The innocuous-looking gadget has hit the headlines recently after a flight had to be diverted when two people began rowing over a knee defender, and today we ask – what exactly IS a knee defender?
Well, it’s a set of small plastic gadgets that you attach to your tray table. They clip on, and the person in front of you then can’t push their seat back into its reclining position.
Worried they may ask you what the deuce you’re playing at? The clips come with a handy card that reads:
‘I realise that this may be an inconvenience. If so, I hope you will complain to the airline. Maybe working together we can convince the airlines to provide enough space between rows so that people can recline their seats without banging into other passengers.’
But the question is, is it more important to be able to recline in your aeroplane seat, or to not have your knees crushed?
Our Editor leans toward the latter, not because she’s tall, but because this happened to her…
“The guy in front of me leant his chair right back, which is fine (well as fine as having a whole chair and a bald patch invading your personal space can be), but, just as I’d mastered my contortion technique for eating my meal (elbows in, wrists folded, so your arms look like two swans fighting), he flicked his chair upright, so my food and red wine flew into my lap.
“Best of all I had chosen red wine, so I had to wear trousers with a red stain right on the crotch. This is not a good look, particularly for a lady.
“So, Dear Santa, please can I have a knee defender this year? And also please ask Rudolf to stomp on the knees of the man in seat 15F.”
We want to hear your stories too, so feel free to share below…
Image via Thinkstock
