(I get the joke) Not even gorillas even, the seats on most US carriers are too small and narrow for a lot of adult men even if they're in good shape. I had to sit shoulder to shoulder with one poor guy an entire flight to New Zealand because both of our shoulder widths are wider than the seats and I wanted to make sure my girlfriend had room enough to sleep. We were both good sports about it and were joking about needing a smoke afterwards, but it was not fun unless he wanted to lean halfway out into the aisle. I'm taller than average but not a giant.

> because somehow the flying public does not mind bright flashing annoying lights in their faces for HOURS

We do. United has just positioned their economy products a hair below Delta by, in part, pulling off crap like this.

This is a United thing, not a Boeing/Airbus thing.

Right? That's why I don't want a car with any system for entertainment, beyond generics like speakers. The car is ideally going to last 25+ years, by which time that shit will be obsolete. The software won't be upgradable, etc.

I've long enjoyed both Alaska's and Southwest's version of this.

The thing I really wish domestic airlines would take away is reclining seats in economy. Nothing good comes from having them.

Depends. How’s the Amtrak chess bot?

I don’t have 5 days to travel across the country.

I'm about 6' tall, even. In some cattlejets, my knees physically touch the seat in front of me. A lady on a recent flight flung her seat back and I cried out involuntarily in sudden pain.

I understand why she wanted to lean back. And yet, when she did, it freaking hurt. I'm around the 80th percentile in height in the US, and while my doctor says I could lose a few pounds, I wear a men's large shirt so I'm not exactly enormous. Even though they seat can technically recline, you cannot convince me that they're actually meant to.

Can I have the 5th element padded roller beds that are disinfected between every use?

My ideal airline would be one where you show up to the airport with your luggage, check it in, and then they knock you out and load you on the plane.

You get woken up at your destination after they've taken you off the plane. It would be the closest thing you can get to teleportation.

Then the airline wouldn't have to fuss with preparing shitty food and coffee or deal with annoying passengers. A win for everyone!

Not every seat reclines: the one in front of the exit row is a key example.

I pointed out exactly the opposite: surely moral action is only possible when one has agency.

If an airline needs to force you to be a decent person, then you have no right to claim decency in the first place.

People who lean their seats back are assholes. Claiming “but this is permitted!” proves my point.

I can’t imagine what a nightmare world it would be if decency were only possible through the exercise of external authority.