Man has to stand for 7 hour flight due to fatty next to him.

[PeppyGPhiB]

I'm "Gold" status with Alaska Airlines and Delta, which means I've flown more than 50K miles (all domestic) in each of the past two years. Here's what I've observed, as a not-so-tiny-person who fits into the seats but finds them uncomfortable anyway:

- Older planes (737-400, 757) have slightly wider seats (I mean, maybe a half inch or so).
- If you don't like your seat, blame the airline. They choose their own seats as part of the airplane ordering process, and they have a lot of options to choose from. That said, there is very little difference from airline to airline in the width and pitch (legroom) of the seats. Standard is 17'' on U.S. carriers, and you might find one that offers 18'', but it's a rarity. The difference is basically nil from one carrier to another in terms of seat width and legroom.
- We don't have a true First Class on our domestic flights in the U.S. Our FC is like European Business Class. I have yet to fly on a U.S. domestic flight that had three class cabins. That said, "Business Class" is not really an option in the U.S. If you pay to upgrade, you pay dearly for what is basically just wider seats and a little bit more legroom. Most people cannot afford to pay for FC seats. The people in FC in most cases are frequent flier complimentary upgrades.
- Of the airlines I've flown more recently, Continental had the narrowest seats and least legroom.
- The new 787 airplanes have seat bottoms that move forward rather than seat backs that recline. So if the customer wants to recline, they do so using their own space, not the space of the customer in back of them. Of course, not sure that's good for those of you with really long legs.
- My favorite plane to fly on is the 767, but don't get that opportunity in the U.S. (except for a random redeye SEA-JFK flight recently). Still haven't been on the 777.