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Finding Your Sweet Spot on the Plane

Eric Gillin

Seat yourself and suit yourself.

Airplane seat assignments used to be controlled by customer service agents with special access to secret screens, with the options usually limited to "window or aisle" and seat numbers doled out randomly.

These days, you can swipe a credit card at one of the self-serve ticket kiosks popping up in airports around the country and print out a boarding pass, examine the layout of the plane and choose your own seat. Nearly every single airline is replacing customer service personnel with computerized kiosks to save money on labor costs, cut down on lines and give customers greater flexibility.

"Four years ago, you really had very little to do with booking and the entire travel process, but the Internet has forced you to become your own travel agent," said Matt Daimler, CEO of SeatGuru.com, a site that provides detailed information on seat assignments. "The natural extension of this, of course, is that you can pick your own seats."

The kiosks are proving popular. In May, 2.5 million passengers used one of United Airlines' 700-plus EasyCheck-In self-serve kiosks, now available in nearly 60 airports. Delta Air Lines' system has also proven very popular with travelers.

But not all airline seats are created equal. Picking the right one is harder than simply having access to a screen. In smaller planes, noisy engines are in the rear, making sleep difficult, if not impossible. On older planes, some seats in the front have an obstructed view of monitors, making it hard to watch a movie. Fear not. With these pointers, you can find the perfect seat to suit your needs.

Tip 1: The Early Bird Gets the Aisle Seat.

Like a fancy nightclub, the airlines have a door policy when it comes to seating passengers, often reserving the most popular seats, like those on the aisle, for elite frequent flyers.

"All of the airlines have different policies. United reserves the back part of the plane for its best customers," explained Daimler, whose site, SeatGuru.com, offers detailed commentary on 142 planes flown by 17 carriers. "The usual formula is that 60% of the plane is available for pre-reservation. It depends, but the front and aisles go first, with the back and middle seats last."

But 24 hours before your scheduled flight time those seating restrictions begin to ease, giving you free run of the plane. The number of seats that open up varies depending on the number of seats sold and the number of elite passengers scheduled to fly, but ultimately, it pays to be early. Thanks to the Internet, it's possible to pick your seat and print out a boarding pass from the privacy of your own home, completely bypassing the kiosk -- and lines -- at the airport.

Both United and Continental Airlines allow passengers to pick seats using the Web -- and nearly every airline has basic maps showing how their planes are configured. And even if you can't seat yourself from home, showing up at the airport 90 minutes before a flight instead of 15 can be the difference between riding the hump and riding shotgun.

Tip 2: In a Rush? Sit Up Front. Plane Is Packed? Sit Way Back.

It goes without saying that the last people on the plane are usually the first people off the plane, since the airlines tend to board the rear of the plane first ahead of takeoff. So, you want to sit in the front of the plane if you're in a rush. Once the "fasten seatbelts" light is turned off, all you'll need to do is stand up, grab your bag, wave to the flight attendants and get on with your life.

"Sitting on an aisle can give you a fast way out of the plane, too," said Daimler. "But some planes board and exit in the back as well as the front. Those are kind of rare. It's usually the MD-80s and smaller airports that don't have jetways, like San Jose, where you exit using the stairs at the back of the plane."

Planes can differ -- and so can times of year. During especially busy periods, like Christmas and Thanksgiving, opting for the front of the plane can be more trouble than it's worth. Now that more and more people are wheeling their luggage on to planes, the overhead bins can fill up quickly. And if there's no room for your things, for safety reasons you'll have to check that luggage.

"If you have to check your luggage under the plane, you're going to wait 20 to 30 minutes to get it," said Tom Parsons, CEO of BestFares.com. "By sitting in the back, you'll have the whole plane for your stuff. If you're concerned about this, be one of the first to board. In winter, this is even more important because everyone has overcoats."

Tip 3: Avoid the Stay-Awake Zones.

Sleeping on a plane can be an impossible task, but you'll have a better shot of catching Zs by avoiding certain areas of the plane, namely near the galley areas where flight attendants are working, the bathrooms and on some planes, the last few rows.

"The lights tend to stay on in the galleys and the flight attendants may be talking," Daimler said. "And on some older planes with the old projection-style movies on the drop screen, a number of people have complained on our site because they didn't realize how bright the screen was and didn't bring their blackout sleeping visors."

While most jets don't have a problem with engine noise, since the engines are out on the wing, regional jets, which have engines in the back of the plane, often have a noise problem. On the smaller Boeing 717, a mainstay of the AirTran fleet, the last few rows of the cabin can be the noisiest, which means you'll either want earplugs or a seat closer to the cockpit.

"As a general rule, the front of the plane tends to be the quietest," Daimler said.

Tip 4: Some Seats Have More Legroom.

When the airlines were regulated by the government, more than 25 years ago, the Civil Aeronautics Board set legroom dimensions on planes. But today, legroom -- known as "pitch" in the industry -- can vary from 30 inches to 36 inches, often on the same flight. In fact, certain areas of the coach are coveted by expert travelers.

"The best seat in the house is still the emergency seat row in coach," Parsons said. "In an evacuation you need more room. However, there can be problems with the emergency row. Sometimes the seats don't recline, but you could get 50% more legroom out of the deal."

Another area perfect for stretching out are the bulkheads, the row of seats right behind the partitions that divide the cabin into fare classes. With no seats in front to recline, there's often more legroom -- sometimes as much as five feet -- but as with the emergency exit row, this space does come with a trade-off.

Because luggage must be stored under the seat in front of you, bulkhead passengers must put their carry-on bags into the overhead bin and may not be able to access their things during the flight. And on some flights, especially international, the bulkheads are equipped with bassinet holders. All the legroom in the world can't offset the two crying babies in front of you for a 10-hour flight.

Tip 5: Working on a Plane Takes Preparation.

When it comes to power outlets, airplanes are sorely lacking.

Most don't have outlets, and those that do rely on either cigarette lighter sockets or special power ports that were created for airplanes. Outlets are only now being rolled out into planes -- American Airlines, unit of AMR, just announced a goal to have power ports in every plane by this time next year -- but you'll still need an adapter if you plan on working from 30,000 feet, because standard outlets are even rarer than good in-flight movies.

"A lot of the newer planes have outlets installed," said Daimler. "But it costs money to put them on. US Airways has them in their Airbus planes, United has them in first class and American has them scattered in coach."

Plan ahead when you plan on working during a flight. Not only should you check ahead to see what kind of power outlets are on the plane, you need to see where they are, since they are often placed in alternating rows. Check SeatGuru.com for your specific flight and aircraft to see exactly how the plane is configured -- oftentimes, an airline's Web site will not offer detailed information on outlet placement.

And remember -- pick your seat accordingly.

"Most business travelers like the aisle, but I'm a window person," said Dave Cerino, general manager for Orbitz for Business. "I don't like to be bothered, and if you're on the aisle you deal with flight attendants and people getting up and down to use the bathroom."