Every flight I've been on in the past two months has been booked 100% full. I've had to resort to other airlines if I have to book within 14 days of the flight (most of mine are short notice) And I'm flexible on time of day, so it isn't just the 7:00am and 6:00pm flights.
An example yesterday was PHX/BOS return on July 18/July 20 - a couple of center seats and that's it!
I'm 6'4" with broad shoulders, so center and window seats are out for me. I had to take a window seat a couple of months ago due to a "must attend" meeting and had two guys next to me that each weighed no less than 250 lbs. I was crushed up against the wall (no window in that seat) so I ended up having a panic attack - sweat pouring out every pore, pounding heart.
I never had one before, it was miserable! I've decided that I will never again fly unless I can get an aisle seat or FC.
For my BOS meeting I ended up booking FC on all four legs with AA via DFW at a price $10 more than HP Coach direct to BOS. My employer has approved FC if it is within $100 of coach on one of our approved carriers
The good news is that HP's business is up, I just would love to see their profits rise so they can add some capacity. Of course, if the US Air merger goes the way some pundits are predicting, all of those flights may be much more open......
