Originally Posted by Rebelyell

Most of us on this forum are programmed to assert our rights. We've read various scenarios and have thought over in advance what we will do if faced with the prospect of a seat poacher, a demand for seat swap, or a super-obese adjacent passenger. And so having mentally practiced our lines and considered the ethics of the situation, we don't feel bad about saying, "No, I won't move," or "No, I won't agree to raise the armrest." And we really don't care if the other passenger gets angry about it.

But a substantial percentage of flyers can't stand the thought of publicly "fat shaming" someone, so they will in many cases suffer mightily in silence. My wife is one of these, although I think she may have learned her lesson after being pressed up against a cabin wall for four hours by a gigantic woman on a Delta flight. The COS who knows they need two seats but refuses to buy them relies on people not wanting to hurt their feelings. The airlines who know of the problem but refuse to address it rely on this, too. And it's not right.

The flight attendants spend a great deal of time and effort making sure every seat back and tray table is upright during takeoff and landing, although I really don't think it makes much difference. Surely they are able as they walk up and down the aisles to look and make sure every armrest is in the "down" position, and if not, politely ask if the passengers are traveling together. If not, the airline rule should simply be that the armrest may not be raised between two passengers not traveling together.

I believe the government should mandate minimum seat sizes; doing so would increase fares only slightly. The purpose of government is to protect the citizenry, and if mandating a minimum seat width doesn't protect the public, I don't know what does. My personal opinion is that the airlines are intentionally making the coach product as miserable and stress-filled as possible to force people to pay a huge premium for upgraded seating that has far too much room and/or service than most people want, and I don't think they should be allowed to get away with it.