I did not think it possible. American Airlines has beat all the odds and actually made the center seat more hellish! Some of you may not remember, roughly 10 years ago there were several law suits, some not valid, brought against airlines for the cramped travel conditions. Doctors even had a name for the injury done to frequent fliers who had to sit in the wrong position for so long. American Airlines, almost immediately, yanked out 2-3 rows of seats to spread them all out giving everyone more leg room.

On Monday I flew 4 hours in the center seat of a 1 month old aircraft ran by American and I can safely say the  leg room has been reduced back to pre “we want your business” levels. Not only was the distance between the seats ridiculously small, but the space under the seat in front was reduced 1/3 to accommodate some idiotic metal box that was bolted to the seat support that was also offset 3+ inches from where it should have been.

There was no lumbar support in the seat back. I was writhing to gain relief between lower back pain, upper back pain and calf spasms the entire journey. They only make the aisle seats available to customers with status. Well there’s a great way to discourage a person from flying with you enough to earn status. They’ll be wheelchair bound by 25k miles.