You speak the truth. For a short hop, I usually suck it up and take Southwest and pay the hundred extra to board first and grab one of the slightly roomier exit rows. However, we found ourselves flying from Portland, OR, to Philly (on US Airways) for business in October and November. That’s an all-day trek and totally worth the upgrade to first class. The stress level was noticeably eased. So, new rule - short hops, Southwest. Cross-country never-ending days - upgrade. And we never seem to get any snarkiness from FA’s. Guess I’m just cool like that. ;^)
My philosophy is the opposite. If you give me $100, I’ll stand for the entire flight. A seat for 5 hours isn’t worth $20 an hour to me, much less a “roomier seat”.
I look at flight travel as a necessary evil, and my goal is to get it over with as quickly as possible, and as cheaply as possible.
But I appreciate those who are willing to pay extra for things like special seats, because that makes it easier for the airlines to charge me less, just to get that last row filled up.
I would pay extra to avoid a stopover, but that’s because my time is worth money to me, plus that is one less takeoff and landing, and therefore a lot less hassle and chance for death or losing my luggage.
Airline travel is the most stressful part of my vacations; this from a man who usually loads his wife and two kids into a PRIUS and drives around the country on multi-week vacations that involve staying in single hotel rooms.