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Comment by retzkek | Hacker News Reader

> as a person at 1.95m/6'4". My legs fared a lot worse than my mind.

As a fellow tall person, I've idly wondered (but no more than that) if there could be cause to petition for people above some height (6'2" maybe? hard to say since it's really hip height and femur length that matter) to be considered a protected class, requiring a free upgrade if a certain minimum leg room was not available in a standard seat. I've had to do trans-Atlantic flights with my knees smashed, surviving only by frequent standeeism and my wife's good graces letting me take up part of her seat space.

I've seen some people use devices to block the person in front of them from reclining, but I'd rather not be that level of asshole. On the other hand often on domestic flights my knees are that device.

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I go through the same every time. But being tall (intrinsically by birth, with no "fix") is always considered a blessing. It will never be seen as a protected class. You will never even get much sympathy because of this.

Don't expect it to ever trigger the same reaction as obesity does, which is treated as a curse and an illness (regardless of the underlying cause and whether it can be fixed or not), and is much more likely to fall into a protected class via the "physical impairment that significantly limits your ability in one or more major areas of life" legal definition. There is no fear of public backlash, bad PR, etc. pushing companies into giving you any (positive) special treatment so you'll just have to deal with it.

To be honest I'll more than gladly live with the disadvantages of being tall (mostly related to seating situations) given the advantages. :)

> To be honest I'll more than gladly live with the disadvantages of being tall (mostly related to seating situations) given the advantages. :)

I used to think this way, now my back has convinced me that it truly is a curse.

since it's really hip height and femur length that matter

That probably sounds strange to some people, but I think this is an issue that is often ignored. I'm 5'9", which is by no means tall and is considered "average" height, yet all the men in my family have long femurs and high hips, but short torsos (the opposite of the typical Asian body ratio). Even at my moderate height, coach is extremely uncomfortable for me because I just can't get enough leg room to be able to relax and not contort myself.

Fortunately, I've noticed that when flying coach in SE Asia, the flight crew will put me (and the other Anglo-Saxon passengers if there are only a few) in the exit row to offset some of that.

In my limited experience so far, both my (public) employers were happy to pay for emergency exit seats due to my height.

Sometimes you don't have the option. Usually you can't book those seats with online checkin. And the people at the checkin counter will be allowed to give you the emergency exit or not based on what category of ticket you bought. If you bought the ticket with a very low price, a special offer, etc. you have low chances of ever receiving any upgrades. If you paid a full price within the same class you may get something.

Most of the times when I showed up with a full price company bought ticket (coach) they would offer an emergency exit seat even without me asking. Almost never when I traveled privately with the same airline but bought the cheapest coach tickets I could get.

Sometimes I fly low cost because I know I can get the extra leg room with minimal hassle.

Sure, but that's besides the point (and not applicable for personal trips). Should I (or my employer) have to pay more money to get reasonable accommodations on a flight due to my physical nature? Surely there would be an uproar if an airline started charging extra for accommodating people with disabilities?

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