Bingo, economy plus does give you about 4 more inches between you and the seat in front of you.
Something else, a lot of folks have said he should have gone firstclass if he was worried about having enough room. But a lot of planes don't even have a first class section. It's economy, economy plus, or business class which is just the first few rows of economy plus.
I think they do need to take a few seats out, and make more room for everyone, but that will never happen cause the airlines are greedy and don't give a crap if we're all crammed in like sardines.
