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Delta Air Lines Inc.’s chief executive officer, Ed Bastian, weighed in on a simmering debate about proper decorum when reclining one’s seat on a flight.
In an interview on CNBC Friday morning, the airline chief said that the recommended etiquette is to ask permission, particularly if the person sitting behind you is tall, before reclining.
“I think if someone knows there’s a tall person behind them, and they want to recline their seat, I think the polite thing would be to make certain it was OK,” Bastian said. “I never recline ’cause I don’t think it’s something — since I’m the CEO of the airline — that I should be reclining my seat. And I never say anything if someone reclines into me.”
Bastian’s comments come as a video via Twitter maintained virality on social media, showing a passenger repeatedly punching the back of the seat of another passenger who had reclined her seat into his space.
MarketWatch’s Catey Hill wrote that more than four in 10 (or 41%) of people believe it is very or somewhat rude to recline your seat during a flight, citing a survey by FiveThirtyEight.
Bastian said he still believes that customers have the right to recline.
Bastian told CNBC that his airline has been testing “reduced recline” in seats, with the current controversy in mind.
Delta is the largest U.S. carrier by dint of its $38 billion market value. The airline recently reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.70 a share, compared with analysts’ expectations of $1.40 a share. Unlike a number of other airlines, Delta doesn’t feature the Boeing Co. BA, -0.68% 737 MAX jet in its roster
Delta’s shares were 0.7% lower on Friday and have been underperforming the broader market, moving up 0.4% so far this year. That compares with a 4.3% gain for S&P 500 index SPX, +0.18% thus far in 2020, a 2.8% advance by the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.09% and an 8.2% rise for the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.20% over the first seven weeks of the new year.
In an interview on CNBC Friday morning, the airline chief said that the recommended etiquette is to ask permission, particularly if the person sitting behind you is tall, before reclining.
“I think if someone knows there’s a tall person behind them, and they want to recline their seat, I think the polite thing would be to make certain it was OK,” Bastian said. “I never recline ’cause I don’t think it’s something — since I’m the CEO of the airline — that I should be reclining my seat. And I never say anything if someone reclines into me.”
Bastian’s comments come as a video via Twitter maintained virality on social media, showing a passenger repeatedly punching the back of the seat of another passenger who had reclined her seat into his space.
MarketWatch’s Catey Hill wrote that more than four in 10 (or 41%) of people believe it is very or somewhat rude to recline your seat during a flight, citing a survey by FiveThirtyEight.
Bastian said he still believes that customers have the right to recline.
Bastian told CNBC that his airline has been testing “reduced recline” in seats, with the current controversy in mind.
Delta is the largest U.S. carrier by dint of its $38 billion market value. The airline recently reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.70 a share, compared with analysts’ expectations of $1.40 a share. Unlike a number of other airlines, Delta doesn’t feature the Boeing Co. BA, -0.68% 737 MAX jet in its roster
Delta’s shares were 0.7% lower on Friday and have been underperforming the broader market, moving up 0.4% so far this year. That compares with a 4.3% gain for S&P 500 index SPX, +0.18% thus far in 2020, a 2.8% advance by the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.09% and an 8.2% rise for the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.20% over the first seven weeks of the new year.
