I'm 6'4" and economy plus is too small for me. The only way I can fit into the seat is in a completely upright position with my knees pressed into the seat in front of me. It gets even worse once the person on front of me reclines his/her seat.
It's physically painful for me to stay in that position for more than 1-2 hours so I'd only do a business class for long haul flights. And of course business class is very prohibitively priced for me personally so I avoid flying long distances at all.
If the company wants me to fly somewhere further than 2 hours away, I will demand a business class seat. Otherwise I will tell them I'm not going for health reasons and they should send somebody smaller who can fit into the tiny seat more comfortably.
> It's physically painful for me to stay in that position for more than 1-2 hours so I'd only do a business class for long haul flights.
I honestly think that being too tall finally fits the legal definition of a disability: "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual;"
I'm only 6'3" (long legs, though), and even in non-exit-row economy+, my knees are against the seat in front of me if they recline. The seat height is also an inch or two too low tall people, which puts significant stress on your knees-mine are noticeably tender for a few days after a 5+ flight.
I am happy to pay for business personally, but corporate policy limits to coach for domestic flights, and the odds of getting an upgrade on the routes I fly (BOS-SFO most often) are slim unless you're in the higher status tiers.
I really don't fly that often, and will drive rather than fly Melbourne-Sydney if given the option. On my twice a decade (quinquennial?) Australia-Norway flights I just have to suffer though; I don't have the budget to justify spending extra on seats. Often I'll see people 2/3rd my length on the emergency seats on those flights and wonder about the fairness of life... ;)
I got a free upgrade to emergency exit on a domestic Virgin flight a couple of years ago, by a check-in person who looked me over and figured that'd be a nice thing to ask if I'd like. Perhaps a small gesture to them, but I won't forget that for a while.
Fwiw, my femur length is a blocker for my catching trains in Melbourne as the seats are typically designed to face each other in pairs, and my knees are well past the half way mark even with my bum firmly against the back seat with zero slouch.
For me, exit row/prefered seating is a worthwhile upgrade at ~$100/per 12 hr leg, but there are only a few of those seats on each flight, and they're often unavailable.
Premium is double the cost of economy, and business is double the cost of premium.
Neither myself nor my employers have that kind of travel budget.
