What is the best seat to have on the plane?

Seeing your seat on the plane for the first time can be a very bitter-sweet feeling. For some, it may be their perfect seat - lots of leg room, right by the toilets, and an aisle seat. However, for others this could be the seat from hell. In this post, we look into the advantages and disadvantages each seat on the plane has, along with what Brits really want out of their plane seat.

In order to see what Brits really like when it comes down to plane seats, KAYAK teamed up with OnePoll to carry out research and produce a series of infographics.

The Window Seat

The window seat is the most desired seat on the plane, according to KAYAKS’s research. 37% of the 1,000 British adults surveyed, said that a window seat would be their desired choice.

Although the window seat provides us with both stunning views, and control of the shutter, like anything, it does have its downsides. If you need a toilet break, you will have to disturb the others in your row. Depending on what they're doing (eating, sleeping etc.), this could bring with it some dirty looks and typical British tuts.

Window seats are also rather pointless when you’re on a night flight, as you can’t see anything - so be sure to assess the time of your flight before booking your seats.

The Middle Seat

Middle plane seats are always like the middle car seat - no one really wants to sit there. Although a lot of people want to avoid the middle seat, it does come with both advantages and disadvantages. Although the middle seat is better for disturbing less people than the window seat when you need a toilet break, you are put into a tricky position if someone to the side of you decides to fall asleep. If the window seat person decides to fall asleep, there is a 50/50 chance of them leaning on your shoulder, as they also have the window to lean on too. However, with the aisle seat passenger, they don’t have anywhere else to lean, so there is a 99.9% chance they will be using your shoulder as a pillow at some point during the flight.

The Aisle Seat

A lot of people frown upon the aisle seat, as you can often get knocked and nudged by passers-by, and hassled by everyone else in your row when they need their toilet breaks. However, they do have their benefits! Sitting in an aisle seat gives you easy access to your bag in the overhead compartment, and allows you to get up and down as many times as you’d like! This means if the kids want toy after toy from their bags, you don’t disturb anyone in the process. This also results in not having to disturb anyone when you’re in need of a loo break.

Aisle seats also give you the benefit of being the first one up once the plane has landed, meaning you have a better chance of avoiding long passport control queues.

KAYAK’S survey resulted in extra leg room coming out on top (60%) as what travellers look for in the perfect seat, with a window seat in second place (37%), closely followed by a quiet area of the plane (29%).

The things us Brits were less particular with, were: seats with access to emergency exits (11%), and having access to power ports (12%).

The survey also looked at the extreme lengths that us Brits would go to in order to get our desired seats. Some were less extreme, including arriving at the gate early to queue, with 34% of Brits confessing to doing this, and checking online as soon as check-in opens (31%). However, the more extreme methods include physically overtaking people (10%), flirting with the ground staff (8%), and faking an illness or disability (6%).

KAYAK’S study and infographics can be found on their website here:

https://www.kayak.co.uk/news/get-best-seat-plane/

Don’t forget, you can get your travel insurance from DirectTravel at either www.direct-travel.co.uk or ring our friendly team on 0330 880 3600.