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What do MN travelers think about 'Reclinegate?'

The viral video of a woman and a man having a dispute on an American Airlines flight about her reclined seat is sparking a fiery discussion online.

MINNEAPOLIS — A video from a woman named Wendi on Twitter is still trending during a busy holiday travel weekend. As with any good controversy online, the internet has named it "reclinegate," as the video shows one frustrated flier punching the back of a reclined seat on an American Airlines flight.

The tweet accompanying the video says, "He was angry that I reclined my seat and punched it about 9 times - HARD, at which point I began videoing him, and he resigned to this behavior." 

Let's face it, one thing is clear. And it's that traveling stinks sometimes.

"It's hectic, it can be annoying and sometimes it doesn't go as planned," one traveler said to KARE at MSP. However, he did mention that some things were in the gentleman's control.

"All the way in the back - it's not the best but it still doesn't constitute reasons to start messing with someone else," he said. "Yeah it's not the best seat in the back but you can change your seat online."

Another traveler said this situation could have used more communication. 

"He could say something you know - could you for a little while, put your seat up, give me a break for a little while?" she said. "That's just too extreme."

So what exactly is the seat reclining etiquette? Delta's CEO Ed Bastian said he thinks it's best to ask - not for forgiveness, but for permission.

"I think the proper thing to do is, if you're going to recline into somebody, that you ask if it's okay first and then you do it," he said.

However, some Minnesotans said they probably won't even ask. They simply won't recline, to save themselves the confrontation.

"The seats are too cramped to do that and you're basically laying in somebody's lap then," one traveler said.

"Honestly, I kind of gauge what's going on around me, if it's a smaller plane and it seems cramped, probably not [recline]," another traveler said. "If it seems like there's a lot of space and I can, then yeah, probably."

The video, if anything is a lesson in spatial awareness and respect.

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