32 Flight Attendant Tips for Best and Worst Seats!
3 Airlines and 30 years later, I’ve learned a few things about AIRLINE SEATS! Here are my tips for getting the best seats and steering clear of the worst seats.
Sharing bonus tips at the end of this post on how to get the best seats (better boarding position) on Southwest Airlines.
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The best seat for minimizing the effects of turbulence: Sit in the front of the aircraft or over the wing. If you tend to get motion sickness don’t sit in the back of the plane, it’s the bumpiest area, and it’s usually where flight attendants are located when they’re hurt in turbulence.
The most quiet seats are near the front of the aircraft.
The loudest area: The seats just behind the engines.
The best seat for legroom: A bulkhead or exit-row seat. If you choose an emergency exit seat, you must be able and willing to help in an emergency evacuation and be at least 15 years to sit there. Be aware that on certain aircraft exit row seats may not recline if there is an exit row behind you.
Seats towards the front of the aircraft tend to fill up quickly. You’ll have better luck sitting near an empty seat in the back of the aircraft.
The best seats for sleeping… window seats. Choose which side of the aircraft to sit on depending on the side you rest your head when sleeping. Many passengers lean their heads on the window, and kids wipe their dirty hands all over them. Bring disinfectant wipes and wipe everything down when you board your plane.
If you have a hard time sitting still, an aisle seat is for you. It lets you easily get up, stretch your legs, and go to the restroom. Tall people tend to like these seats to stretch their legs. Just don’t fall asleep with your legs in the aisle. 🤪 You’ll be the flight attendant’s least favorite passenger.
Middle seats are the least desirable seats. Because of this, the unwritten rule of air travel etiquette suggests that the passenger in the middle seat gets both armrests.
Avoid seats in front of a bulkhead, these don’t usually recline.
It's also a good idea to avoid being too close to the galley. Bright lights come from the galley and you know flight attendants love to laugh, talk, and solve the world’s problems, or at least our own. 😉 If you bring an eye mask and noise-canceling earphones you should be good to go. 😂
Seats behind the bulkhead: These seats offer more space for your legs, and nobody can recline in front of you. The downside is you won’t have space for your bag. It will need to go in the overhead bin for take-off and landing. Check the plane you’re flying on because on some aircraft there is not much difference in space between bulkhead seats and other seats.
Seats near the lavatories can smell and people tend to gather there so it can also be noisy.
There might be bassinets at the bulkhead allowing babies to sleep. These seats could be noisy.
The safest place to sit on a plane: Studies of aircraft crashes find that the seats in the rear of the plane have the highest rates of survival, followed by seats near the wings. Your chances increase when sitting on the aisle seat or near an exit.
If you know you’ll be passing points of interest on your flight, research to see which side of the aircraft you’ll need to sit on for the best views.
If you are traveling as a couple or with a friend, book the aisle and window seat. If the flight isn’t full, you might end up with an empty seat in the middle to make your flight more comfortable.
Book the middle seat and hope no one sits near you. Keep monitoring seat assignments to see if it works. If not you can change seats but if the flight fills up you’re stuck in a middle seat. 😂
If you plan on working on your laptop the entire flight choose an aisle seat.
The best economy aisle seat on long-haul wide-body flights is the middle section. The middle seats next to you will be the last to fill up. You’ll have fewer passengers climbing over you than if you were sitting on the side by a window.
Some seats on the last row of the aircraft don’t recline.
If you like being served first, pick a seat near the front of the cabin. If you’re flying on Southwest Airlines sit in rows 1, 9 & 17 (700 aircraft) and 1, 9, 16, & 23 (800 & MAX8) if you want to be served first.
If you have a tight connection choose seats toward the front of the aircraft so you can make a quick exit after landing.
If comfort is important to you, paying for a premium seat might be a good idea. Especially if you have a long flight. Don’t wait until you get to the airport to choose a seat, you never know where you might end up.
The earlier you buy your ticket, the more seating options you’ll have
Sometimes airlines have to change aircraft at the last minute. So there’s no guarantee that the plane you board exactly matches the seat map you saw. If you find a different plane listed, verify that you still have your chosen seat.
If you didn’t find the seat you wanted on the first try, keep checking to see if your seat has opened up.
If you don’t want to pay for a seat assignment: Select the best free seat you can find.
If you let the airline pick your seat, you won’t know where you’re seated until you check in and get your boarding pass.
If you aren’t happy with your seat assignment, talk to the gate agent to see if you can get a better seat…Be polite, sometimes I bring them chocolates. 😉 But there are no guarantees they can change seats especially when flights are full.
Once you’re on the plane, keep an eye on open seats. If it’s still open when the doors close, quickly ask a crew member if you can switch seats. The answer is usually yes!
Some seats are released when check-in opens, 24 hours before departure. Check in and grab those seats.
SeatGuru.com has a seat map to help you pick the best seat on every plane with reviews. Enter your airline, travel date, and flight number to find the best seat.
Bonus TIPs:
How to get the best seats
(earliest boarding position) on Southwest Airlines:
Check-in 24 hours before departure. Especially if you purchase the Wanna Get Away Fares (cheapest fares). Checking in a minute after check-in could put you far down the boarding list.
Purchase EarlyBird Check-In. You can check in 36 hours in advance instead of 24 so you’ll get a better boarding position.
When traveling with children always take advantage of family boarding to get a better seat.
Hold A-List elite status: Frequent flyers who earned A-List or A-List Preferred elite status get the best available boarding pass number.
Purchase A1-A15 boarding at the gate. If you don’t like your boarding number, sometimes upgraded boarding is available at the gate on the day of departure for $30-$50 one way per person. If you have the Southwest Rapid Rewards Credit Card you get four of these included A1-A15 slots each year.
Southwest Airlines doesn’t have a policy on saving seats. Some passengers buy the EarlyBird Check-In and save seats for everyone in their party. Passengers wanting the saved seats don’t like this and you might get some dirty looks. This is probably one of the biggest complaints I get.
Book the first flight of the day. You might have fewer people on your flight and everything goes smoother at the beginning of the day including your ride!
