Thanks, Bealzebub. I gather you are some sort of flight operations personnel.
Yes that is correct, a captain. Any airline will have a whole team of personnel involved in the operation of a flight, but once we have assumed command of a flight we are in charge of it and responsible for any subsequent instructions and decisions, even though those instructions may be given by another crewmember.
As well as the office holder for the job I do, like most other people, I am also a consumer, a parent, a spouse, a son and very frequently a passenger on an commercial aircraft. I am not immune to the realities of life, or the frustrations and difficulties that are faced by people in that context everyday. Like many people I take a professional pride in what I do, and get the greatest sense of satisfaction in being able to resolve a problem and being able to manage a team of other like minded people. Obviously there are times when a resolution may not turn out to be the best one, or when the only choices available have to be constrained to the lesser of two evils. But that is simply part of the reality of the job.
There can be few experienced air travellers that haven't experienced this type of discomfort on at least one occaision, as well as the whole spectrum of other travel related plagues that are part of the glorious world of low cost mass transportation these days. I doubt there is one of us that doesn't curse the cost of comfortable travel, or our employers refusal to afford us the standard of comfort, that we feel should be our right. We wonder at the manufacturers and operators seemingly strange idea that the average passenger is thin, short, patient, with staggered elbow lengths. However we all know the likely realities. On a bus or train, when your travelling companions (and probably their own embarassment is proportionate to your personal irritation,) body mass or limbs spill over into your space, you can move somewhere else or stand up. On an aircraft that isn't an option, which means you either put up with it, try and negotiate a compromise with your neighbour, ask for help with a resolution, or get off.
As I already pointed out, the application of common sense, compromise and good manners often goes a long way in resolving a problem. However if the problem cannot be resolved for whatever reason, then it must be curtailed. A flight is a time and cost critical operation, where any delay can have operational consequences that stretch far beyond the immediate problem. Ulitmately the captain is charged with making whatever decisions need to be made, and often that will be devolved or shared with somebody else within the crew.
If somebody refuses to act in accordance with an instruction, then the captain has the absolute right to have that person removed at the first available opportunity. What happens subsequently is a matter for other parties, and has no particular bearing on the immediate decision. If you feel that your "commercial rights" or indeed anything else have been violated, then you always have the same legal rights of redress that are open to everybody else.
I understand your frustration, but I also understand that the final authority on board a ship or aircraft rests with the captain. If you are dissatisfied with that concept, then you shouldn't purchase a ticket. You do have the right to complain subsequently, you do have the right not to travel. You do have the same rights as anybody else to seek redress if you wish or are advised. However you do not have the right to disrupt or interfere with the safety or regularity of the conduct of a flight without running a serious risk of facing the sanctions that are legislated to protect those aspects of a flight.
On these forums, we have the luxury of arguing a point to the 'nth degree. On an aircraft we often have to make a decision in seconds or minutes, before the problem becomes more wide ranging.