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Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastianpoured fuel on an alreadyfiery, ragingdebate this past week when he suggested passengers should first ask and receive permission from the person behind them beforeleaning backtheir seat.

The proper thing to do is if youre going to recline i somebody that you ask if its OK first, he said.

Earlier in the week, a videowent viralof an agitated American Airlines passengerpunching the seat andchewing out a fellow traveler for failing to do so.

Like chronic territorial feuds between warring tribes, the greatairlineseat space battles are not a recent phenomenon, though the intensity and frequency of them seem to be escalating.In fact, back in 2003, Ira Goldman, a former Senate aide, invented and began selling the Knee Defender a small device that hooks onto the back of the tray table and prevents the person in front of y

As its popularity began rising and tempers along with it, airlines took notice andprohibitedits use. So, like fireworks, its one of those rare items thats not illegal to buy but which youre technically not allowedto use.

Goldman has long defended the product, suggesting its use could result in something of a dtente in the skies.

It gives you the chance to be human beings, he said. Do you want the conversation to start before the laptop screen is cracked or after its cracked?

The Knee Defenderis adjustable andallows for seats to recline in degrees. Its not an all or nothing proposition.

Reaction to Bastians recommendationthis weekto negotiate space has run the gamut from hearty agreement to outraged defiance.

Civility and courtesy are always a good thing, especially when youre flying 40,000 feet up in the air, butthe suggestion ofDeltas chief and even Goldmans ingenious entrepreneurial fix areignoring the root of the problem.

In a desperate attempt to maximize revenue, airlines havefor decadesbeen shrinking both the width and pitch of seats. In the 1950s and 60s long considered the golden age of jet travel, the distance between seatswasas much as36 inches. Today, someare as close as 28 inches apart and as narrow as 17, down from 20 a few decades ago.

Industry executives justify thegreat shrinkage by pointing to the economic realitiesof the business, a claim thatsbuttressedby howfew of the airlines of my childhood still exist today. I have great memories ofwelcoming my dad homeat JFKscircularPan Am terminal or being mesmerized by the magical, futuristic red-carpeted building that once housed TWA. As a young man, I flew Eastern, America Westand Northwest Airlines.

Theyre all gone, and withthemtheir nice, comfortable seats not to mention the once standard meals even in coach. My boys didnt believe me when I told them I was served steak and eggs on my first cross country flight between New York and San Francisco back in 1984.

But how much profit is enough and how long before the companyfinally acknowledges that theyre treatingthe customer as cattle?It seems Deltas suggestion is a subtle way of admitting what we all know that the space between seats is now bordering on the ridiculous.

At 6-foot-4, Ive grown accustomed to being jammed into my seat. I try and rationalize the discomfort by just being grateful to fly at all. I think about the pioneers who labored across the rugged and ragged plains in wooden wagons, many of them dying along the way. What kind of wimp or privileged person am I to complain about my tight space when what took my forefathers five months still only takes me fivehours?

Yet, there is still something unsavory and troublesome about the great airplaneseatsqueeze, especially for those with a disability orsomeone whose sizealready makes traveling a challenge.

I think of a friend who has arthritis, a painful and debilitating condition thats exacerbated when hes confined to tight spaces.Its just not fair and its certainly not considerate.In an age of increasing accommodation, shouldnt industries be compelled to create products that benefit not burden the consumer?

Of course, thegreatseat debate is big business. Now, with most airlines, you dont just buy a ticket you have to also buy your seat and if you want more room, well, youre going to pay for it. Im a capitalist and I get it. Its just irritating and leaves me feeling increasingly fleeced.

Newtons third law is that for every action, theres a reaction and the foolishness of airlines to try and fit more people in the same space is literally and figuratively squeezing the customer to a breaking point.

This is going to sound self-righteous, butI gave up reclining my seatyears ago, a decision borne out of the old biblical adage to, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.Im also a bit like George McFly from Back to the Future, who famously said, I'mafraidI'm just notverygood at confrontations.

Wed all be a lot better off if the airline executives responsible for positioning the seats on airplanes would likewise follow suit.

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Give us more room, airlines! Forget permission to recline our seats - msnNOW