Let’s skip the preamble — if you have ever found yourself next to a lavatory at 35,000 feet, you know what regret smells like. Literally.
And if you haven’t, well, let this serve as your friendly reminder: you do NOT want to be in the back of the plane.
Let’s Start With The Conclusion: The Back Row is a Trap.
Thomas Director, wasted no time calling the last few rows “the least ideal seats.” For a few reasons; they are near the galley and washrooms, and service is slower, but to top it off, it feels like turbulence is amplified in the back. In short, it’s the Bermuda triangle of bad flight experiences: the food is late, there is constant noise, and the seat doesn’t recline at all.
If you tend to get anxious when turbulence hits, for the sake of your mental health, you should skip the back of the plane completely. Sure, booking a certain seat may be a few extra bucks, but Smith reminds us to think of it as investing in peace of mind.
No Space, No Chill
CEO, provides a further reason as to why the rear seats are a disaster; there is virtually no overhead bin space! The flight attendants frequently put their own gear in the back bins as well. So if you get to the plane late and are seated next to the back bulkhead, don’t be shocked when your bag is three rows away from you.
And don’t consider sitting just behind the bulkhead wall — while those seats may look big based on the visual, there’s almost no space at all to store your stuff.
When Being Comfortable Is All About Positioning
The travel blogger does not mince words when they say the front of the plane is simply more calming, clean, and just nicer- no bathroom traffic, no engine roar (well, almost no engine roar), and you almost always are among the first people to leave the airplane after landing.
Need to stretch? You will want to book the exit row or bulkhead row. You will have a bit more legroom in those seats, however, you will have to give up an armrest and will not be able to recline very far, if at all. Also, there is no way on either of those rows for families with little kids.
For the chronic aisle wanderers or seat fidgeters, Nicholls suggests the aisle, especially for longer flights. There is nothing more frustrating than feeling like you are trapped between two people when you need to stand or stretch your legs.
Is there a turbulence-proof zone? Yes!
If you are a chronic motion sickness victim, I am about to tell you something you probably do not know- sit over the wings! That is where the center of gravity of the plane is which means when you are sitting over the wings there is less shake and wobble. When the plane starts to toss and turn in turbulence there are the calmest seats on the plane. This is really a big deal when you can not help but flip your stomach at the first bump!
So… Where do you Want To Sit?
Here’s the short version somebody should’ve told you earlier:
- Don’t sit in the back rows of the plane (unless you truly enjoy noise, smell, and poor service).
- Sit over wing when you are traveling for smoothest rides.
- Front rows give you peace of mind and to depart before others when you land.
- Exit Row gives you leg room but overall comfort usually lacks.
- An aisle seat is freedom to stretch and feel more comfortable.
- Only sit in the middle seat you’d if absolutely have to.
Choosing your seat may seem like an insignificant thing, but anyone who’s made it through a noisy red-eye flight understands that having the right (or wrong) seat can ruin an entire vacation experience. It’s not about legroom. So don’t pay a few bucks for the best seat. Pay a few extra bucks for your sanity.
So the next time you book that flight, I would encourage you not to just scroll through the seat map as most people do. Because nobody have ever exclaim before travel, “Wow, I’m so glad I booked a seat right next to the lavatory.”
