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Help, My Seat Won't Recline
ChrisCrossings · December 4, 2002

Q: We booked a flight from Raleigh/Durham to Manchester, England via Toronto on Air Canada recently. On the flight from Toronto to England we were given two seats across from the toilets.

When it came time to put the seats back so we could sleep, they wouldn't recline. We spent more than seven hours sitting straight up with the seats belonging to those in front of us practically in our laps. We had just a few inches where we could get out of the seat.

I got a bruise on my legs from hitting the armrest, and my friend got restless-leg syndrome from having to keep her feet and legs in one position all the time. She had to keep getting up and standing in the aisle to get her legs to function.

Apart from this, when the bathroom was occupied, people just stood near us and chatted and laughed while they waited for the bathroom to be available. Or, if there was no one waiting, they slammed the bathroom door as they came out.

I wrote to the consumer department of Air Canada and spelled all this out to them about a month ago but I have yet to hear from them. Do I have any recourse?

-- Wynne McKay

A: Under most circumstances, you wouldn't. Air Canada met its end of the deal - it transported you from Raleigh/Durham to Manchester, England. If you take a look at your contract of carriage, it doesn't mention anything about getting you from point "A" to point "B" comfortably.

But we're talking about Air Canada here, which unlike certain air carriers south of the border, does seem to care what customers think. So when I called John Reber, a spokesman for the airline, and told him about the seats that wouldn't recline, he promised to look into the issue.

Apparently, you had booked your ticket separately from your companion. When you asked to sit together, the only two remaining seats were torture-chamber chairs you ended up in. These are without a doubt the worst seats on the plane. They're locked upright because they're in front of an emergency exit row, and they're close to a restroom.

If you ask me, I'd rather ride in the cargo hold than sit in them.

Air Canada apologized for your seating arrangements. A representative explained to you that the only reason you got those seats is that you wanted to be together - otherwise the seats would have flown empty. After I made an inquiry, you received a call from a customer representative who gave you her home phone number and told you to call her anytime you decided to fly Air Canada again, and that she would make sure you had a good seat assignment.

As a make-good, the airline sent you and your friend each a gift basket.

I think the airline needs to go beyond the apology, though. Air Canada should either remove these uncomfortable seats or find a way to fix them. I have a feeling you're not the first passengers to complain about the seats, nor will you be the last.

What could you have done to prevent this from happening? No one expects you to know which seats recline on a plane and which ones don't. You would assume that they all do. But a knowledgeable travel agent should know which seats work. Next time, consider booking your airline tickets through a competent travel counselor.

Also, ask at the gate if your seats are good. Gate agents know if you're in a bad seat, and they should tell you. Ask if your seat reclines. Ask how much legroom it's got. And ask how close to the bathroom you are. Finally, find out from the gate agent if he or she would sit in the seat. If the answer is "no" then ask for a different seat.

Christopher Elliott's column appears on weekly on Ticked.com. All e-mailed questions to ChrisCrossings become property of Ticked.com and may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion. You may reach Elliott at chris@ticked.com. Or visit his home page at http://www.elliott.org.