Find The Best Airline Seats | Airline Seating Charts
| January 4, 2013 | Filled under Latest Posts |
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How to choose the best Airline seats
It is important to choose your airline seat before you board the flight, as you may have to travel long distances. The seats do differ between classes. You get more comfortable seats in the executive class than in economy. There are seats in some airlines which come with extra leg space and room making it more comfortable for long journeys.
The seats also differ with different aircrafts as it is they who decide on the number of seats to place in every airplane. So, it makes sense to not just look at the price of your ticket but also to consider airline seating charts before you book your ticket. The difference in prices need not necessarily be a lot but can definitely make a difference in your travel and comfort.
The airline seating charts can be viewed for your flight by keying in the flight number and the type of aircraft. It is a must for travel agents to have airline seating charts in their computers. If you are booking your flight online, the website must show the airline seating charts for their planes. Seating charts usually show the number of seats, the aircraft layout and location of toilets.
There are some sites that not only provide you with airline seating charts, but also give you travel tips which can be used before deciding where to sit on an aircraft. Such sites show the layout of the airplane and seats that are mostly preferred.
Reserving airline seat
It is highly recommended to reserve your airline seat as soon as possible or at the time of buying your air ticket. Most travel search engines and airlines let you select the seat during the time of purchase.
The airlines may not let you reserve the emergency exit seats online. In case you are interested in those seats, you may ask at the check-in counter if you can change to exit seat. You must anyway make an online check-in to secure your seat choice as the airlines are not obliged to provide you with the seat that you request at the time of booking. Most of the online check-ins open 24 hours prior to the departure.
Securing the best seat
Airline seating charts also help you in finding the best airline seats. The first and foremost thing to consider is your seating comfort. The width and pitch of the seat has a high amount of impact on your comfort during your flight. Seat pitch is nothing but the distance between the seats. It gives you an indication of the legroom you can expect to have.
While few extra inches of seat pitch might not seem so significant, it can make a big difference for your productivity (on business trips) and comfort. It means your legs are not hitting the seat back in front of you and you will be able to work on your laptop with ease.
You can find seat pitch and width information on the website of the airlines but not all sites put up such information which might cause some concern to you. In those cases, it is recommended to directly call the airline for more information.
You might need an aisle seat if you want to move freely during the flight and in case you want an easy access to the restroom or the overhead storage. In an aisle seat, there won’t be any disturbance caused to your fellow passenger every time you want to get up.
Aisle seats help you to disembark quickly but you must be careful and not disturb the crew members who frequently move up and down the aisles.
Some people prefer sitting next to the window, which can be for the scenery or because they do not want to be disturbed by the people moving around in the aisle. There is also the question whether you prefer sitting towards the back, middle or front of the aircraft.
It is an advantage sometimes to get a seat in the front of the aircraft where you de-board the plane quicker, which could be important if you have a connecting flight to catch. Some airplanes, however, embark at the back, which again depends from airline to airline.
It also is a quieter ride sitting in the front, as there is engine sound towards the back. If you are seated at the back, you are usually allowed to board first. It gives you first access to the overhead compartments which are usually limited. If the aircraft is not running full and there are fewer people sitting at the back, you will have options to select the left-out seats.
Bulkhead seats are also preferred by passengers sometimes. Bulkhead is a partition, which divides the aircraft into different sections or classes. Like curtains or screens between economy class and business. Also when there is separation of seats from the lavatories or crew area. At times, bulkhead seats may actually provide less leg space, so it is better to check airline seating charts if legroom is important.
You might, on the other hand, want to avoid the seats in front of emergency exit, as these cannot be reclined and can be very inconvenient. The same goes with the last seats, i.e. the last row seats of the aircraft and also the last seats near the toilet or crew area. These seats many a times have no or limited reclining option.
Tricks to secure the best airline seat
If you are a frequent flier, look at joining a frequent flier program for the airlines you most often use. You will not just earn air miles but also some extra benefits. Some airlines let frequent flier passengers book preferred seats in advance like bulkhead and exit row seats.
For a frequent flier member, there are chances of getting an easy upgrade to better seats at the counter. Sometimes, you can benefit from the upgrades even if you are not a frequent flier as the seats left behind by frequent fliers are usually good.
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