THERE you are, stuck in the middle seat again. This time you ended up in the row that doesn’t recline. The guy in front of you has leaned his seat all the way back, pushing the top of your laptop down just far enough to make it impossible to watch a video. You turn to the onboard menu, hoping a snack might ease your suffering. But by the time the flight attendants reach your seat, everything but the trail mix has been sold out. Sound familiar?

As airlines continue to pack planes and cut service, many passengers are contending with cramped quarters, disgruntled flight attendants and charges for food, pillows, exit-row seats and other formerly free amenities that made the journey slightly more bearable. But carving out some comfort in coach is still possible, if you’re willing to work at it.

“Just being in the know and being first to make a seat selection is not going to get you the absolute best seat on the plane,” said Matthew Daimler, the founder of SeatGuru.com. “The landscape has changed,” he said, as more airlines have begun charging extra for better seats.

But there are also some new options. So-called premium economy — a roomier class of seats between business and coach — has long been offered by international carriers on transatlantic flights. But recently, domestic airlines have been adopting the concept. American Airlines, for example, will begin selling Main Cabin Extra seats with 4 to 6 inches of extra legroom for $8 to $108, this spring, starting with its Boeing 777-300s. United Airlines is expanding its Economy Plus rows, which offer 4 to 6 inches of extra legroom for an additional $9 to $159 one-way, to its Continental Airlines fleet. And Delta is introducing Economy Comfort, with an extra 4 inches of legroom, this summer for an introductory charge of $19 to $99 one way.