Best Seat on the Airplane

A window is far superior, fuck having people climb over you for 5 and a half hours.

-- Ed, Sunday, June 29, 2008 10:49 AM (Sunday, June 29, 2008 10:49 AM) Bookmark Link

I try to limit my climbing to once or twice per flight

Window seat by the wing.

window, obviously, and just make sure to empty out real good before boarding.

Window seat by the wing

i.e. Exit Seat

window by a landslide

Aisle seat - it's good to be able to get up and walk around as much as you want without disturbing anyone, and prevent DVT.

Aisle seat; after flying a lot in the last three weeks, I stand by this more than ever. On long flights it's nice to have an excuse to stand up, and so when people next to you need to hit the john, you've got that excuse.

Window seat, always. Nobody climbing over you, no drink cart whapping you in the head/shoulder, no one dropping their stuff on your head when they have to get into the overhead bin. Especially good because I always fall asleep (often before take-off).

Window seat because the buildings look like toys!

Has someone already made a Fight Club reference? No? Okay;

Well I say window seat but I'm extremely paranoid when I sit there (I rarely fly, relax Greenpeace) so I'm filled with the same f.u.d that I get anyway on a plane but this time its with the added bonus of better visualisation...so aisle seat makes more sense.
Anyway how you walk past people on the plane when getting to your seat is always the biggest thing to its really a question of etiquette; as you pass, do you give them the ass or the crotch...?

Window seat right at the back where the fuselage narrows and they can only fit in two. You get more room, can sprawl your leg out to the right, have space to stash stuff, get fed and watered first, get off the plane without anybody behind you pissing you off, can recline your seat all the way back, and if you're travelling with someone it's unbeatable.

Window all the way. I like to see, in front of the wing if possible. I rather like the idea od the window seats in club world on BA which face backwards.

(Sorry for the duplicate poll)

I rarely fly, relax Greenpeace

I am flying so much this year (just to LA and back, relax Greenpeace), that the only things I care about are 1. ability to get off quickly, and 2. overhead carryon space (United express flights require normal carryon sized bags checked @ planeside, for instance).

jesus greenpeace, chill the fuck out. veronaindaclub barely even flies.

I love looking out the window if there's actually something to see, but 90% of the time it's just clouds / sea / the darkness of the night. If I'm on a long-haul flight then it's got to be an aisle seat, just so that you can get up and go wandering around more easily. ButI rarely fly, relax Greenpeace...

To my shame I actually have a favourite seat on the BA 747 to new york I have flown it so often. 28B in world traveller plus. Neither a window or an aisle it sits majestically on its own at the exit row.

I fly far too much (11 flights already this year 12 more booked and probably more to come) and know a few of the instigators of plane stupid who do not let me forget it.

Counting down the days till I can quit this job and this industry that involves hopping on planes every 2 weeks.

aisle seat. it's nice to see out of the window, but the irritation factor of having to climb over people vs being clambered over is much of a muchness; and you can stretch your legs into the aisle and don't feel so hemmed in when you sit in an aisle seat.

window seat because you can prop up a pillow on the walls of the plane and sleep. preferably window exit row

window seat because you can prop up a pillow on the walls of the plane and sleep.

-- phil-two, Sunday, June 29, 2008 1:13 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

^^this

as long as you remember to go to the bathroom beforehand, window seat is the obv answer. aisle is ok but you will always be bumped into by people walking up and down the aisle.

Aisle seat for me. I take 10+ hour flights a couple times a year. I'm all about getting up and walking around. Don't hem me in.

the window seat is not a prison

exit seat, aisle

aisle seat. it's nice to see out of the window, but the irritation factor of having to climb over people vs being clambered over is much of a muchness; and you can stretch your legs into the aisle and don't feel so hemmed in when you sit in an aisle seat.

OTM. I don't sleep and don't like clouds.

