Midair fight over 'Knee Defender' gadget causes flight to divert to Chicago

By ReutersWednesday, August 27, 2014 9:15 EDT

(Reuters) - A midair argument between two airline passengers over the use of a device that stops the seat in front from reclining caused a Newark-Denver flight to be diverted to Chicago over the weekend, airline and police officials said on Tuesday.

One of the passengers on Sunday's United Airlines flight had used a Knee Defender, a small wedge-like gadget that clips to the passenger's tray table, to force the seat in front to remain upright, according to the airline.

The passenger in front was unhappy to discover this and an argument broke out that could not be quelled by flight attendants, Chicago Police Department spokesman Ron Gaines said.

The pilot diverted the flight to Chicago O'Hare International Airport, where Chicago police officers and Transportation Security Administration officials removed the man and woman, both of whom were described as being in their 40s, from the plane, Gaines said.

Neither were arrested or charged, and their names were not released. They were not allowed to continue on the flight. The TSA referred calls about the matter to the airline, saying it was a 'customer service' issue.

The flight eventually landed in Denver a little under two hours late, the airline said.

Ira Goldman, a reportedly tall Washington, D.C., resident, invented the device more than a decade ago. Many airlines ban its use, although he still sells them online for $21.95. Goldman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

'We don't allow customers to use devices that prevent seats from reclining,' United spokesman Charlie Hobart said.

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Eric Beech)

Legroom Gadget Maker Sees Sales Jump After Air

Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Scarlet Fu reports on the rising sales of the 'knee defender' a plastic gadget allows tall fliers to reclaim their kneecaps. Fu speaks on 'Bloomberg Surveillance.' (Source: Bloomberg) Related

The Knee Defender, a gadget that blocks airplane seats from reclining, got a global boost after a scuffle between two passengers forced a United Airlines jet to make an unscheduled landing.

The gizmo's website crashed today after traffic surged, and sales rose 'substantially' for the $21.95 plastic clips that have been on the market since 2003, said the inventor, Ira Goldman.

While a product that interferes with another flier's comfort may rub some people the wrong way, the issue is airlines' legroom cutbacks, Goldman said. Carriers are shrinking space between rows -- Spirit Airlines Inc. 's allotment is about 10 percent less than the industry standard -- and using thinner cushions to squeeze more people into coach cabins.

'They don't have Plan B for the fact that a lot of people, when they sit down in their seat at the gate, their knees already are hitting the seat-back in front of them,' Goldman said in a telephone interview from Washington.

The Knee Defender hit the headlines because of an in-flight squabble on United Flight 1462, which had to touch down on Aug. 24 in Chicago en route to Denver from Newark, New Jersey. One person installed a device that prevented the passenger in front of him from reclining, said Charlie Hobart, a spokesman for United Continental Holdings Inc.

Water Toss

GADGETPACK.BLOGSPOT.COM, citing an anonymous law enforcement source, gave a more-graphic account: Upset that her seat was locked, one traveler threw water at a man who employed a Knee Defender and refused to remove it at the request of a flight attendant.

Both people were in United's Economy Plus section, an area in the coach cabin that gives people as much as 5 more inches of legroom for a fee or elite frequent-flier status at the Chicago-based airline.

Goldman's gadget is a pair of U-shaped clips that fits over the arms of the seat-back tray table, blocking the passenger in front from leaning back. The Federal Aviation Administration prohibits the use of such devices during taxiing, takeoffs and landings, when tray tables must be stowed. The agency said today in a statement that airlines can decide whether they want to allow such devices while cruising.

The four largest U.S. carriers -- American Airlines Group Inc., United, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. -- all bar the use of the Knee Defender, spokesmen said. JetBlue Airways Corp., the fifth-biggest, discourages the use of the devices while not specifically barring them.

No Reclining

The U.S. industry's standard is about 30 to 31 inches of space between rows. While Spirit passengers have to make do with only 28 inches, some of their seats aren't susceptible to the Knee Defender. They don't recline.

Goldman said he doesn't know which airlines allow them and which don't. He likened his invention to a radar detector, which may be legal and tolerated in many states, if frowned upon.

