Which seat to choose on the plane? On your next flight, make no mistake. Don’t spend a fortune for a place which, on paper, may seem more spacious, while it will make you live an ordeal for several hours.

When you check in, many airlines charge you extra to choose certain seats. However, not all of them are worth their surplus and will make your flight much less comfortable than it would be with a standard seat.

What are the places to avoid on the plane?

To be smarter, we have discounted a platform that tackles the problem of choices on board aircraft. This is based on two factors: the plans of Airbus and Boeing aircraft models, and the opinion of passengers who can rate and comment.

The site is called SeatGuru and the home page will ask you to fill in your flight, date and company. Thanks to this information, the platform will be able to find precisely which aircraft will be used for the flight, whether of the model and the specimen. Because every plane can have its flaws.

Before going into detail, let’s remember a point that concerns all airliners. The further forward you are, the less engine noise you will be bothered with. This is why companies generally place their first class at the very front of the aircraft.

At the level of the wings, you will be much less disturbed by potential turbulence. Choose these places if you are afraid on the plane. They will also allow you to go faster to get out of the plane once landed, rather than at the back.

An example on the Singapore Airlines A380 © SeatGuru

What advice can you find on SeatGuru?

On the platform, you can learn more about the quality of each seat, down to the number and row. For instance, a received idea concerns the seats in the middle of certain long-haul aircraft such as the Airbus A380, A330 and Boeing 777, with more space thanks to the lavatory compartment located just in front.

Although there is more legroom, you will also often be disturbed by travelers queuing to go to the bathroom or families with babies. It is also in these spaces that the staff comes to leave room in the corridors.

Second place usually referred to as a bad idea : the last rows, at the bottom of the device. In addition to being the noisiest, especially when the third engine ignites the two reactors before takeoff, they are also handicapped by the space behind them which prevents them from lowering their backrest.

(Very) bad places can be located right next to the nuggets. Be specific in your choice if availability allows. ©SeatGuru

SeatGuru also identifies all the seats likely to be often bumped by other travelers and on-board staff during the flight.

In short, once your flight is registered on SeatGuru, you will discover a map of the cabin with all the seats. The places in green are judged to be the best, when the red ones are naturally the ones to avoid. Some are in yellow and it is then necessary to refer to the comments listing the personal experiences of passengers.

As we can read, seats located at the front economy class, often more expensive than standard seats are not generally the best. On a Paris-Los Angeles flight with an Air France Boeing 777, we noticed that the seats had limited space.

©SeatGuru

The best seats on the plane

As you will discover, these are generally places located at emergency exits. They actually have more space. On condition of agreeing to carry out the procedure for opening the doors in the event of a request from the crew and certain exceptions on certain models (see in the screenshot below).

But each plane has specificities and the most rigorous will be attentive to small opportunities. On some A380s, for example, there is a row of 3 seats in the middle of rows consisting of 4 seats. In this case, the excess seat in the first row behind that of only 3 seats has more legroom.

©SeatGuru

Of course, the evaluation comes down to the sensitivity and tastes of each. Whether you are alone, with your family, curious to look through the window or ready to do anything to have maximum legroom, this platform is only a complementary and strategic tool before reserving the seat on board your next flight.