^^^ vampire

this poll is excellent timing for me, since i'm about to make my first ever long distance flight next week.

i have a question for frequent flyers: i often have trouble with my ears on descent - will sitting in a particular part of the plane affect this at all?

also: what necessities do y'all recommend having in my cabin luggage?

(it's a 12 hour flight)

rubyredd: seatguru.com is yr friend. also, I have hellish ear pain unless I hold my nose and breath out hard to force them to pop.
neccessities: water, ipod. anything else is cabin faff, and too much stuff is a nightmare.

(assuming you've got in-flight screenback movies)

On a jumbo, aisle seat in the middle four. Only one person needs to get past you to take a piss compared to two if you're on the aisle seat of the window three. Any you can get up and take a look out the windows by the exit row.

rubyredd: you'll want a magazine or paper for the first and last 45 minutes of the flight when they shut the seatback off. But yeah, too much stuff is a pain.

The last time I flew anywhere was in 2000. It was excruciatingly cramped and my flights were jammed full. An aisle seat at least allowed me to cant my feet into the aisle and relieve a bit of the pain of prolonged immobility. You'd think I was 6'6" or something, but I am only 6', if quite that.

i have a question for frequent flyers: i often have trouble with my ears on descent - will sitting in a particular part of the plane affect this at all?

for my mom who gets this it only happens on certain planes. the kind of mid size domestic type. not the 747s
i wish i could recommend something for the cabin. ive taken the sydney-la flight maybe 14 times. ive tried books, ipod, gameboy, psp. for some reason its really hard to concentrate on any of these. the only thing ive really enjoyed is codiene, sleeping pills and the airplane food. also, go window seat for two reasons: you have something to lean on to sleep and often in low season on those long flights you get all three seats to yourself. if you pick the aisle you'll share for sure.

yeah, i get it pretty bad on the mid size planes, and excruciating on the tiny little 12 seaters.

thanks for the tips everyone!

RR, there are special pressure equalizing earplugs you might be able to find, called Earplanes. You have to put them in before the cabin door is closed and leave them in the entire flight. I've used them when I've had bad congestion and knew the pressure change would really hurt, and they worked fairly well.

thanks, jaq. i'll try to find some.

alfred and lex otm. i'm incapable of sleeping on planes and inevitably have to go to the bathroom at least twice on long-distance flights, so aisle it is

When my carryon isn't my only bag for the trip it generally has a full change of clothes in case my bag goes astray, toothbrush and toothpaste for the same reason, books, ipod, camera, laptop, extra cardigan because it gets cold, bottle of water, vitamins.

vitamins? I'd have thought your diet was adequate?

I have wide shoulders and long legs so the window and center seat can get very cramped, especially with the wrong people sitting next to me. It's pretty much got to be the aisle, especially for flights of more than 2 hours or so. With exit row, though, anything goes.

Rubes, yawning works for me every time - it doesn't even need to be a real yawn, just open your mouth as wide as you can.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Window seat.

At least for one reason. On my flight to Edmonton last fall, i saw the Northern Lights for the first time, and it was really fucking amazing. No middle or aisle seat would have gotten me that.

Anyone who sits at the window seat and doesn't at least glance out the window upon take off and landing is an absolute cunt in my book. I don't care how often you travel, this is one of the most amazing, exciting, impossible feats of wonderment one could possibly imagine and you're too busy reading the inflight crappy magazine. I'll take your seat and enjoy the fucking cars getting all small and worrying about the aelerons please, thanks Cunto.

seriously... what an asshole

next grozart otm

Anyone who sits at the window seat and doesn't at least glance out the window upon take off and landing is an absolute cunt in my book.

but i get motion sickness real easily and unless you want me vomit'ing on your lap......
also, recently ive been taking about 30-40 flights a year, so really i don't need to take the chance of having to use the sick-bag.......

so give up the window seat, Phil, that's all they're sayin'.