A 6-foot-3 (1.9-meter) entrepreneur and non-practicing attorney, Goldman said he got the idea for the Knee Defender around 1998 while flying. He took out an umbrella and laid it across the arms of his tray table, noticing that it blocked the seat ahead of him from tilting back. He dusted off the idea a couple years later at the urging of friends.

Soon, he said, he was asking acquaintances to test his invention in flight. One put down her tray table, took out 10 prototypes of his Knee Defender and started experimenting on the seat-back of the person in front of her.

Device Check

Another day, Goldman was going through an airport checkpoint and was asked to empty his carry-on luggage for a random screening. A Transportation Security Administration employee looked quizzically at him.

''What is this?'' Goldman recounted the TSA worker as asking. 'I explained it, and he smiled and sent me on my way.'

Goldman said he sources the Knee Defender from a manufacturer in China. His only advertising expense was $1.25 to test some Google ads. The product's controversial nature generates its own publicity, said Goldman, who wouldn't disclose annual sales or personal details such as his age.

'But it keeps the lights on,' he said. 'We sell these things.'

During the interview, Goldman returned often to his theme that airlines' legroom cutbacks are the problem, not his gadget or the people who use it. In his view, he is just calling attention to industry practices.

'I was the kid who says, 'The emperor's not wearing any clothes,'' Goldman said. 'He's naked.'

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Sasso in Atlanta at msasso9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ed Dufner at edufner@bloomberg.net John Lear

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Gadgets are go for take

Start working the moment you sit down. Photo: iStock

'Please turn off any mobile phones, tablets or e-book readers.'

That announcement from Qantas and Virgin Australia crew as your plane is made ready for take-off or landing is now a thing of the past.

Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority this week declared that both airlines can allow passengers to use tablets, e-book readers, MP3 players and smartphones (set to 'flight mode') during a flight's taxi, take-off and landing stages.

However, of all these devices, it's the use of tablets that is the most significant win for business travellers, enabling you to get on with real work from the moment you sit down - except paying attention to the safety briefing - whereas laptop computers still need to be securely stashed in the overhead bin during take-off and landing.

It's what the boffins call 'gate-to-gate' usage of 'personal electronic devices', and Qantas and Virgin Australia were quick off the mark to declare that the days of the great switch-off for inflight gadgets are over.

Travellers can now use their personal tech for the entire duration of the flight. And for my money, it's not come a moment too soon.

Gate-to-gate gadgets

The gate-to-gate gadget wave has already swept across the US, Europe and, most recently, New Zealand.

Last month I flew with Air New Zealand from Auckland to Los Angeles, and later with British Airways on a short hop between London and New York.

On each of those flights I was able to use my kit from the moment I settled into my seat through to when it was time to grab my carry-on bag and make for the door.

On the Air NZ flight it meant remaining engrossed in the latest Stephen King book, a virtual page-turner on my Kindle. With BA, I was able to catch up with a TV show on my iPad.

I'll grant that none of this is highly productive, mission-critical stuff. But it's enjoyable - and isn't that what travel is supposed to be, ideally for as much of the journey as possible?

It'll be more practical in Australia, especially on short trips where the non-flying time is a large proportion of your time on the plane.

Under the previous CASA rules - which required your tech to be powered off for all but the level flight stage - there was almost no point switching the gear back on if you're doing the short Sydney-Canberra or Melbourne-Canberra jaunt.

Zipping between Sydney and Melbourne? That meant almost half an hour where you couldn't use those personal devices, and more with the almost inevitable delays.

There are some caveats, of course.

No matter how enjoyable that e-book, how addictive that video or how groovy those MP3 tunes, you'll still have to pay full attention during the safety briefing. And that's as it should be.

The tablet wins

And while tablets are OK to use during the taxi, take-off and landing stages, according to the new CASA rules, laptops will still have to be stowed.

The simplest reading of that is 'tablets good, laptops bad', although some small ultra-light laptops will blur the line.

CASA's decree is that those devices with 'a mass more than 1kg or are of a size that would impede egress' are headed for the overhead bin or any other 'approved stowage location'.

Tablets, phones and e-book readers can be held in your hands, tucked away in your pocket or the seat's literature compartment, as long as they're not left sitting unsecured on the empty seat next to you.

CASA's primary concern over these inflight gadgets is safety, and that's not just about them interfering with the plane's own electronics.

