Oh, how I would give my left lung for them to do this. I HATE, repeat HATE being squished in to Y seats when someone is next to you, mainly because whomever is sitting in the middle seems to think that they're entitled to the armrest. It is so much more comfortable to have the seat next to you empty.

I really wish they would start doing this again and then opening the seats as an option if all the other seats are full.