Spin is retail's most dangerous game. (Viewpoint).(Column)

On a recent flight from Bentonville to New York (by way of Tulsa and Atlanta) I struck up a conversation with a Delta pilot who happened to be flying coach en route to his next assignment. (Why Delta makes its pilots fly coach--as intriguing a topic as that is--is not what we talked about). Instead, another of Delta's decisions had been gnawing on my brain from the time I set out for Arkansas, and since I was sitting next to what looked like a seasoned pilot (a 20-year veteran, it turns out) now was my chance.

The object of my curiosity was a conspicuous seating void in the rear of the aircraft--the result of the removal of two consecutive rows of seats from all of …