As far as we know, there's no plan in place to have RECLINING SEATS banned from airplanes.  But if they were . . . would the benefit be worth the sacrifice?

Yesterday, Slate.com posted an editorial where a writer says . . . ABSOLUTELY.  He says reclining seats are, quote, "pure evil."

He believes the minor extra amount of comfort it gives you isn't CLOSE to the major amount of DISCOMFORT it gives the person behind you.  You get to lean back a little . . . but they lose a lot of their tiny amount of space.

It's a vicious cycle.  If the person in front of you reclines their seat, you basically have to so you have some breathing room.  And that causes a domino effect through the entire plane.

So should reclining seats be banned?  There's a chance it won't even be an issue.  If the airlines keep losing money, they may have to get rid of reclining and tighten up the amount of seat space you get even MORE to squeeze in more seats.

(Slate)