At least for takeoff and landing.

no way man, i need to shut the window, get my pillow, take my ambien and a couple whiskeys - though american airlines just nixed the makers mark.... and pass out. fuck all y'all,

Some of the best photos I've ever taken were from an airplane window.

The best photo opportunities are usually over Western Nevada. Some seriously huge pits of amazing brown/reddish/orange swirls of sand and mud can be seen.. the best thing about flying daytime between Seattle and Vegas.

At least for one reason. On my flight to Edmonton last fall, i saw the Northern Lights for the first time, and it was really fucking amazing. No middle or aisle seat would have gotten me that.

-- Mackro Mackro, Sunday, June 29, 2008 6:22 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Link

seriously. i saw the northern light over anchorage. also the rockies, grand canyon and flying over sydney harbour at night all make the window seat worthy. although all RR will see for 99% of her trip is water which gets old after a few minutes.

oh, another tip RR - If you value your sanity DO NOT LOOK AT THAT LITTLE PLANE ON THE TV FLIGHT PLAN. DONT DO IT.

Anyone who sits at the window seat and doesn't at least glance out the window upon take off and landing is an absolute cunt in my book.

i dont look upon landing because it scares the shite out of me. I always imagine a giant fireball coming through the plane. But I love the window seat and if youre too slow to snag yourself one, suck shit.

I'm fine with an aisle seat on a short haul flight, because I am claustrophobic and I wanna get the FUCK out of there as soon as the plane lands. On the one OS flight I was on I had a window seat but for a lot of the flight also no neighbours, so I just shoved up the armrests and sprawled out sideways with my pillow.

7 rows from an exit aisle seat, please

aisle seat, exit row

the only thing worse than having people climb over you is having the guy in the aisle seat be asleep for the whole flight when you have to pee - yes i can just wake him up but i feel awful doing it

grozart OTM, but on the other hand if I have the window seat and I've looked out of the window at takeoff and now there is nothing out there except a whole lot of grey, do not be the person in the seat next to me craning your head back and forth and heaving great sighs about how you can only see half the window past me when there's nothing to see anyway. (Yes, this has happened!)

All my flights are shorthaul Easyjet flights and I never pay to be in boarding group A (and am apparently one of only about 5 people per flight who actually waits for the group on my boarding pass to be called) so it's a long time since I was in a window seat. I don't mind the aisle seats, but you have to move your elbow every time anyone goes past, and it's awkward when you land and you feel you ought to get out of the seat to let the others at their luggage as soon as possible, so you're standing wedged in heaving mass of people for ages before the doors open.

My real answer is as far away from babies as possible, and not near anyone who looks like they want to snore or sniff or kick seats all the way. Yeah, I'm grumpy when travelling.

one of only about 5 people per flight who actually waits for the group on my boarding pass to be called

I prefer to hang back right until the end, fuck queuing at the gate & then queueing in the tunnel & then queuing on the plane.

Not a bad plan actually. If you're one of the last on and the plane isn't completely full you can spot where all the screaming children are and make sure you're far away from them. Bit of a pain if the plane is completely full though.

(Stop me if it becomes too apparent that my fear of babies on flights may have reached downright sociopathic levels)

I have never ever had a window seat on a plane.

But window seat in emergency exit row (for that extra legroom) seems best.

Exit seat is the stuff of dreams for me, I've never managed to get one. I always get an aisle seat if I have the choice. I'm between 6'3" & 6'4" and I have to be able to stretch my legs out a bit. Plus sleep is impossible as I just can't get comfortable enough, so I'd rather be able to get up and go to the loo/walk about a bit whenever I want to.

window seat FTW because of this:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2139/2191629987_f2d66ec587.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/43/83785211_252ff119c9.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/43/83784657_fd8d96c66a.jpg

Exit row, window. Esp on 737s, in which absence of seat in the row in front of you = blissful, blissful leg room and multiple options for getting out.

