I am a (almost retired) FAA inspector and first of all I would like to say that the contraptions being sold to prevent a seat from reclining are illegal. The person who places the device on the seat may be fined if charges are filed by the airline. They make the seat unairworthy per regulations. As stated in an earlier post, passengers that cause diversions can in fact have to pay the airline for the diversion if the airline files a claim against them. As for the FAA they will be charged and fined. FAA legal determines the amount of the fine. You can bet that either TSA or local law enforcement will be waiting for them at the gate and report them to the FAA. The distance between aircraft seats is call pitch and alot of airlines are putting their seats at minimum pitch so they can add an extra row of seats (minimum pitch is 29 inches, normal is 33 inches). Most ot the airlines reducing pitch are locking the reclining mechanisms but some are not. If the seats are at normal pitch, reclining seats don't hamper the person behind other than the tray table being closer to them. If you are going to use a laptop you shouldn't push it all the way forward and it should be fine. If you are uncomfortable with reclining seats the only alternative, unfortunately is a seat upgrade. As stated in an earlier post, exit row seats don't recline because it is against regulations. Hope this answers some questions and I understand some of the people who don't like reclining seats but by regulation there is nothing the FAA can do.
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