Tips for flying choosing a good seat · Choosing a good seat in Tips for flying
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Choosing a good seat in Tips for flying
Choosing a good seat in Tips for flying
See Fundamentals of flying#Choosing your seat for an introduction to choosing a good seat. However, in addition to the choice of window seats (good views), aisle seats (more freedom to move) and middle seats (lacking the advantages of either window or aisle seats) there are several other considerations for choosing a slightly more comfortable economy class seat.
How close you sit to the front or back end of the plane is a mixed bag of benefits and drawbacks. In most jet aircraft, seats in back experience more cabin noise; the difference can be significant enough to cause discomfort, and it's one of the reasons why first class is always located in the front. In wide-body aircraft, rear economy window seats will provide you with a better view than in the front of the economy section, where the view is obstructed by the wings. The effects of turbulence are weakest near the leading edge of the wing, in the middle of the aircraft. Finally, US National Transportation Safety Board data from accidents in which some passengers survived and others did not, indicate that seats at the rear of the plane are statistically safer.
Airplanes also have "ordinary" seats that are less or more desirable for some reason:
seats at the tail end of the plane often have no middle seats, which gives you more room to spread out
seats just before the exit row and at the end of a section may not recline
seats next to the toilets may be smelly and have lots of people trooping up and down to them, or queuing outside of them.
seats next to the galleys may be noisy especially when flight attendants prepare and roll-out the meals, and surprisingly smelly from steam-heated food
certain rows may have the electronics for the seat-back entertainment under the seat in front, stealing leg room. Check the sites listed below to identify them
It is possible to simulate the comfort of first class by securing a row of unoccupied seats in the middle section of larger aircraft, and raising the armrests to form a makeshift bed. Be on the lookout for these rows as you get on the plane, and be aware that others will be too. The flight attendants are also aware of these rows, and will also use them to relocate people.
Try to be one of the first ones to board, and "secure" the seats with open newspapers or magazines--the object is to make the row seem uninviting until the doors close and seat assignments are more-or-less frozen.
If you want to sleep, fasten your seatbelt over your blankets so that it's visible; otherwise, you'll be pestered by the flight attendents should the "fasten seatbelt" sign turn on mid-flight. Seating arrangements vary greatly between airplanes and airlines, so you'll need to consult detailed seat maps to figure out the good and bad ones. There are a few online sites that provide detailed maps for in-service aircraft and can help when choosing the best seat:
SeatExpert
SeatGuru
Seatmaestro
If you know what type of aircraft on which you are traveling, you can look up the seat map on all of these sites. SeatExpert also offers a unique feature that allows you to find a seat map by entering your flight information (airline, flight number, date of departure). SeatGuru also helps to find out what aircraft type you'll be flying (although it gives little help beyond US airlines).
Sometimes aircraft scheduled to fly on a certain day for a certain flight may be substituted for another aircraft at the last minute. Therefore it is a good idea to take a look at all possible aircrafts and their respective configurations to find out the number of your preferred seat. Furthermore, an airline may have a certain kind of aircraft with different configurations. For example, the front row in one of Airline X's A330s may be row 1 but in another kind of A330 of Airline X it could be row 11 even if the front row of both A330s are of the same service class. It is also worth knowing if the an airline's aircraft is 2nd hand or leased from another airline as the seat design may have significant differences from in-house aircraft.
If there is something wrong with your seat, say the electronics don't work, or if you are sitting next to someone who takes more than their share of the seat, or who is obviously ill, then bring this to the attention of the flight attendant. Usually they can reseat you if they know about the problem early enough.
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