Airline etiquette is something many of us have strong opinions on, from seat swapping, personal space and seat reclining, everyone feels they are in the right.

The issue was pushed to the front of the discussion on Reddit this week, as one user shared his experience of an aircraft altercation.

The man, who is 6 ft 5, was sat on an economy flight when the passenger in front attempted to recline her seat.

He explained: “The passenger directly in front of me tried to recline but realised that my knees were preventing her from doing so.

“She turned around, gave me a dirty look, and attempted to recline again with more force. I was a little annoyed, but apologised and told her I could not move my legs out of the way without encroaching on the spaces beside me.

"She accused me of doing this on purpose just because I wanted more room for myself, and said that if I could not fit into a normal economy plane seat that I should pay extra for an emergency exit seat so that people around me can have more free space.

"If I'm honest, I feel that people who recline their seats in economy are annoying and inconsiderate, so I didn't exactly bend over backwards to accommodate for her."

Thousands of users replied to the post, expressing their views on the situation, in support of both the man and the woman.

One said: “I'm a big guy and it's a common problem. They squeezed every inch out of those aircraft and it's uncomfortable. She should have been more understanding of reality.

“Maybe you could have gotten an aisle seat but you paid for your seat as well and are entitled to your space.”

Another agreed: “In economy you can’t recline your seat without creating a worse experience for the person behind you and possibly making their tray unusable.

“Overall, it’s just bad design.”

However, others disagreed, with one saying: “If I pay for a recline seat, if we can recline the seat, I don't know why it should be inconsiderate to not recline it.”

While another added: “But reclining seats is a feature, and the passenger in front has every "right" to do that.

“It is a literal feature of seats in legacy carriers. They spend millions in R&D doing their seat designs, yes even economy seats, and everyone should be able to use the function of all of the seat without being judged.

“Be less judgemental.”