Best airplane seat: Why which side of the plane you choose matters (2024)

FAQs

What is the best seat to choose on a plane? ›

Aim for the center aisle seats on long-haul wide-body flights: if you love an aisle, it's almost always better to pick one in the middle section, because those middle seats next to you will be the last to fill up — and there'll be fewer passengers climbing over you than if you were sitting on the side by a window.

Seats at the back of the plane tend to be bumpier, and sitting towards the back also means you're one of the last passengers to get off the plane after landing. Similarly, the bulkheads at the front of the cabin are where families with babies and young children sit.

“If you can tell me how an aircraft is going to crash,” he says, “I can tell you where to sit.” He says the back of the plane has proved safer, followed by seats near the wings. The wings' “strong structural components” make that part of the plane better able to withstand a crash, he says.

He said the "left side typically provides more headrest room than the right due to the location of the windows, so aim for the left side". Other experts have backed this up, also saying the seats are usually off centre on the left due to the plane door at the front, so makes it more comfortable to lean on the wall.

Seats in the back are away from the wings, which causes a more turbulent ride. Seats in the back are also usually closer to the lavatory, which could mean foul odors. Finally, those sitting in the back are the last ones to off the plane, which is bad if you have a connecting flight.

The best seats in Economy Class

On shorter flights in Economy, I'll typically choose a window seat (for the views) and pay extra to sit in the front of the cabin or at the bulkhead for more legroom. On long-haul flights, I'll consider an aisle seat located about 4-5 rows from the back.

Using that data, Time reported that seats in the back were slightly safer, with a 32 percent fatality rate, as opposed to 39 percent in the middle of the plane and 38 up front.

A seat over the wing is “also where you feel turbulence less as the wings help keep the plane balanced compared with the back and front of the plane where turbulence is felt a lot more,” the TikToker said.

Another good choice is a seat in the front of the plane, as vibrations are also less noticeable there than in the back. If you get hungry quickly on the plane, you should also book a seat as far to the front of the plane as possible, as flight attendants usually start serving food at the front.

So that leaves the final descent and landing. They take up about 4% of the average flight, lasting twice as long as takeoff and initial climb. But a whopping 49% of fatal accidents occur in this short window, making the final descent and landing the deadliest part of an average flight.

What seats to avoid on Boeing 737? ›

On an American Airlines Boeing 737-800, for example, the seat-rating site SeatGuru warns of several “bad” seats, denoted in red. They include all the seats in row 30, at the back of the aircraft. The reasons are obvious: Like Conway's, the seats in row 30 are next to lavatories and don't fully recline.

It is better to settle at the front to save time. 3. The flight is in principle more comfortable in the middle of the aircraft, at wing level. The shocks are less there during turbulences.

The best seats on the plane:

Empty rows or rows of two make flying more pleasant. If you sit far towards the front, you can get off the plane quickest, and you also have the quietest seats on the plane.

- **Front Seating:** Some studies suggest that sitting closer to the front may offer a marginally higher survival rate in the event of a crash. This is because the front of the plane often experiences less severe impact forces during certain types of accidents.