Many people prefer sitting in a window seat whenever they fly. Some people just like the view, while others don't want their elbows bumped by the drink cart as it goes by. However, some window seats are better than others. By knowing where to look, you can make sure that you're sitting in the best window seat the next time you fly.
Consult an online seat guide such as seatguru.com or seatexpert.com Pick an airline, and the Seat Guru will provide you with a list of the different types of planes the airline uses, as well as a map, highlighting the interior layout of each particular plane. These layouts rank the seats based on colors.
Decide if you want to sit close to or far away from the bathroom on the plane. Many people don't want to sit close for obvious reasons, such as smell and commotion, but having a bathroom nearby means you don't have to to walk all the way down the aisle to go to the bathroom mid-flight.
Locate the emergency exits on the map of a plane you are considering flying on. Not only do the exit row seats have more leg room, the seats in front of them are often unable to recline. This guarantees you enough room to stretch your legs, that is, as long as you are willing to assist in an emergency.
However, nobody under the age of 15 is allowed to sit in these rows, and infants are not allowed behind or in front of these rows. So people traveling with their family may not have the option of benefiting from the space in an exit row.
Locate where televisions are on the map of the plane. Decide whether you want a television close by to entertain you, or if it might distract you from getting some rest during your trip.
Determine which seats on the plane are bulkhead seats. A bulkhead seat is located directly behind a wall or petition that is separating the plane into classes. Many of these seats give more leg room, since a seat can't recline in front of you. But they may also have less room if the room wall is closer than a seat would have been. Consult specific airplane map to learn the specifics of their bulkhead seats.
Find the seat pitch on a plane. This is the measurement that shows how much actual space a seat occupies, and not just the leg room. If one plane has a higher seat pitch than another, it will usually be a good indication of how much room you can actually expect.
Consider the safety risks that comes with flying in an airplane when choosing your seat. Although the back of the plane feels more turbulence than the front when flying through poor weather, the back of the plane is also is the safest place to sit if the plane were to crash.
Decide if getting the best window seat is worth catching a flight during an inconvenient time or paying more to fly. If there is an ideal window seat on an ideal flight, you're lucky. If not, you will have some difficult choices to make.
