Listen guys
I'm not defending tight seat pitches, I'm six foot tall and not 'well built' and I do find them uncomfortable too, but, and it's a big BUT, as Mishandled has pointed out the seat pitch is market driven limited by the authority.
So for someone like JP5A (who I assume takes some kind of interest in matters 'flying' by his/her presence here) you know what you are getting when you go 'bargain bucket' on your holiday so why complain after the event? If it was a one off and you genuinely didn't realise the seat pitch well vote with your feet and spend twice as much for your scheduled airline ticket next time.
The fact is that this person has been given a 'compensatory' amount of money for 'discomfort' when the carrier and tour operator were operating within the guidlines set down by the regulatory authority. Do I take it that next time I get on the crew bus from the long stay car park and it's jam packed I can get some compensation (even though it was not my choice to have to use it!)? Or next time my wife commutes into London on the 7:52 to Vctoria she can make a claim for not getting a seat?
Joking aside this could seriously affect the market in these already troubled times, if carriers are forced to increase their seat pitches for the few who are prepared to pay more to the detriment of the vast majority who book package holidays and who are purely driven by cost which in many cases equates to affordability.
PP
ps. what about a compensation claim for the F/O's seat; you know the one that every fleet has that you can never quite adjust the same as all the others!!!!