Where are the Best Seats on an Airplane?

Of course there are seats that everyone knows about. Some example are the First class seats and exit row seats, Many people do not realize that there are seats with more leg room on many different aircraft. These are usually reserved for elite members of airline frequent flyer clubs, but, did you know that these seats are available to others if they are still vacant within a specific time before departure(normally 24 hours) It may not seem like much, but, some offer a couple of inches more leg room. For example on a Continental Airlines 737-300, seat 14a has no seat in front of it thus allowing about 3 feet of leg room. Now, I must admit, these seats are usually the first seats grabbed by frequent fliers, but they are sometime available 24 hours before departure. Now seats 14 b, c, d, and e offer more leg room than a non exit row seat therefore they are also good seats. Remember though that the seats in front of the exit rows do not usually recline. With aircraft with two exit rows in a row, the front row will not usually reline or if they do, they will have limited recline.

Another little known fact is that some seats offer more shoulder room. This is determined by the location of the seat to the windows. On the same 737-300 mentioned above, seat 14A or 14F offer about 2-3 more inches of shoulder room when reclined because the seat reclines into the area of the window port. These are recessed into the wall of the cabin by about 2-3 inches. (I know it is sad that someone would fly enough to be able to know the difference.) Another way to tell the best seats is to visit seat guru. This web site shows the best seats by airline and aircraft type. When making reservations online, you can usually tell the aircraft type. The airline web sites also have seating chart. The seats that are marked as premium seats usually have more room either as leg room or shoulder room. Of course, if there is a screaming child sitting behind you, the best seat may be on another plane.

Some people seem to prefer bulk head seats. These are seats behind the Galley, lavatories or First class cabin separators. There is no seat in front of them therefore no one will recline their seat into your lap. If you are thin to normal sized, but have long legs, these seats can be great for you. One word of caution thou. Since there is no seat in front of them the tray table is mounted in the seat arm rest. This makes for a much narrower seat. It can be a bit uncomfortable for larger/wider people like me.

Do watch out for the seats in front of the bulkheads. These seats will usually have limited recline. If the person in front of you reclines their seat, your personal space can get really limited. When this happens, I find that if the configuration is correct with the air conditioner vents, I can simply redirect the cold air onto the seat in front of me and this causes some people to sit back up. Not very nice, but it does serve a purpose. (evil grin)

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