Plane seating

On my last flight back into town I had the distinction of having the best seat on the plane - the last row next to the bathroom. Lucky for me, the bathroom was out of order (note the not for passenger use sign and duct tape holing the door shut). But, this inspired me to write a post outlining the best and worst seats on the plane.

Let me begin by stating that I am a window seater. I will take a window seat over an aisle seat any day. It provides a place to rest my head (the wall) and people are not constantly walking by me. Admittedly, it does create a challenge if you have to go to the bathroom.

The best:
1. The best seats (EVER) are in first class. This may seem obvious, but the point can't be stressed enough. The seat is bigger. The food is better. The flight attendants are nicer.
2. Exit row. Extra leg room at the low, low cost of being willing to help others off of the plane. Who is going to hold you to this promise anyways?



The worst:
1. The worst seat (EVER) comes on smaller planes. This is the very last row that is next to the bathroom. This location is horrible because of the inevitable bathroom smell. You may think to yourself that you won't have to worry about that because you're on a short flight. That's what I thought when I was on a one hour flight that left at 6:15 am. People will line up to use the horrible plane bathroom. Trust me. The other inconvenience of this seat is that it will take approximately 45 minutes to get off the plane.
2. The row in front of the exit row. This location has fooled many unsuspecting people. It looks harmless enough. The only inconvenience that you can imagine from sitting here is that the proximity to the exit row will remind you of the extra leg room that those people are enjoying. But, after you have been in the air a bit, your seat choice bites you in the butt. The seat won't recline!
3. The first row. This seat has the obvious benefit of getting you off the plane quickly. But, the downside is that you don't have a seat in front of you. Because of this, you must put all of your carry-ons in the overhead container. This is particularly annoying when (like me) you don't check luggage. Only sissies check luggage.



There are other factors that can make a difference in you flying experience. One factor is side fat. Side fat occurs when the person next to you is so large that they spill into your seat. I am a firm believer that these people should have to pay for two seats. Aren't they sitting in two seats? Another factor is open seating (Southwest). Boarding a Southwest flight takes a lot of thought. If I'm early enough, I dart straight to the exit row. If that is taken, I try to take a seat towards the front of the plane. But, in Burbank, Southwest tries to get cute. Because you're not boarding from jet bridges you can board through the front and back exits. So, you must watch the crowd to determine which entrance you should take to increase your odds of getting the coveted exit row seat.