Don't you wish...?

Hi Joe,

I couldn't read the article but was able to read the title. How is this possible?

Ha! I visited my daughter in Colorado last week and sat on economy. When the man seating in front of me reclined his seat it hit my knees!

Hmm, wonder if he had to put his carry on in the sizer before he got on?

When boarding the plane (AA), I was carrying a small backpack, a 20" carry-on spinner, and a very small (and flat) cross body purse. The AA agent noticed my cross body purse and told me to step aside and consolidate my bags since I had 3 instead of the allowable two.
Mind you there was a young woman (who had boarded two groups ahead of me) with what looked like a 22" spinner plus a duffle bag as big as the spinner, and a very large purse (much larger than my backpack!)

Edited to add...
Joe,
Thanks for posting the article! Wow!

Back in the day, Eastern Airlines ran an hourly shuttle between New York and Washington. You could buy your ticket on the plane, no reservations, free parking next to the gate, $18 one way. If the plane was full, they’d roll out another. On one flight I, my business associate and one other pax was on the second plane. They were flying B 727’s from La Guardia to Washington National. They also had the same service to Logan in Boston. The great old days!

I was a student in Germany in 1966-67. I flew home to the US on June 6, 1967, the day after the start of the Six Days War. All US GI's in Germany had their leave cancelled, and the Lufthansa plane (a Boeing 707)' was totally empty. In my mind there were only six passengers, but that may be an embellishment. What I do know for certain is every passenger got a whole row to himself or herself, and the flight attendants were very attentive. And no one reclined their seat, as each passenger had a whole row of seats to just lie down. This must have been a one -aisle plane with 3 seats on each side, but honestly I do not recall.

Like Lola described, I recall back in the 80's having empty seats and you could grab three seats in a row to lie down. Mr. Strimaitis looked very pleased. Nice experience.

My first trip to Europe as a student in 1968 fits in with some of the above comments. I don't remember what kind of plane it was, but I seem to remember the center section had 4 or 5 seats across. The main cabin was sparsely populated, so the cabin attendant suggested I find a row and stretch out. I probably slept all the way to Helsinki!

In March 1989 I took my first trip to Italy. I flew Alitalia from JFK to Milan on a 747, and the plane was very empty, so the cabin crew encouraged everyone to spread out and find their own row. However, I was such a beginner traveler, I actually watched a movie instead of trying to sleep, even though I had my own row!

The best economy flight I ever had was on US Air when I was in the middle section of 5 seats-by myself. Honestly, it was more comfortable than those coffin-beds in business class.

Many years ago I had a business trip home from San Francisco to Chicago in coach (that's what they paid for). We had purposely chosen this flight because it was a 747 and they were new at the time. There was some sort to starter problem with one of the engines. As time went on they off loaded various groups of travelers that had connections in Chicago to other flights so that they could make these connections. By the time we left San Francisco, 4 or 5 hours late, there were about only 12 passengers (there were more stewardesses than passengers) left on the plane as they were going to Chicago as a final destination. At that time there was a lounge/bar in the rear of the plane and, because we were so late, once we were airborne all drinks were free. I am glad my wife was meeting me at the air port and I did not have to drive. Yes, she knew enough to call before leaving the house to check on the flight to make sure it was on time (long time before cell phones). She was not waiting at the airport for 4 or 5 hours.

Many years I was on a SFO - JFK flight which was using an airliner type (DC-10? 747?) that had been involved in a well-publicized crash a few days earlier -- really enjoyed the 5-across sleeping suite!