How to choose the best seats on the plane

Meeting the sky is always exciting, even if it is a business flight, especially if you have to fly often enough. Why feel discomfort from an uncomfortable seat when you can find out in advance which seats on the planes will be most convenient for you and, based on what considerations, it is better to choose them. It is one thing to get out of the plane fresh and rested, and quite another to be tired and overwhelmed, especially if you get a seat, for example, next to the toilet or you will be constantly forced to get up from the chair by a restless and fussy neighbor. We will try to give you a number of practical recommendations and, using them, you can choose a seat that will allow you to enjoy your flight.

Of course, if you know which airline you are going to fly and you know the brand of the airliner, you can choose your seat in advance according to the plane diagram, but if you do not know this, you should use the general recommendations. You will learn them from this material, which you should definitely study, especially if air travel is a part of life for you.

A seat near the porthole

pros

If you decide to take a seat by the window, you can be sure that in most cases it will be the most relaxed. Firstly, you will have only one neighbor, from whom you can always turn your back if he annoys you and contemplate the view overboard the plane. Secondly, your neighbors in the row will not walk past you, that is, you will not have to get up and, for example, be distracted from reading an interesting book.

Minuses

At the window seat, you can find only one, very dubious drawback, which you will feel only if you have difficulties in communication, and you will be unpleasant to bother your neighbors if you need to go out, for example, to the toilet.

Aisle seat

pros

If you like to sit with your legs extended, here you can do it completely freely, without fear of disturbing anyone. As well as near the window, here you will also have only one neighbor, which means that there will be less chances that you will simply be bored. Plus, you'll be able to get off the plane faster when it lands.

Minuses

Of course, you may be somewhat disturbed by passengers and flight attendants who transport carts past you, which they can accidentally hit. In addition, you will have to get up if your neighbor or neighbors in the row wants to go out.

The seats in the middle are neutral seats

These places combine the positive and negative qualities of the extreme places in the row. On them you will be somewhat calmer than on the seat by the aisle, but you still have to get up if your neighbor, sitting at the window, wants to go out.

In addition, in any case, you will have two neighbors, and if you do not like conversations with random fellow travelers, the likelihood of experiencing some discomfort from them doubles.

Seats behind emergency exit

pros

Due to the passage to the emergency hatch, the distance between the row before and after it is much greater, so you will be as comfortable as possible on the row behind the emergency exit. You can stretch your legs, get up and down freely, without even disturbing your neighbors, just as they will not disturb you.

Minuses

However, a number of airlines selects passengers for these seats according to certain criteria, quite young and physically strong. In fact, they rely on the fact that, if necessary, they will provide assistance to the crew in the event of an emergency.

You will also have very little chance of getting to these places if you are flying with children, when you are older, or if pets are flying with you. In addition, the disadvantages include the approach to hatches, which should not be obstructed by hand luggage.

Seats in front of the emergency exit

Here, as a rule, chairs are installed, which either do not recline at all, or the angle of deflection back is very limited. If this is critical for you, it is better to ask not to give you a place in this row.

However, the row located between the two emergency exits has a plus. There will be extra space for your legs (look at the photo above where the passengers are sitting).

Seats at the beginning of the salon

pros

The seats at the very beginning of the salon also have their advantages and disadvantages. As a rule, food and drinks are delivered from here, so passengers in the front rows will have the richest choice.

In addition, they are located closest to the exit, they will have the opportunity to get out of the plane one of the first immediately after landing.

Minuses

However, it should also be remembered that in this part of the aircraft there is usually attachments for baby strollers are installed and can be seats for passengers with small children, and such a neighborhood cannot be called calm.

Seats in the rear of the aircraft

This is not to say that these seats are ideal in terms of comfort, but if you are worried about your own safety, then you will certainly benefit from this, since almost 70% of passengers who survived plane crashes were sitting in the rear of the plane.

It is also worth noting that on lightly loaded flights the “tail seats” are usually empty, and if you do not want to be disturbed, you may well ask for a seat there. In this case, you will have a chance to occupy a whole row and not be distracted by neighbors.

Features of the first row (in front of which there are no chairs)

It should be noted that there are several such first rows on the plane, and any row in front of which there are no seats has these features. For example, this, of course, is the very first row, the row after the partition between the classroom or section, and the row behind the emergency exit, which we have already mentioned, can also be referred to here.

The main advantage of such a row can be considered that you will not be limited by the space of the reclined back of the chair, which is located in front. This is where the advantages end, since usually the first row starts from the partition, and you will have a wall or kitchen / toilet in front of you. If you don't care, we can assume that there are no shortcomings in such ranks.

Seats in the last row

By analogy with the first row, there can also be several “last rows”. These include the rows in front of the walls and the row in front of the emergency exit. Their main drawback is the limited reclining angle of the back, and in some cases it can be rigidly fixed at all.

For short flights, this is not critical, but if you plan to sleep, you will hardly be able to do it comfortably.

Summarize

In fact, we examined all the features by which it is possible to assess how comfortable it will be for a person in flight, taking into account his preferences. But it should be remembered that even in aircraft of the same type, the interior layout can differ significantly.

It is also worth knowing that the rows can consist of 2,3,4 seats and be installed with different spacing between the rows, so only the layout diagram of the specific aircraft on which you will fly will make sure that you will feel comfortable.

4 - You will also have an advantage if you go through the regular check-in, which starts 2 hours before departure, one of the first, since there are still a lot of unoccupied seats and you will have the opportunity to choose. You should also pay attention to the workload of the flight, since the chance to fly in comfort on an aircraft that is not fully staffed will be much higher.

This should be taken into account when choosing the time for the flight, if, of course, there is such an opportunity. The chance of getting on an unloaded flight is much higher if you fly Monday through Thursday in the middle of the day.

5 - When booking seats, be sure to carefully look at what font is used for their numbering, Russian or Latin, otherwise you may be somewhat upset to find that your seat is not at all where you planned.

For example, seat 1B - can be either an aisle seat or in the middle of a row.

6 - You can also take care that the sun does not blind you, if you remember that when flying from east to west, the sun will shine on the left, and from west to east - on the right. When flying from north to south, the sun will shine on the left in the morning, and on the right in the evening, and vice versa when flying from south to north.