TravelPerch

Building on the theme of the importance of “Location, Location, Location” from my last post, l’m going to share with you tips on how to get the best (free) seats in coach on a plane (if you don’t manage to get upgraded!)

Check Out This Guru
Once you find out which aircraft configuration you’ll be flying on, zip over to seatguru.com. This invaluable website shows the floor plans of pretty much every commercial aircraft in the skies today. Select the airline and airplane type you’ll be flying on and you’ll get the lowdown on where the good, the bad and the ugly seats are. If you’re able to choose your seat in advance or upon check-in, note which seats you prefer or prefer not to have and mention them to the gate agent or you could wind up in a nasty situation I once was in at 35,000 feet. On a flight from Cape Town to London, I was seated in front of a lavatory which meant noise and smells galore + limited seatback recline. We were in the air for only a short period of time when the passenger in front of my neighbor reclined her seat full tilt. Well, with little room to work with before The Tilt, my neighbour just lost it on that passenger. Enemy lines were drawn. It was a long, tense flight.

Longing for Leg Room?
As most travellers know, the best place to score extra leg room is in the area around the emergency exits. But with more airlines getting on board the “Let’s Charge ‘Em Extra” train, your chances of getting these premium seats without shelling out for them are getting slimmer. One of the advantages of dropping by seatguru.com is it points out where you can and can’t enjoy extra room. For example, bulkheads on certain aircrafts aren’t necessarily big on leg room. And because the tray tables in these walled areas often need to be tucked into the seats, you may have even less toosh space at your disposal. Those seats that don’t recline can make a long flight even longer so steer clear of seats in front of emergency exit rows, lavatories, galleys and bulkheads.

Catching Some ZZZs
Speaking of sitting by bulkheads, they’re a poor choice if you want to get some rest.  This is because these can be prime locations for travellers with infants. And, on older aircrafts, they might still have large movie screens whose lights can be distracting, unless you’re wearing an eye mask. (Check out my all-time favorite eye mask here.) Another way to increase your chances of being able to sleep on board is by selecting a window seat away from these noise pits: engines, lavatories and galleys. Scope out seats in the back as they usually fill up last. If you find several empty ones there, after take-off, move to that area so that you can stretch out and snooze.

Queazy Flyers
The over wing area on an airplane is where passengers experience the least amount of turbulence so select that location if you’re prone to motion sickness. When I was a flight attendant, on those aircrafts which had passengers who became ill, most of the time, they were seated near the back. Now, there are likely other factors involved in their getting sick but the added motion probabaly didn’t help matters. If you often feel queazy onboard, get seated near a lavatory for quick access but stay away from the galleys, as the smells could make you nauseous.

Tight Connections
Allow at least three hours between connections, especially for international destinations. But if this isn’t possible, choose a seat near the front of the bird so that you can deplane quickly. I once had a tight connection in Houston which was supposed to have been a two-hour stopover but due to mechanical problems, we didn’t leave San Juan on time. Because I’d requested a seat close to the front and then ran for my life to catch the connection (I was sure I could hear the theme song from Chariots of Fire over the loud speaker), I barely made it to the gate (huffing and puffing). But several other connecting passengers seated in rows further back never did make it on that flight. I heard later that it was a nightmare for them getting back to Vancouver, having to battle it out with the airline and then needing to stay overnight in Houston.

By taking the time to figure out which airplane seats are best suited for you, you’ll increase your chances of arriving at your destination relaxed and ready to tackle those key business meetings or enjoy that much-needed vacation.