[jessaustin]

TFA references "an American airline". Since we Americans are misanthropes, when we freely choose our seats we have a balancing tendency. Your concern would be more valid for populations who would naturally choose to sit together.

[kahrkunne]

What kind of group would choose to sit as close as possible in a plane?

[jessaustin]

I've seen it happen on trains, in Asia. Different cultures have different attitudes about this sort of thing.