I am over 6’5” tall. When I travel I always arrive at the airport before check-in opens in order to secure an exit seat. I need a longer legroom seat as the bones in my legs are longer than the gap between the seats.
Today I arrived 3.5 hours before my flight was due to depart. I got to the counter just as the flight opened and requested an exit seat. Dat kan niet. “Certainly, Sir. Will that be cash or EFTPOS?”. Virgin Atlantic charge $150.00 for an exit seat, per leg of the trip. My trip is 4 legs, so that means it will cost me an extra $600 to get the same seat that I would get on any other airline for free.
Virgin might seem to be in the lower price range, but when you add the extras they turn out to be at the high end of the price range.
I ended up getting a bulkhead seat (gratis). Will report on roominess when I am in Hong Kong.