Tightslot - thank you!
I am 180 cm tall, apparently the average height of an Australian male. However, the kids coming up behind me (only 10 years younger, mind) are already head and shoulders taller than me, and I'd say once my parents' generation kick the bucket, I will be considered short.
The loco airlines will have a problem in less than 10 years. These taller passengers cannot fit in the standard loco seat pitch today. Soon enough they will form a core part of the airline business regardless of how much the locos might wish otherwise. Locos do not have a premium economy (which is the class I am taking to the USA next week for my ample girth and comfort) let alone J or C class seats. In Australia, Jet* have taken over from Qantas on most holiday and regional destinations, such as Townsville and Newcastle, and
VB (the only other major airline) is a loco too. So us fat and taller folks have *nowhere* to go.
Airlines like Pacific Airlines have larger customers as the norm - they have larger seats. Sooner or later, locos will have to do the same or face declining market share. For example, I will not be traveling South West now that I know that they will charge me randomly for a second seat, whether I need one or not. As I travel frequently (far more frequently than I actually like), SW have cut their own throat. Which is good news for the South West shareholders!
Andrew