We've been through this before, but God do I hate the airline industry:

Over the last two decades, the space between seats — hardly roomy before — has fallen about 10 percent, from 34 inches to somewhere between 30 and 32 inches. Today, some airlines are pushing it even further, leaving only a knee-crunching 28 inches.

To gain a little more space, airlines are turning to a new generation of seats that use lighter materials and less padding, moving the magazine pocket above the tray table and even reducing or eliminating the recline in seats. Some are even reducing the number of galleys and bathrooms.

[...] Smaller seats are not the only reason passengers feel more constricted these days. Travelers are also getting bigger. In the last four decades, the average American gained a little more than 20 pounds and his or her waist expanded about 2.5 inches, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The dimensions of airplanes, however, have not changed and neither has the average width of a coach seat, which is 17 to 18 inches.

Maybe it's because I'm old enough to remember flying back before the airlines started treating passengers as just those things they pack into the space above the cargo hold, but everything the industry does seems to be calculated to make the experience more stressful and uncomfortable than it has to be. And the TSA's obsession with security theater only adds insult to insult.

Yeah, I know the retort: Flying is so much cheaper now than it was in the good old days before deregulation, so shut up, Goldy! Except, not really. And besides, it doesn't have to be one or the other. A certain amount of re-regulation—not necessarily tariffed fares—could be good for both customers and the airline industry alike (which, let's be honest, has yet to figure out how to make a consistent profit in the post-regulation era, despite providing crappier and crappier service).

Personally, I now fly less than I otherwise would, largely because I can't stand to give my money to people who so clearly disrespect me. Flying just makes me feel stupid, because it's like asking to be treated like shit.