Leg room on aircraft is a precious commodity for people who a two or more standard deviations above average US male height (5'10"). Therefore, allowing a preference for tall people to sit in exit rows is not an unreasonable accommodation for people of height. 14.5% of US men are over six feet, and only 3.9% are over 6'2". For a 737-700 configured with 137 seats (Southwest standard configuration) that would mean on average, 5.3 passengers would qualify. Since a 737 has six exit row seats, one would be left over for a member of the general population.