Dependds on the model of 737 and the operator, this is not always the case, especially on the more modern 737s you find in Europe.

Ed, NASA called and they want their photo of Mars back.

Aisle. I get bored and I'll watch the host staff go about their business, check out who's using the lavatory, study people's faces as they walk the catwalk back to their seats.

Sahara desert on a day flight back from cape town. If there was ever a flight you want to be next to the window for that is the one, from the lop around the cape of good hope to the jungles of the congo to the amazing landscape of the sahara, so much to see.

so i'm the only person who could care less, just as long as i am in the front of the plane?

but i get motion sickness real easily and unless you want me vomiting on your lap...

ugh, me too. plus claustrophobia... window seats make me dizzy, and not because i'm overcome by the miracle of flight.

are you the pilot?

xp

I do like looking out the window but on a long-haul flight, I veer towards an aisle preference because I am British and prefer the bother of getting up for people to the anxiety of making a fuss to get strangers to get up for me.

I do like looking out the window but on a long-haul flight, I veer towards an aisle preference because I am British and prefer the bother of getting up for people to the anxiety of making a fuss to get strangers to get up for me.

OTM in every way.

so i'm the only person who could care less, just as long as i am in the front of the plane?

-- the schef (adam schefter ha ha), Monday, 30 June 2008 16:10 (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

I'll take an upgrade over my preference any time. I have enough l33t status with BA to always be at the front of economy.

On my flights to and from Venice on BA I managed to nab the window seat in the front row of economy (via online checkin about 8 hours before the flight), and in (that type of) 737 there are only two seats in that row with a lovely foot-wide gap in between. Seat 6A/7A depending on the number of posh rows.

i always try and check in early enough to sit in the bulkhead

I used to go aisle seat cos i was a bit nervous flying, as if not being able to see out of the window would make a big difference here. I don't think it was to do with having to get up for people (this never actually happens to me on short haul flights).

why is there no option for honestly not giving a fuck, you're on an airplane?

I am crazy and want to sit between people

^this is it

I race on the plane if it's free seating, so I can get the exit row. If it's assigned seating, I wait till the very end.

The only reason I care is because I can't afford comfy class, and am v. tall so crippling class heaves unless you can get one of the four seats with a bit of leg room.

I race on the plane if it's free seating, so I can get the exit row. If it's assigned seating, I wait till the very end.

i do the exact opposite of this

the bulkhead can be bad, though - that's often where they stash the people with small kids.

so by 'bad' you mean 'good'

no, i mean 'bad'.

yeh sometimes the bulkhead's awful, if there's no extra space -- you can't even tuck your feet under it like you can with seats.

i always try and check in early enough to sit in the bulkhead

-- max, Monday, June 30, 2008 3:21 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

IN the bulkhead?

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Fair enough. I was going to go aisle, then I remembered the fucking cart running over my foot / middle aged ass + hips bumping my shoulder. And as air travel gets worse, the hostesses (love that word) get less apologetic. Gotta those larger American Airlines ladies with thick foundation and heaving chests who are holding on for dear life til retirement.

Well...it's not really right to do an airplane thread without sexism.

im not sure if i like those better or the gay twinks who work on virgin america flights. on one hand the somewhat airheaded service with a smile & wink is nice - but then again if the plane is going down, i'd rather have the american airlines battleax saving my life

What's wrong with dumping these misguided notions and simply expecting stewards to do their jobs, no more no less? If you don't like getting "bumped" by an ass slightly larger than fashion-model-size (and come on, EVERYONE gets jostled in fucking coach class, regardless), then man up, take first class, and shut yr goddamned cake hole.

yikes

all the more exit seats for me, that's fine.

libcrypt otm.

i'm a window seat fan, but it can be disappointing, depending on time of flight. and weather. and how many layers of face-oil-cake there are on the "window." and flight path. and where the window is in relation to your seat, because it'll really kill your neck if you aren't careful. reading, drinking, and being able to pee are nice too.

flying through a cumulonimbus field is pretty great. it's all chance.

