I fly AA almost exclusively to St. Maarten. I often have someone recline in front of me. I am 6'-2", 210 lbs. While it does somewhat reduce available space, I still have no trouble eating, watching movies on my tablet and generally doing all the things I would otherwise do. Do I prefer they not recline--sure. But it doesn't prevent me from doing anything I would normally do. I guess I'm one of those glass half full folks.