In November 2013, Qantas flight QF460 from Melbourne to Sydney faced extreme turbulence as it approached Sydney Airport - so much so that two passengers were injured by unsecured devices.

'One passenger suffered a minor injury due to an iPad striking their head, reportedly coming from three rows in front,' according to CASA.

'Another passenger was hospitalised after being struck in the head by a laptop falling from an overhead locker.'

Of course, some will suggest that we tech-toting travellers should just suck it up and switch it off. They'll remind us of those sun-drenched days before iDevices and even the pre-Walkman era, when all you had was a book or a magazine to pass the time in flight.

And sometimes I embrace that contemplative, disconnected time.

I usually enjoy the view at take-off and always as we come in for a landing, especially with that great view arriving into Sydney or London.

But at least I'll soon have a choice, and that's not before time.

How much of a difference will this new regulation make to your travel plans? David Flynn is a business travel expert and editor of Australian Business Traveller. Follow Australian Business Traveller

Denver

CHICAGO - A United Airlines flight from New Jersey to Denver was diverted Sunday after two passengers got into a heated argument over the ability to recline a seat.

A passenger was using the Knee Defender, a $21.95 gadget that passengers attach to tray tables to prevent the person in front of them from reclining.

It's up to the airlines to set the rules on use of the device, and most airlines, including United, prohibit its use.

According to GADGETPACK.BLOGSPOT.COM, on United Flight 1462 from Newark, N.J., to Denver, a man sitting in a middle seat used the Knee Defender to prevent a woman in front of him from reclining while he was on his laptop.

The man, 48, was told by a flight attendant to remove the device, but he refused. The woman, 48, then stood up and threw a cup of water at the man. The pilot then decided to divert the flight to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

Chicago Police and Transportation Security Administration officials met the flight but 'deemed it a customer service issue,' TSA spokesman Ross Feinstein said. The plane continued to Denver without the squabbling passengers.

The Federal Aviation Administration can impose a civil fine up to $25,000 for unruly passengers, though no arrests were made in this case.

More International Airlines Join the Gate

More International Airlines Join the Gate-to-Gate Gadget Club

A photo from onboard last year's first US flight with gate-to-gate gadgets, on JetBlue

Living the 'airplane mode' life is so nice and so smooth, that it's incredible to think that the FAA only allowed gate-to-gate electronic use less than one year ago, on November 1, 2013. Since then, flight attendants on airlines in the United States have been able to eliminate the 'turn off and stow all electronics' part from their pre-flight talk, replacing it with a less severe direction to simply switch those electronics to airplane mode.

The relaxation of the in-flight electronics rule spread from the US to the UK, with British Airways becoming the first non-US airline to keep gadgets on, after the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) gave the okays in late 2013.

Other countries have been dragging their feet in the testing and approval process, and it's taken Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) board until today for their decision which, thankfully, is a positive one.

Beginning today, passengers flying Down Under are good to keep those portable electronic devices (PEDs) switched on during all stages of flight, so long as the transmitting is off during taxi, takeoff, and landing (solution: flip that 'airplane mode' switch), and so long as the airline has passed tests. The first airlines to do so are or Virgin Australia, though it's expected QantasLink, Jetstar, and Tigerair will follow.

Some aircraft present exceptions, where 'all off' is still required. Our friends at Australian Business Traveller have the nitty gritty details of these:

Virgin Australia and Virgin Samoa flights to or from New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu and Fiji are excluded as approval has not yet been granted by the New Zealand CAA.

Additionally, Virgin Australia Regional Airlines flights – including between Sydney and Canberra – on ATR 72, Airbus A320, Fokker 50 and Fokker 100 aircraft won't yet see gate to gate gadgets, and neither will VA's flagship Boeing 777 flights to Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi, as Virgin Australia's exemption for its Boeing 737, Embraer 190 and Airbus A330 aircraft doesn't extend to its regional or long-haul arms.

If you're still left wondering whether or not your flight is a part of the gadgets-on or gadgets-off list, just tune your ears into the flight attendant's pre-departure spiel, when they are required to say if gadget use is or is not allowed.

Note: the relaxed rules only apply to small gadgets, specifically smartphones and tablets. Full laptops will have to remain powered off until the aircraft has reached cruising altitude and crew announce that they are safe to be used.