Hey guess what people we can afford to USE AIR TRAVEL, in the end I dont care, I'm just greatful it is as affordable as it is. For now.

Cos you know it'll go back to the expensive it used to be with the oil thing.

how do you like your stewardess?

and know a few of the instigators of plane stupid who do not let me forget it.

-- Ed
Hey Ed, do you know Dan Glass? He's a joker isn't he? Or Paddy?

Hey guess what people we can afford to USE AIR TRAVEL, in the end I dont care, I'm just greatful it is as affordable as it is. For now.
Yeah, I respectfully disagree.

Why do the stewards get such crappy seats? I get edgy on one flight I couldn't imagine doing their job and getting on more than one plane a day then having to stare at a bunch of hypochondriacs, first time flyers, children and rich old men...lets have a little respect. But only a little mind, they still do work in aviation amirite Greenpeace?

Pareene:

Why do these airlines sound so unapologetic on social media? Why aren’t the CEOs apologizing? Why does no one sound contrite? This isn’t how the outrage cycle is supposed to work!

When everyone gets mad at Pepsi, Pepsi has to apologize because it is very easy to not drink Pepsi. One must affirmatively choose to drink Pepsi; not drinking Pepsi is the default option. (Though, thanks to consolidation, it’s much harder to avoid Pepsico products entirely than you might think.)

The major American airlines, though, do not need to do anything to convince people to fly with them, because they all merged and consolidated until there were just four firms controlling the vast majority of domestic flights, and they have determined that it is in their collective best interest not to seriously compete with one another.

http://fusion.net/airlines-can-treat-you-like-garbage-because-they-are-an-1794192270

quality reply by Phillip Anderson:

Once upon a time, Democrats made antitrust and anti-monopoly policy a major part of their policy agenda. They were rewarded with control of most of the federal government for about half a century. Then they decided, back in the late 70s, that not only did they not need to advocate for such things anymore, but that maybe those smartypants guys with all the money were right and that monopolies and greater consolidation would actually be a benefit to *everyone*, including consumers. Many of them actually still believe this because they are fucking idiots.

What’s interesting is that after 4 decades of this nonsense, some folks are finally starting to not only question the value of such things, but are strategizing to make antitrust and anti-monopoly policy the new hotness.

One of the few items that united the Carter White House and Ted Kennedy was a shared interest in deregulating the airlines. In the short term, it worked: adjusted for inflation, fares are cheaper than they were in 1982 or 1978, and the major carriers have more routes. But!

Also posted this on Fear of Flying - a Support Thread

...airlines — just like railroads, waterworks, electrical utilities, and most other networked systems — require concentration both to achieve economies of scale and to enable the cross-subsidization between low- and high-cost service necessary to preserve their value as networks. And when it comes to such natural monopolies that are essential to the public, there is no equitable or efficient alternative to having the government regulate or coordinate entry, prices, and service levels — no matter how messy the process may be.

We don't need antitrust policies for the airlines, we need to just fucking nationalize them. And bring back PATCO while we're at it.

The major American airlines, though, do not need to do anything to convince people to fly with them, because they all merged and consolidated until there were just four firms controlling the vast majority of domestic flights, and they have determined that it is in their collective best interest not to seriously compete with one another

Not sure the major US airlines have ever seriously competed with one another. The government awarded them separate air mail routes in the 1920s which evolved into passenger service, which of course was highly regulated for many decades. They briefly competed with new budget airlines in the early 1980s, but beat them back with what looked then like price-fixing and probably other forms of collusion.

My point exactly! Any mass utility service is going to collude in short order. Then when one cartel partner or another starts to fail, they call for a bailout, and if bailouts don't come with significant regulation, what the fuck is my money paying for? I don't see any free tickets. Fuck these companies. Nationalize that shit.