BEST Plane Seats Revealed (and which to avoid at all costs!)

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Get ready to find out the best seats on a plane, and the plane seats every traveler should avoid. We will dive into the pros and cons of sitting in a window, middle, or aisle seat as well as if the front of the back is better so you know exactly where to sit on your flight. We'll also talk about United Airlines' new boarding process, WILMA, and how it can affect where you should sit.

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Welcome to Portable Professional, where I, Megan, use my experience from over 300 flights to offer you simple, practical and game-changing travel tips and hacks. Our mission is to help you reduce stress and make the most of every trip.

🐶 Chapters
00:00 Where to sit on the plane
00:22 Window seats
01:22 Aisle seats
02:46 Best for nervous traveler
03:07 Middle seats
03:33 BIG airline update (changes things!)
04:18 Why I WON'T book aisle seat
05:07 Right or left side?
05:36 Front of the plane
05:59 Why I avoid the front
06:21 Get a full row of seats
06:35 Most turbulence
06:45 Safest seat
07:00 WORST seats
07:17 Seat HACK
07:37 Bulkhead seats - should you book?
08:10 Exit row seats - should you book?
08:25 Aisle seat HACK
08:54 My FAVORITE seat

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[jeffgorham]

On a recent long flight from Europe to the US, I was on the aisle seat next to a couple, and we quickly came up with a clever way for the bathroom routine during the flight -- we'd all three go at one time and stand in line, with the person in the window going first, then the middle, then the aisle (me). That way no one disrupted another person getting in and out.

[williamdrake]

A shout out to the cabin crew on American flight from Miami to Buenos Aires. I had purchased my ticket close to the date of the flight and was only able to get a middle seat. My seat mates were huge and I was effectively pinned into my seat on each side by their girth. Once we were at altitude the stewardess asked me to come to the back galley. It was difficult for the aisle seated passenger to get up so i stood on my seat and stepped over them. In the back galley she said she had noticed my predicament but could not put me in a higher class but could put me in the flight attendant seat next to the exit hatch. It had a 4 point harness and I could sprawl out. Best flight ever. Thanks American cabin crew!😊

[jonathanradut]

I do aisle seats always. As someone who is tall I need the space. I don’t mind getting up to let people pass.

[markf.]

Another possible consideration when choosing which side of the plane to sit on is where the sun will be. If (for example) you choose a window seat on the right side of the plane, on a flight heading north in the morning hours, you are likely to be roasted (or blinded) by the sun coming in your window. If you want to enjoy the view on such a flight, it would be better to choose the left side of the plane.

[Geoduck.]

My wife and I fly from the West Coast to SE Asia once a year. I'm about to turn 70 am in fairly good health but last trip forgot to keep drinking water and unknowingly got very dehydrated. It took two days to recover and I was not at all well. Very important to keep drinking water during long flights.

[louiseahrens]

What frustrates the heck out of me is the lack of size enforcement!!! I have seen all too many times, a 26" bag taken on board as a carry-on, inevitably taking up an entire bin. While we are at this rant: I have seen people board with 2 full size carry on, rather than one overhead and one under the seat bag. No wonder there is no room for everyone's baggage. Argh. End of rant. Thank you for your informative videos. They are very useful!

[kengaskins]

I used to fly a lot and I remember when the gate crew had to physically look at you before they would assign you to the exit row. They needed to make sure you were actually able to move the door if there was an emergency. Now, they will sell it to whomever pays for it first.

[sidmarx]

An absolute game changer for non-reclining seats is a foam cervical neck brace with velcro closure. It supports the head to sleep comfortably, rolls up compactly, and weighs next to nothing. Absolute must for long-range buses and flights.

[gwine]

After flying to Europe, in an aisle seat, beside a, very lovely, elderly couple, who needed about 6 toilet breaks each, I changed my preferences to the aisle on short flights, and the window on long flights.

[alexandermikhailov]

I used to travel by plane a lot, I always preferred a window seat for the reasons mentioned in this video and never bothered to analyze it so deep - thank you for it!

[sunnyscott]

I used to be a window person but since I got a DVT in my leg, i am now an aisle person . I always upgrade my seats 💺 for the little extra legroom. It makes a big difference and is worth the extra money .

[christopherulrich]

Regarding United’s WILMA boarding arrangement…I flew United economy to Brussels this past September, aisle seat in a 4 seat center section configuration. I had absolutely no problem finding room in the overhead bin. In fact, the bin above me had my seat number on it! According to United, enough space is being allocated for everyone to have one appropriately sized bag in the overheads. In my situation, the bin with my seat number on it fit exactly one carry on. Probably would have fit my personal item too but I kept that under the seat in front of me. Being a guy in his 60’s, I need fairly frequent access to the lavatory so aisle seats will continue to be my first choice.

