I’m, frankly, over the whinging about how tight the squeeze is in economy. It’s economy people! This expectation of champagne and caviar on a beer and chips budget is so far off the planet it’s clear the ozone hole exists so you whining lot can come back to visit from time to time.
Flying has never been cheaper. If you compare the average weekly wage with a ticket price now it’s never been cheaper to get between two points by air. The reason for this is that airlines, all of them, are cramming more bums into the same space. Certainly you had more space in the past, no question about it. But you also paid a lot more for it. Could you buy a fare twenty years ago for the equivalent price today? Not a chance. Your choices were to pay what the comfortable seat was worth, or catch the bus/train. My parents generation could never afford to travel by air. They could never afford gap years in Europe.
Now you can still have a comfy seat, with better amenities, better food and entertainment. It’s called premium economy. Pay a bit more and travel more comfortably. It’s still cheaper than what you would have paid twenty years ago. Or pay what you did twenty years ago for a business seat. The choice is yours.