of them. Although I still maintain that a seat reclining only a few degrees, is hardly over encroaching on your personal space.
Most people who recline have the "it's my world you're lucky to be in it" approach to life.
Where in the world do you come up with that conclusion about people? Incredible!
The person reclining is the one creating the problem.
I would suggest that you then contact Southwest and ask them why they are so inconsiderate of your personal space, by letting the seat recline.
If you can get 4 or more people together, depending on where you're going, it's generally a good idea to look into it. As an extra bonus, the charters are usually out of smaller local fields where there is no TSA to deal with. Just drive up, park your car, get in, and go.
Good point. They may have to redesign them to look like box cutters.
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