DILEMMA:
You recline your seat on an airplane, only to have the big man behind you beg you to return it to the upright position. Do you have to oblige?

DETERMINATION:
No, but if he asks nicely, you may want to grant his request. "It's your seat and your discretion — you're not obligated to raise it," says Joe Hopkins, media-relations manager for United Airlines. "But if the person's trying to eat, or if they have a child in their lap, you may want to recline it only partially." If you do want to tilt your seat back fully — and the flight isn't packed — Hopkins recommends asking a flight attendant to move you to another seat. Letitia Baldrige, etiquette expert and author of Letitia Baldrige's Complete Guide to the New Manners for the '90s ($30, www.amazon.com), says, "Be respectful of the person behind you. Since I'm very tall, I always ask the person in front of me to kindly leave their seat upright. Seventy-five percent of the time they'll oblige. Twenty-five percent of the time they'll say, "Buzz off!'"