How airlines are killing in-flight civility one seating fee at a time

But should I have cordially surrendered that seat as a nice gesture, for the convenience of a couple who were traveling together? And let’s say it was parents, traveling with children, who boarded the plane and found their seats were scattered. Should I yield my seat to accommodate them?

The situation comes up often in the summer because most flights are already full, in a system with almost no slack, just as large numbers of infrequent travelers, mainly couples and families on leisure trips, are flying.