The man who got kicked off a United Airlines flight because of a fight over seat reclining says he 's sorry about his behavior . Sort of . Though he regrets how he handled the recent incident with a fellow passenger who wanted to recline her seat , Colorado businessman James Beach told `` the Today Show '' that he may use the now-famous Knee Defender device again . `` Whose right is it ? '' Beach asked . `` Is that my 4 inches ( of legroom ) , or is that her 4 inches ( of reclining space ) ? '' It 's a dispute that 's gotten national attention , with three skirmishes in the air over seat reclining in the past two weeks . Should the Knee Defender be banned ? Although the Federal Aviation Administration has n't prohibited use of the device on commercial flights , United Airlines , Delta Air Lines , American Airlines ( which also operates the U.S. Airways brand ) and Southwest Airlines ( which also operates the AirTran brand ) all say they ban the $ 22 device , which prevents the seat in front of the user from reclining . Beach 's problems started after he boarded an August 24 United Airlines flight from Newark , New Jersey , to Denver . He had paid for extra space in the Economy Plus section , which provides United passengers up to 5 inches of extra legroom compared with standard coach seats . After taking his seat , the 6 ' 1 '' Beach installed the Knee Defender and opened his laptop to start working . Knee Defender sales soar after plane incident . The woman in front of him complained about not being able to recline , and the flight attendant asked him to remove the device , Beach told `` the Today Show . '' When he did , Beach says , the woman quickly slammed her seat back , nearly damaging his computer . `` She just took all the space , and I ca n't work now , '' Beach said he told the flight attendant . In a `` burst of anger '' he says he regrets , `` I pushed her seat up pretty hard to put the Knee Defender back in . '' The woman responded by throwing her drink on him , he says . That 's when the pilot diverted the flight to Chicago . Both passengers were kicked off the flight , but neither was arrested . `` I felt terrible when we landed , '' Beach said . Aviation blogger Johnny `` Jet '' DiScala says Beach should feel terrible . That diversion cost United Airlines about $ 6,000 per hour , he says . `` They should arrest these passengers and make them pay for the fees , '' DiScala wrote in an email . `` He 's lucky he only had liquid thrown on his face . '' As long as airlines ignore the problem and sell the same space to two people , these disputes will continue , Knee Defender creator Ira Goldman said . `` What the airlines are doing is , they 're selling me space for my legs , and they 're selling you the space -- if you 're sitting in front of me -- they 're selling you same space to recline , '' said Goldman , who is 6 ' 3 . '' `` So they 're selling one space to two people . '' People use the Knee Defender to protect their laptops , their knees and even their babies from being smacked by reclining seats , Goldman says . `` This is a problem the airlines do n't want to acknowledge , '' he said . `` Of all the reactions from the airline industry , I do n't think you 've heard one person say , 'this is a problem we 're going to look into , ' `` he said . `` They just say , 'people should behave . ' ``
Colorado businessman feels ` ` terrible '' about on - board dispute . He used the Voice Defender to stop a fellow pilot from reclining . She throws a drink in his face . The pilot says he may continue to use the device .