So you’ve sat down for a short hop flight from Sydney to Melbourne, or perhaps Adelaide to Melbourne – some of the shortest domestic flights on the map – is it really ok to recline your seat?  Hell no we say.

On a three-hour hop across the ditch, and certainly five-hour flight across country or longer there is good reason to recline your seat – grab a bit of a nap after you reach altitude and have had a meal.

But on a short flight, two hours or less, surely you’ve only got a very narrow window of opportunity to actually recline and make any use of it.

Reclining your seat doesn’t add leg room.  It doesn’t make things more comfortable in an already squished economy cabin.

N3744F_cabin1

It can make some people upset.  There are reports and allegations today that Aussie Swimmer Grant Hackett got a tad upset when someone in front of him reclined their chair.

Putting myself in those shoes I’m not happy that my knees can’t move, but I’m not the type to push back let alone lean around and have words.

I don’t condone anyone getting verbally or physically abusive, but come on folks, if you’re reclining your chair on a short hop domestic flight you’re a goose.  No?