Updated April 18, 2018
Accept seating assigned by the airline, and you’ll soon figure out how to find good airline seats. At least that’s been my experience. There have been a few occasions when I haven’t checked which seats I’ve been allocated and have paid dearly for the oversight. I think I’ve experienced them all… a middle seat, a window seat without a window, a fixed seat that didn’t recline, one with no under-seat storage space for my personal carry on, or a seat located right in the thick of where people gather for the washroom. Any one of these might be tolerable for short distances, but they’re deadly on long-haul flights.
What makes a good seat?
What are your needs and priorities? Here are a few things to consider.
- A good seat is one you choose yourself. If you have the option of seat selection at booking time, take it. Check your flight status in the days leading up to departure, and check in online at the earliest opportunity.
- How important is it to have your carry-on bags within sight at all times? If it’s a strong preference, you might want to be among the first to board so you’re guaranteed space in the overhead bin. For carriers that board according to rows in a back-to-front process, the back of the plane might be a better choice.
- How tight is your connection time? Last week in Zürich, the 90 minutes to connect to a Montreal flight shrank to 60 minutes with a late departure from Rome. With a bus from the tarmac to the terminal, passport control, and skytrain to another terminal, it helped to be among the first to deplane.
- Window seat or aisle? If you like to get up and stretch on a regular basis, an aisle seat might be a priority. The same holds true if you drink a lot to stay hydrated.
- Speaking of the bathroom, how close is too close?
- Any preference for a particular side of the aircraft? I’ve enjoyed some spectacular views flying into La Guardia in New York, and Ronald Reagan in Washington. The same holds true for flying out of Sydney or Zürich. If you’re a “window-seat” person, you might as well do some online research and plan for the better view. And avoid a seat over the wing.
- Do you like to have the flexibility to move to an empty row? If so, I find the best opportunities are to be had in the back section of the aircraft. This can be confirmed with a pre-flight online check, and then again at a kiosk or with an agent. Ordering a special meal will limit your ability to move.
- Are you travelling with another person and you’d like to sit together? If the plane has a 2-3-2 configuration, a window and aisle seat might be your best choice.
- If you’re travelling alone and prefer an aisle seat, think about choosing the middle section of a 2-3-2 configuration. If there’s a person in the middle, s/he has two choices to access the aisle.
- If legroom is a priority, exit and bulkhead rows might be options. However, bulkhead rows have bassinets for infants, and there’s no seat in front for placing a personal bag underneath. They also have the tray table in the armrest, which likely reduces the width of the seat.
- Seats in front of a divider often have limited reclining angles. If it’s in front of the washroom, people will queue next to your seat.
- Seats in front of an exit row usually don’t recline.
Get Intel from SeatGuru – best in its class
SeatGuru’s impressive pedigree dates back to 2001 when it was developed by frequent traveller Matthew Daimler. In 2007, the company was acquired by TripAdvisor, and over the years has won many travel awards. It’s considered the “go to” tool of savvy airline travellers interested in obtaining decent seats.
The release of the SeatGuru app in 2012 now allows iPhone and Android users to look up seat maps, and book and track flights while on the move.
How SeatGuru works
A search box allows visitors to locate their flight by airline, flight number and date.
Clicking the “View map” button reveals an icon-based colour-coded seat map of the flight in question.
A quick first glance reveals “good,” “bad,” “be aware” and “mixed-review” seats by their colours. Other distinguishing symbols point out premium seats attracting an additional fee, and which seats have a power outlet. Also built into the map are locations of crew seats, emergency exits, galleys, bulkheads and washrooms.
On the same page as the seat map is a comprehensive seat map key.
Also included is information on in-flight amenities, and reviews and photos posted by travellers.
With the cursor hovering over each seat, a pop-up box provides specific information on its attributes or deficiencies. This can be quite detailed to include:
- particulars on types and location of tray tables;
- quirks concerning armrests;
- limitations with respect to the reclining capabilities of seats;
- information relating to power and TV.
From the seat map page, links connect to airline-specific information on check-in, baggage, unaccompanied minors, and travelling with infants or pets.
Other tools
SeatGuru has sortable short-haul and long-haul comparison charts organized by class of service. For each plane, the charts show:
- seat type;
- seat pitch and width;
- whether or not there’s power (and which type);
- availability of Wi-Fi;
- availability of a personal or shared TV (or none at all).
This information is especially useful for a long-haul flight. A couple of inches or several centimetres of additional legroom can make a lot of difference. Having advance notice of no personal TV provides the “heads up” to pack a good book or load an electronic device with movies, music, books or work related files. Seats without power indicate an external power pack may be needed.
The menu tab “Travel News” provides access to interesting articles on topics such as airports, in-flight entertainment options, in-seat power ports and in-flight Internet systems.
Add “seat assignments” to your pre-travel checklist
If “seat assignments” is on your pre-travel checklist, it won’t be overlooked.
On every flight, some seats are better than others. A little online research can go a long way to choosing one that can make the flight experience more comfortable.
As the ultimate source of information on airplane seating, SeatGuru delivers.
Care to pin for later?
