Just completed a round-trip, six-hour flight from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale. Fortunately, it was non-stop, because the cheap seats were so close, even my shrunken old legs were squeezed up into my chest.

Making it worse, the guy in front reclined his seat and I was completely fetal. Getting in and out to use the lav required bending even a pretzel would find difficult.

Of course, mine isn’t an isolated incident. Last year, a guy tried to punch out Mitt Romney on a flight when the candidate asked him to unrecline his seat before takeoff.

I was flying Virgin, and that airline makes cheapo Southwest look like luxury with its effort to jam every passenger in as possible. The only way to avoid the sardine can flight is to buy a first-class seat.

For example, a typical round-trip economy flight between LAX and JFK is about $400, while first-class is about $1,400. Unless you’re a Wall Street speculator, drug dealer, pro athlete or politician, who can afford it?

Is it worth the steep price just for a couple of hours of relative comfort? What are your thoughts on the tight-seat situation?