About a third of my flights are in economy; getting a good seat can mean the difference between a decent flight and an awful one. Depending on your travel style and priorities, here’s my take on where you should sit.
- Want to sleep?
Pick a window seat near the front, preferably on the left side of the plane.
Being next to the window means the passengers in your row won’t have to wake you to go to the lavatory, and the flight attendant doesn’t need to reach over you to pass out refreshments. You also can control the light (lower the window shade).
Why front on the left side? The front of the plane is less noisy, and the left-side windows tend to be off-center due to the front door’s positioning. This allows you to rest your head against the column between the windows, rather than the glass.
- Need a lot of leg room?
I’m 6 feet tall (or 5’12″, per an old driver’s license). That’s why on longer flights, I try to get myself a seat in the emergency exit row, preferably on the aisle.
If there are two over-wing exit rows, the second row is best because the seats in the first exit row don’t recline. I like the exit row better than the bulkhead because there’s more room to stretch my legs out in front of me. (They fit under the seat instead of running into the bulkhead wall.)
- Trying to make a close connection?
Sometimes exiting the plane quickly makes the difference between making your connection or not. Or you may be slightly claustrophobic, and can’t stand waiting that last 15 minutes to get off the plane.
If these are your concerns, select a seat near the front of the aircraft. If your plane has two aisles, chose a seat with access to the left-hand aisle. The plane’s door is always on the left, so that aisle tends to move more quickly than the one on the right-hand side.
- Traveling with kids?
Bulkhead. These rows have extra space in front, so kids can stand up or play on the floor (when the seatbelt light is off, of course). And no row of seats in front of you means fewer passengers to be bothered by the little ones.
The child should be seated beside the window (or window and aisle, if traveling with two), with an adult on the aisle. The window provides distraction and they are kept safe from being hit by passing beverage carts or other passengers walking down in the aisle. And they’ll be less disturbed there, increasing the chances they’ll fall asleep.
- Want a smooth ride?
Turbulence is a fact of flying life, but a seat in the front of the wings will make the bumps less noticeable. The plane’s center of gravity is between the wings, and some may think this is the place to sit for the smoothest ride. In fact, being ahead of the center of gravity is where you’ll find the most stable ride. The farther back you sit away from the wings, the more you’ll feel turbulence.
Also, if you have a choice of aircraft on a route, picking a bigger plane will mean a smoother ride; heavier planes aren’t buffeted as much. (Note: most airline websites display aircraft type beside fare prices.)
- Safety-conscious?
Plane crashes are extremely unlikely; flying is one of the safest modes of transportation. Your overall odds of perishing in a plane crash are well into the millions. Still, it turns out, statistically speaking, some seats are safer than others.
According to a 2007 Popular Mechanics study, passengers who sat in the back of the plane had a 69% chance of survival, compared to 56% chance for those who sat over the wing, and 49% for those in the front of the plane. In other words, passengers near the tale of a plane for about 40% more likely to survive the crash than those in the front.
A later analysis done by Time magazine found similar results. Looking at 17 accidents dating back to 1985 that had both fatalities and survivors and for which seating charts were available, Time found seats in the rear third of the aircraft had a lower fatality rate (32 percent) than seats in the overwing (39 percent) or front (38 percent) thirds of the plane. Specifically, the least safe seats were on the aisle in the middle third of the cabin (fatality rate of 44 percent); the middle seats in the rear section fared best by far, with a fatality rate of 28 percent.
So if you’re worried about your odds in the unlikely event of a crash, sit in a middle seat in the back of the plane.
- Need power for your tablet or phone?
Check your reservation on your airline’s website. There you should see if there’s power on your flight and if so, in what form.
Some airlines, like Alaska, offer an individual power outlet and USB port for each seat. Others, like United, have only one shared A/C outlet per row. Some, like on certain Delta flights, offer a USB outlet under the entertainment screen.
In the case of a shared outlet, it’s usually under the middle seat against the seat leg closest to the aisle. If you have the middle seat, plugging or unplugging won’t involve groping around a stranger’s legs.
Want to be sure to have juice? Choose a middle seat. And bring a two-part power source (plug + cable) in case there’s only a USB port available.
- Are you a passenger of size?
Select an aisle seat. Not only does this allow you to avoid pressing against the person beside you, but you can raise the aisle armrest to give yourself more room.
(It may seem like the aisle armrest is locked down. In fact, there’s a small release button on the underside, at the end closest to the seat. Press on it to unlock the armrest, which will allow you to raise it and give yourself more space.)
- Want to take photos?
A window seat is best of course, but make sure you’re well clear of the wing. To play it safe, on short flights choose the last row; on longer ones, choose the second to last row (so your seat can recline for sleeping).
On bigger planes, there may be an extra window in front of the bulkhead row on both sides of the plane. If you’re allowed to stand there (take care not to disturb the passengers seated in the bulkhead), you can get some great shots!
- Dietary concerns?
If you have dietary restrictions, it’s best to bring your own food or order a special meal. But sometimes you forget, or the meals aren’t loaded. (I always order Indian or Asian vegetarian meals; about a quarter of the time, they’re no-shows.)
If you want to better your chances of having your pick of meals or snacks for purchase, choose a seat in the front of your cabin (First, Business, Economy Plus, Economy) because beverage and food service starts at the front of the cabin and moves to the rear.
(If you have a food allergy or special dietary restriction, tell a flight attendant after takeoff and she or he may be able to save a meal for you that meets your requirements.)
- Concerned about exposure to the coronavirus?
Per the latest research, pick a window seat near the front of the plane. Respiratory illnesses like the coronavirus tend to spread via the saliva or mucus of an infected person via coughs or sneezes. Passengers sitting next to a window moved less through the cabin and had fewer interactions with other passengers, limiting their chance of infection.
Passengers sitting in the middle and aisle seats, on the other hand, were more likely to get up and come into contact with other passengers when they walked through the cabin to use the bathroom. They also were more likely to come into closer contact with the flight crew.
That said, the study also noted overall there is a low risk of transmission on an airplane. “If you’re seated in an aisle seat, certainly there will be quite a few people moving past you, but they’ll be moving quickly,” one of the study authors said. “In aggregate, what we show is there’s quite a low probability of transmission to any particular passenger.”
Twist’s Take: Here are the best seats for your travel style:
- Sleepers-window seat near the front
- Extra legroom-aisle seat in the second exit row
- Need a fast exit-any seat close to the front of the plane (on the left side for dual-aisle aircraft)
- Traveling with kids-bulkhead seat, with kids by the window
- Smooth ride-seat forward of the wing
- Safety-conscious-middle seat in the rear of the plane
- Power-middle seat
- Passenger of size-aisle seat
- Photographers-window seat in the last or second-to-last row
- Dietary concerns-any seat in the front of your cabin
- Avoiding infection-window seat near the front
