Frequent fliers who have grown accustomed to getting upgraded usually end up with a phobia I call econophobia. I’m one of them, especially when it comes to long-haul flights.
Econophobes will pull out all the tricks to try and get upgraded but as they sometimes learn, sitting in a comfy first-class seat isn’t always in the cards. In fact, more often than not, the first/business class cabins are full, the fare rules on the ticket don’t allow for upgrades or it’s just too expensive.
Instead of begging or coming up with a lame excuse, the best thing to do is to secure the best seat in coach. Always do this as early as possible to reserve it. If you don’t know what the top-rated seats are on a particular aircraft, then consult SeatGuru.com.
Arguably the best seats are always in the exit row since they have the most legroom. On some airlines and planes it might be the bulkhead so find out in advance.
If it’s a night flight, I prefer the exit row window and if it’s a day flight, I usually opt for the aisle. But one trick I’ve learned over the years to make my economy seat as comfortable as possible is to use my carry-on roller bag as a leg rest.
Of course, I have to wait until after takeoff but once at a cruising altitude, I take my bag down from the overhead bin, place a blanket or my sweatshirt on top of it and then lay my feet across so it’s like a La-Z-Boy.
The photo above illustrates what I’m talking about, as I fly comfortably across the Atlantic on an American Airlines flight from London to Miami.
I would have been even more comfortable if I’d fully reclined but I didn’t want to be cruel to the passenger behind me. Speaking of which, should you recline your seat at all? It’s a hot topic – what do you think?
Love this! A common problem for many people , including myself! I will bear this in mind for the future.
I thought exit rows seats didn’t recline at all. What am I missing?
Only the ones that would lean back a an exit row
would you say 31a would be ok for ord-pvg? I normally get exit aisles, but all are spoken for. This one , 31a, just popped up, so I grabbed it. With the legroom, I think it still is good enough and I could still get up when I need to. Thoughts?
Grab it and then try and switch to exit row at the last minute
I find that not stressing about the flight or where I’m going to sit makes it a more enjoyable experience overall. Last overseas flight on Air Pacific to Fiji the Gate Agent changed our seats (travelling with my Dad) that she said were “better”. They ended up being a front row, with a wall way too close in front of us so we were really cramped. I didn’t let it get to me even though that was over 13 hour flight. So I guess it’s not always wise to trust the Gate Agents that they are taking care of you.
Take your own food in coach and ask them t heat it up when the service is over.
Use china dishes from first if you can they can be found at thrift stores bring nuts pillows and blankets with you and your noise canceling headphones.
I love how $50 – $150 is just a “little fee” to some people.
If available I do try and pre order a meal upgrade if the airline supplies it. Does tend to make the inflight meal side of things a little more bearable, and might actually make your fellow pax a little jealous. Only down side not a lot of airlines are offering these meals, just a handful of them. I’m with Charles too, will pay for extra leg room too!
There are more than 4 seats in row 31; there are actually 9. The middle five C-D-E-F-G are standard economy seats. its only A-B-H-J that have the extra leg room. For the middle section you want row 30
Great suggestions. Will keep those sites on my travel page.
Have a look at Seat Guru online at http://www.seatguru.com/
It will help you with finding seats based on passenger input and experiences for all the airlines.
A good site to read is Australian Business traveler. Not only do they tell you the truth about the different types of seats in all classes but they give you cabin maps of seat placement that tell you which are best. Join “One World”whose partners include, Emirates, Cathay-Pacific, Singapore, Eithad, Quantas, Finnair and American. United still has awful trans-Pacific service.
Oneworld doesn’t include Emirates, Singapore and Etihad. Qantas is not spelt Quantas either.
I agree on the awful transpacific service from United… Why no TVs in the seats!! Will always fly a non US airline anywhere if possible. Why are US airlines so terrible. British Airways, Air NZ, and Qantas are all examples of great airlines operating in the anglosphere which have similar cost bases
After the ellipses, you should not capitalize the word “why”. “Will always fly a non US airline” is a sentence fragment and requires the pronoun “I” at the beginning. “Why no TVs in the seats” is a question and should be followed by a question mark. “non US” should be hyphenated as “non-US”. “Why are US airlines so terrible.” is another question and should also be followed by a question mark. “Air NZ” – no such airline; it’s Air New Zealand. Anglosphere should be capitalized. You have no period at the end of your last sentence.
Your not funny Mc Gee!!!
“You’re not funny, McGee!!!” is corrected reply to the above post. You forgot the apostrophe and the comma needed.
I’m an econophobe one of my tricks to get a better seat in the economy is i purchase ticket as early as possible,then i can go in the flight virtual seats chose the seat/s in the economy class with more leg room but pay a little fee which is normally between $50 – $150.
That works great for me.
Another option is to try for the Economy Plus type of seat. A recent trip on Delta exposed me for the first time to their upgraded economy seating……..wow! seats recline more than any coach or premium coach I’ve encountered. Well worth considering on long-haul flights.