Ha, I actually wouldn't worry about her killing me:

#1: We're all flying together LHR-LAX in Y on AA on the next leg later that day. Much longer flight and better experience.

#2: My wife is super-awesome, and I could ask her to sit in E.

Since these vacations are a way of saying thank you for the hardship of my traveling ~25%, it just makes sense to make it special for her. Also, it's a return on spending my airline miles - I earn marital points that I value at $625. Something that the bloggers don't mention .