Efrem

The premise of this thread is that the only reason to upgrade is for more legroom. That's false. Upgrades are so much more than that. Shorter people (that includes me, for a guy) may not feel quite as squeezed in an economy seat as someone with longer legs, but all the other factors in an upgrade are unrelated to a passenger's height.

exilencfc

I'm 5ft 3 and I like extra leg room. Not as much as I like better food, more seat width and less worry about luggage stowage though.

LeviFlight

A 6ft threshold does not define short, unless you are part of a basketball team.

wrp96

I'm 5'4". I may not need the extra leg room but I definitely need the extra width.

ysolde

I'm 4'11", and under 90 lbs. I buy the J/F seats. I can't stand the cramped conditions in economy, the people who are so large, they can't sit with the armrest down (and when you are a smaller passenger, rest assured they will assign a POS next to you). The terrible service. The risible, inedible food. The seat in front of me reclined to an angle that makes it impossible for me to get up out of my own seat. The feeling of being trapped. And then there is what my back feels like within a few hours of this experience.

If money is what it takes to feel like a human being during and after a flight, then money I shall continue to pay. It's ridiculous. It's also the market. Too many people are ready willing and able to put up with a flying Greyhound in order to save $3.72 to fly rather than drive to see Aunt Bedelia for Thanksgiving, and this is the result.

ETA: Of course, I exaggerate. On the whole, we are paying less to fly today than we were paying 25, 30 years ago, and the airlines do have to turn a profit, somehow.

AppleApe

(copied from my post elsewhere regarding Greyhound)
Last year, my flight got cancelled and I had no choice but to take Greyhound
to get to my destination. The bus ride was just under 7 hours and the seat
next to me was empty. The ride was actually quite comfortable. Two hours
into the trip, there was even a 20-minute meals stop at a Panda Express.
It was one of those "good" Panda Express locations.(you can tell, because
there were many Chinese-speaking customers eating there.... which means
it's at least edible Chinese food ) The bus was clean enough and even
had free onboard wifi access. It was only 1.4mbps according to speedtest.net
app that I ran, but fast enough. The driver was polite and funny. He seemed
to hate babies.(crying babies, at least) A woman's baby was crying nonstop
for almost an hour and the bus drive told her the keep the crying noise down
which was mission impossible.

TravelerMSY

I gave up on the domestic status treadmill years ago and just try to buy the seat I want that fits the trip. For short domestic nonstops, it's Southwest. For longer trips with multiple connections it's J or F bought with miles.

chrisl137

I'm 5'9" and fly mostly transcons, so I like upgrades on the rare occasions that I get them. An E+ seat with an empty seat next to me is almost as good, but it's nice to get the extra service in front now that it's harder to bring my own liquids on board. I used to fly with a 2 liter bottle of seltzer and generally would drink the whole thing during a flight.

DocP

Ditto. I also appreciate not having the seat in front reclined two inches from my face.

TAPAL10

I'm 5'4" and the upgrades are important to me as I am inevitably seated next to someone who should purchase two seats or doesn't understand how to share an armrest or not sit with their legs splayed open. Also, less proximity to those who want to take off shoes, eat smelly food and or fall asleep and bang their head on my shoulder. And, luggage room without having to worry about being first on board. Food - could care less - the snacks to buy in coach on AA are usually better if I need it. Free drinks - eh - I would buy one in Y if I wanted it - About $5 with AA credit card.

Not having to constantly rub shoulders with someone I don't know for 2-4 hours - priceless.

You want to go where?

For me, the seat is practically irrelevant, and yes, I am short. Unlike many here on FT, I am just as comfortable in European Business class as in US domestic First Class. For me, the appeal is the fact that it business/first class is a less crowded, less chaotic environment - just generally more sane. Of course, once you start talking about long-hauls (which makes up most of my flying), you are also talking about flat beds, lounge access, etc. which really take it up a notch. For those flights, business/first class makes a huge difference.

ND76

I'm 5' 8-1/2". Upgrades make flying special. They are the most important perk in the frequent flyer program for me (more important than accumulating miles).

Austin787

I'm 5'6" and appreciate extra legroom especially if I store my personal item under the seat in front of me. Even more important is extra width - no fighting over the armrest or bumping elbows/shoulders with my seatmate. I have been seated next to people who take up the entire armrest and even spilling their arms into my seat space. An E+ seat with the middle empty is almost as good as domestic F, but that's not guaranteed especially with flights running near full these days. On long haul flights with lie flat seats, I also appreciate being able to have a chance at good sleep - I can't sleep well in economy seats. Extra drink service is also helpful since it is much harder to bring liquids on the plane. I value upgrades, they make getting there half the fun.

F23Coupe

Do any of those people you know fly as much or more than you? Some people don't even know how upgrades work and may think you have to pay for premium cabin seats.

Thinking your question some more, what does height have to do with upgrades? If legroom, some exit row seats have much more legroom than J or F seats. And for some folks, they may be average height but have really long legs and still need extra room while taller torso folks may not need as much. If anything else other than legroom, height doesn't really matter? Though not always, the usual benefits of an upgrade include meals, snacks and better beverages, better or free IFE, wider seats, sometimes more overhead space, early boarding/deplaning, less motion from turbulence than the rear of plane and many others.

I get very cramped in an economy seat so I appreciate the legroom and more importantly wider seats of premium cabins - but that's just one of the many benefits. If premium cabin seats just had more legroom, I'd certainly not pay what they demand today over economy seats. It's the soft product and better services that go along with it that makes it more appealing (at least for some airlines).

DenverBrian

A 6-foot threshold does define tall, however. At least where I was raised.