Talls get squeezed by the recession.

Travelers who are heavy or tall are feeling the effects of airlines' penny-pinching moves more acutely than others. The average legroom in coach is getting smaller. The seat width remains unchanged in decades even as Americans get bigger. Airlines are increasingly using small regional planes to serve less-popular destinations. To combat slow demand, they've eliminated capacity, resulting in fuller planes and stiffer competition for upgrades.

A shortage of legroom is a common complaint. But it's a particularly, and literally, sore topic for tall travelers, many of whom have become dedicated students of aircraft interiors in hopes of securing a few more inches.

Domestic economy cabins provide on average of about 32 inches of legroom, or seat pitch. But several airlines, such as AirTran, Allegiant and Spirit, have introduced a 30-inch pitch in recent years, says Matt Daimler of the website SeatGuru.

Robert Kleeman, a 6-foot-5 business valuation specialist from Denver, selects flights based on aircraft types because he can't tolerate the coach seats in Boeing 737 and regional jets made by Embraer or Canadair. "It'll hit my knees even without the seat (in front) reclining," he says.

He prefers Boeing 777s and 767s. But he has seen an uncomfortable surge in smaller planes to many of his destinations. "Even on a Denver-Chicago trip recently, the only option was a regional jet," he says.

SeatGuru's Daimler says legroom in regional jets isn't less on average than on mainline aircraft. But the ceiling is lower, and the aisle is narrower. "There is a feeling of being tighter overall. For those sitting in window seats, the wall curves earlier."

Diamond, the tech executive, says legroom is so important that he prefers a regular reclining seat in coach over a bulkhead seat in first class. "Bulkhead seats are the enemy of tall travelers. They're hard to recline. Your feet are cramped."