[petertarantelli]

I love that you used the phrase “ask permission” to get by if sitting in the window seat, that actually perfectly describes how I feel when I have to say it. I actually don’t mind getting up if in an aisle seat to let others out, that gives me an “unscheduled” chance to stretch. WilMA vs. WILMA maybe? “If you dislike people…😅” Thanks for the seat guru tip, I had forgotten about that. Great video Megan!

[mikehunt]

I just got back from a trip to England from Seattle. I paid the extra $40 to choose my seat to and from England, which worked out well as the middle seat remained unoccupied on both legs. I didn't bother paying to choose a seat from London to Manchester because the flight was so short, but unfortunately I got stuck in the very back (no reclining) window seat (only, no window, just a bulkhead) and the under seat space for my bag was rather cramped, not leaving much space for my feet. Fortunately, on my way back, I arrived early for check in and told the lady about my flight from London and asked to be seated anywhere but that location and she offered me a window seat in the emergency exit row.

I usually always request an isle seat though, for the reasons you mentioned. I don't mind standing up if someone in my row needs to use the bathroom as I see it as a chance to stretch my legs anyway, and I'd rather not have to deal with asking other people to move for me.

[TheRedSquirral]

I fly regularly with Ryanair, and they have the good sense to use both the forward and rear doors for embarking and disembarking, which makes the process so much quicker.
The also have a system of priority and non-priority boarding, which deals with the issue of carry-on bags. If you pay extra for priority boarding, you can bring a carry-on bag, which addresses the issue of limited overhead bin space.
As regards using the toilet, I usually go before boarding and am good to go (or not to go) for must flights of up to 3 hours duration.

[rosemarymonty]

Finally! Someone came up with a better way to board. I used to live in Oslo and before the Gardemoen Airport was built the smaller really older airport of For ego in town was used. SAS allowed a free for all boarding as they could open and board both the front and the back area of the aircraft.

[jldisme]

Bulkhead seats are awesome!. Just pack things you want during the flight in a plastic bag at the top of your personal item. Toss it on your seat, put your personal item in the overhead bin, then tuck the bag in the seat pocket on the bulkhead. That way they are safe from anything nasty in the seat pocket.

[Varekai]

Aisle seats in the middle section of a widebody with the other two or three seats already selected is a great choice. You can get up whenever you want without bothering anyone and the other seats are likely travelling as a group and will likely climb over each other rather than disturb a stranger (you).

[echilt]

I flew United from San Francisco to Hong Kong in Economy Plus beginning of November 2023 and we didn't have to do Wilma. My husband always wants window seats and I like aisle seats and most of the time we are lucky and don't get anyone seated between us so we have the aisle to ourselves. I can't sleep sitting up so I will take a neck pillow and lay a compact pillow over it and set it in the empty seat and try to get some sleep laying over into the empty seat. I have done this numerous times on many different flights, on many different airlines and no one has ever said anything to me about it. If a flight attendant did, I would immediately stop and not make a big deal of it. Their plane, their rules. Also, I don't mind people asking me to move to use the restroom if someone is seated in the middle seat between myself and my husband. In the rare cases we have had someone sit in between us I always tell them to please let me know if they ever need to get out of their seat and it's not a problem for me to move to let them out. As for the food and beverage carts, my experience is that the flight attendants don't lean over you to get to the window or middle seat passengers. If those passengers aren't able to get their drinks or food, I get it for them and pass it to them and it's not an issue at all. I've not had one person leaning over me or in front of me to pass anything. For overhead bins, I have personally seen families bring on 2 full size suitcases a piece and take up the overhead bin space and there are 2 ways to deal with that. Tell the flight attendants and let them deal with those people or check your bag in. Since I fly internationally now most flights I take, my husband and I check in our main luggage and just bring carry ons that can go in front of us under the seats. We have realized it's a lot easier for us to get on and off the planes quickly without that extra luggage and it hasn't been a problem getting our luggage from baggage check at our end destinations. We can quickly get through airports and we haven't had any problems. The fees, if any, to check in luggage is worth it to us for the convenience of not having to deal with it.

[halfglassfull]

booked a direct flight to UK on AA. Paid extra to sit 3rd row from back because it is a 777 and the back three outside rows are only 2 seats instead of 3. So as a couple means easy access to bathrooms (and last time we got offered more free snacks!) Only downside other than engine noise is bathroom traffic but still 2 rows away so...