Washington Post readers agree: If airlines were to redesign planes’ interiors, they should add more legroom.

Few airlines are listening. The general trend is the opposite: American Airlines once advertised “More Room Throughout Coach,” which gave every coach seat an extra two inches. Four years later, the seats were put back in, conforming to the industry norm of 31 to 32 inches.

Europeans seem to have the greatest tolerance for being jammed into the back of the plane. Discount airlines Ryanair and Easyjet pack them in at a ghastly 29 to 30 inches pitch, as do charter airlines FirstChoice, Brittania, and MyTravel. Ouch.

But, of the major US-based carriers, United Airlines splits the difference. Nearly half the economy cabin is “Economy Plus,” which provides 2 to 5 inches of extra legroom, depending on the aircraft. (The bulk of their 757s have the biggest Economy Plus boost — to 36 inches.) It’s not a separate cabin, like “premium economy” on British Airways, SAS, Singapore, or Virgin Atlantic. You won’t get better food, wider seats, or a legrest, just more space between you and the seat in front of you.

I admit, I’m a big fan. There are four ways to get that extra legroom: 1) Attain elite status with United or any other Star Alliance airline (US Airways, Air Canada, Lufthansa, and over a dozen others). Then it’s free, subject to availability. 2) Buy a year-long pass to Economy Plus for $299. 3) Pay for the one-time upgrade at checkin, usually for around $30 domestically or $75 internationally. 4) Buy an expensive (nearly full-fare) economy ticket.

If you don’t get the Economy Plus seat, you’ll be at 31″ with everyone else. But frankly, I think that this is one of United’s greatest competitive advantages over its competitors, both domestically and internationally. They have even added Economy Plus into a large chunk of their regional jets. No other airline in North America has anything approaching this.

So why isn’t the WaPo mentioning that this option exists?