If thought you were getting taller or wider every time you ride an airplane, take heart. The airlines are actually putting the seats closer together, reports the New York Times.

Manufacturers are even pitching Asian airlines on a plan to make passengers stand against padded boards to which they would be attached by a harness. So far no word that idea’s coming to America but airlines are using new technologies that allow for thinner seat backs to squeeze in more seats.

A few years back American touted its “More Room Throughout Coach” when it installed a set of the new hi-tech seats. That didn’t last, though, and American recently completed its “density modification program” to fit more seats in the back of the plane. United is looking at the same kind of “modification.”

Of course, the seats get more and more padding up the front of the plane. In coach, it’s simple math: More seats equals more fares. In first class, it’s a question of how much can we charge for these extra frills. Those first class passengers never go looking for cheaper fares on the Internet, so the airlines make a lot of money compared to each coach seat.

There are some rays of hope. The Japanese airlines that were pitched the “standing room only” plan, which would have squeezed 853 people on to the new A380 Airbus, have said they’re not interested. And Airbus has finally developed seats where the cushion moves forward when the back reclines so that large and tall passengers (like me) don’t get their knees squeezed when the person in front decides to recline in the middle of the morning for the 40 minutes it takes to get to L.A.