[Photo: JetBlue]

Here's The $22 Gadget That Started A Huge Fight, Causing A United Airlines ...

screenshot via Epic Review Guys/YouTubeOn Sunday, a United Airlines flight was forced to divert after two passengers got into an argument over the Knee Defender, a $22 gadget that stops the person in front of the user from reclining.

The little gadget was invented by Ira Goldman, a 6'3' resident of Washington, D.C., who put it on the market in 2003, according to ABC.

It has been generating controversy ever since.

Epic Review Guys/YouTubeHow does it work?

The Knee Defender uses two small pieces of plastic (just a bit bigger than a house key), which are clipped on to the arms holding up the tray table.

GadgetDuck.com

If they are placed snugly against the seat back, that seat is blocked from reclining, keeping the users' knees safe.

The gadget does not violate any FAA regulations (it can't be used during taxi, takeoff, and landing, when the tray must be upright), but airlines have the right to forbid its use.

United Airlines prohibits the device on its flights, as do all other major U.S. airlines, according to the AP.

The Knee Defender is on sale via GadgetDuck, for $21.95. It comes with a 'courtesy card,' which the company suggests users offer to the passenger sitting directly in front of them.

Should you use the Knee Defender? screenshot via GadgetDuck

Th e right to recline one's seat is a topic of hot debate. But we say that if the seat goes back, take advantage - though do it carefully.

Gary Leff, who writes the blog View from the Wing, agrees, but told Business Insider that 'some courtesy is appropriate.'

To preserve his own space, he said he once gave a young girl $5 (with her mother's permission) in exchange for not reclining her seat, an original solution.

If you don't want to open your wallet, make sure to look behind you before you recline. Maybe warn the fellow traveler whose space you are about to invade, so they can hang onto their drink or adjust their laptop.

And stay upright during meals.

For those who opt for the Knee Defender, and manage to skirt the watchful eyes of flight attendants, we think it's appropriate to warn the passenger ahead of you, or at least hand him the courtesy card.

Here's a 2007 video produced by FareCompare (featuring an elf and Santa Clause) showing how the Knee Defender works:

And a review of the device from Epic Review Guys:

SEE ALSO: 10 First-Class Airline Seats That Are Nicer Than Your Apartment

This Little Gadget Diverted an Airline Flight After Sparking Passenger Brawl

Flying domestic? OK good, get ready to smush yourself into a cramped, uncomfortable seat for the duration of the flight. And that's not just my humble opinion: I have research on my side, research that confirms American airline seats are the most uncomfortable seats in the world.

It's extra bad, then, when the person in front of you on a flight decides to take away the one comfort you have left - some semblance of legroom - with the fell recline of his or her seat.

Sensing an opportunity, a company named Gadget Duck created a provocative device that allows travelers to reclaim their legroom. Called the Knee Defender, it consists of key-sized plastic claws that latch onto the arms of your tray table, thus preventing the passenger in front of you from reclining his or her seat.

Related: This In-Flight Gadget Prevents Pushy Passengers From Reclining Their Seats

Sound controversial? That's because the Knee Defender most certainly is - controversial enough, in fact, that it sparked an in-flight fight between two frustrated passengers and diverted an entire plane.

The showdown occurred this Sunday, according to the Associated Press, when a man on his laptop in row 12 of a United Airlines flight from Newark, N.J., to Denver, Colo., rebuffed a stewardess' request to unclamp his Knee Defender and allow the women in front of him to recline her seat.

The woman in front of him was having none of it: According to a law official, she promptly got up and threw a cup of water at the man and his laptop. Things escalated enough from there that the plane was diverted to Chicago's O'Hare international airport, where both passengers were questioned by local police.

Related: Traveling Coach on U.S. Flights Has Become a Serious Pain

While the Knee Defender is not banned by the Federal Aviation Administration - the agency allows individual airlines to implement rules regarding the clamp - most airlines have issued a blanket ban on the device, including United Airlines.

Perhaps this could have all been avoided if the man in row 12 had simply handed the women in front of him a 'Courtesy Card,' available for print and download on the Gadget Duck website, which reads: 'I realize 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.'

...Or on second thought, perhaps not.

Related: British Airways Testing 'Happiness Blanket' to Make First-Class More Comfortable More From Entrepreneur