Window or aisle seat?

[beetee3]

"Flying Gitmo"

For you guys that think air travel sucks now, just look what you've got to look forward to...

Flying the cold-blooded skies

[Kristofor]

Also, we tend to fly mid-week when possible (cheaper flights), so there are frequently empty seats to spread out into.

Jim

Wow. I don't fly a ton (every 2-3 months), but I bet I can count the number of flights that weren't totally full in the last year on one hand.

Given a choice I'll always pick a window seat. I like to watch where I'm at. I also have never used an airplane restroom on a domestic flight in my life and I'll be quite happy if I never do. I'll happily let others do the stand-up/sit-down number for folks that can't hold it, or need to dig in the overhead bins, etc.

Kristofor.

[Tim Clark]

As a member of USAF we were taught to ask for window, rear of cabin.

That keeps any danger in front of you and makes it harder for "someone" to get too you.

My preference is window anyway so I can lean against the side and look outside or snooze. That's also one less elbow to watch out for.

[Deadhead]

Window.

As others have mentioned, no one crawling over me, guaranteed to get at least one arm rest, no drink cart taking off my arm, I can lean, look out the window, and I control the shade!! Muh-hahahahaaaaa....

[LCHIEN]

The profile at my companies travel agent says
flights up to ~3 hours, window seat, over ~3 hours, aisle seat.
Reasoning:
I like to look out windows, but on long transatlantic flights there's little percentage time good for looking out windows.
Also I don't like people getting up and making me get up when they go to the loo, but I hate it worse when I have to bother them. As I get older, 3 hours is OK, but over 3 hours its likely I'll have to visit the lavatory. So it's 3 hours.
Traveling with the wife is a whole different matter.

[onedash]

emergency exit row aisle. most leg room.But on the big planes I had that seat once and the door with the infaltable boat I guess stuck out and it was horrible. And it was a god awful long flight. LA to Amsterdam. or vice versa maybe. Business/first class would be nice but they never pay for that. Had a Major though who somehow got it everytime. He was a platinum frequent flyer and had a few hundred hundred thousand miles from all the planning conferences he went to back in the states. I racked up enough for three free flights from the war...

[jziegler]

Somehow the mid week PHL-CDG and EWR-CDG flights (always seem to end up flying to/from Paris) end up with some empty seats. Flying back from Paris in the past December, the plans (Airbus A330 I think) was about half empty.

I fly maybe about once a year right now, usually on vacation to Europe, and I've seen this several times. Off season, off peak days.

We'll see what happens in Febuary, I have tickets already (Air France had a very good deal...) Philly to Paris (3 days) to Vienna (a week) and back.

Jim

Wow. I don't fly a ton (every 2-3 months), but I bet I can count the number of flights that weren't totally full in the last year on one hand.

Given a choice I'll always pick a window seat. I like to watch where I'm at. I also have never used an airplane restroom on a domestic flight in my life and I'll be quite happy if I never do. I'll happily let others do the stand-up/sit-down number for folks that can't hold it, or need to dig in the overhead bins, etc.

Kristofor.

[Tom Slick]

Window, I hate being bumped by people walking past or by carts when I am trying to sleep. I have no problem sleeping, I have fallen asleep before the tug was finished pushing us out!

[bigsteel15]

At 6'5", 280#, I always try for a bulkhead.
Window preferred for short flights, aisle for long trips because my knees cramps up after about 2 hours.
Nice thing when my daughter flys with me, they usually reserve the front row exit for parents with small kids.

[leehljp]

I prefer widow seats, but on overseas flights, LOML wants aisle, so I end up in the middle seat.

I flew several times in the US over the past year and about half of them, I had an empty seat beside me. Only once did I have an empty seat on an overseas flight (US - Japan) in the past 20 years.

Four times though (in the 20 years) , Got bumped up to business / FC and it was wonderful.

I agree with those that want the rear of the plane where there is extra room. However LOML doesn't like sitting at the rear.

[Tom Miller]

I prefer widow seats, but on overseas flights, LOML wants aisle, so I end up in the middle seat.

Back before planes always filled to capacity, the wife and I would book the window and aisle seats, knowing that the middle would rarely get booked. If it did, we could always talk the third wheel into "upgrading" to the window or aisle.

There's little point in that strategy, now.

Regards,
Tom