Gary Leff of View From the Wing posted on May 25th how his upgrade on a recent Delta transcontinental flight failed to clear and he sat in economy class. From the title of his post, he calls for readers to, “Feel Sorry for [Him],” because flying in economy was, apparently, an emotionally and physically painful experience. Unless Leff is trying to be ironic or satirical, which I don’t think he is, his post rings somewhat oddly, especially for someone who normally analyzes issues in an entirely rational and principled fashion.

Mostly, the post seems somewhat hyperbolic for the normally grounded Leff. His blog usually presents sophisticated analysis and reviews, and this particular post seems a bit juvenile, self-pitying. I’d hazard a guess that Leff, of all people, would approach flying in economy with a much more logical rationale, that, well, flights end. They are finite periods of time. Leff’s histrionics make it seems as if he’s dragged to the town stocks and flogged for hours, and then tortured.

In my opinion, it’s not really that big of a deal. Yeah – cross country flights are long already, and with long taxi and wait times at some east coast airports can become excruciatingly longer, but I say, deal with it. It’s really not that long of a time period, and an event certainly not worth making an overly dramatic decree of, “I don’t think I can do this again for awhile.” Really? Something tells me you could, if you needed to, Gary. Yes, economy is uncomfortable and cramped, but, ultimately, a flight is a flight. While I, personally, do enjoy upgrading, I don’t complain if I have to sit in economy, and in fact, sometimes actively choose to sit in the back. I’ve spent plenty of time in middle seats in economy, transcons on US Airways, and in seat 53G on Lufthansa 747s. Up0n landing, really, it’s not that big of a deal. Yes, sometimes your neck kinks because of awkward positioning, but, in all honesty, Gary, I’ve had my neck kink much more painfully when flying in a domestic first class seat. I think of the people emigrating from Africa or Asia, with little command of English, readying to begin life in an unfamiliar place, who endure up to 24 hours in economy in a middle seat. I certainly don’t hear them complaining. And, for someone who descries TV as “boring,” a seemingly subtle intonation that Leff is intellectually above most television, bring a damn book to read. I guarantee you – War and Peace will take up all of your time on that flight.

So, sorry, Gary. I don’t feel sorry for you. Unless you have a blood clot in your femoral arteries that is threatening to head to your heart, your coach experience doesn’t sound that bad.

It all goes back to the old FlyerTalk maxim – you want to fly in first class, purchase first class outright.