The Worst Rows On A Plane You Should Avoid At All Costs, According To Flight Attendants
There are a number of factors that can go into your decision about where you're going to sit on a plane. You might be looking for the best seat on the flight to get work done, or you might be looking to get some shut-eye. If you're looking for an expert opinion on which seats are best, flight attendants should be the go-to. They spend hours upon hours on planes, and in a survey of British flight attendants for Velloy, they said that row 11 is the worst, specifically 11A and 11F, which are typically the window seats — add that to the reasons that the window seat on a plane isn't as good as you think.
Tara continues, "If you sit in the middle, especially on your way home, we are much more likely to have sold out of whatever it is you want because we always start at the front and back and work towards the middle." If you skipped grabbing an expensive meal in the airport or forgot to pack snacks, you might really be relying on that in-flight snack of choice to keep you going.
Try to avoid a row that's last to get off the plane
The flight attendants surveyed by Velloy also said that those seats in the middle of the plane are often the last ones to leave — that is, of course, for those flights that have passengers exit from both the front and back of the plane. That doesn't happen at every airport and with every airline, but the idea that the worst row is the one where you have to wait the longest to get off would actually mean the back row of many flights. If you've got a tight connection, you know how frustrating waiting can be.
While not all airplanes deplane the same way, they also don't have the same seat layout. But the premise of avoiding the middle seats because the flight attendants might run out of your drink or snack of choice by the time they get to you can be applied to the seats in the back on smaller planes that serve from front to back. Basically, the bad things that apply to those middle seats can also apply to the seats in the back, depending on the airline you're flying.
Seats that can't recline should be avoided
Other flight attendants have chimed in on what they think are the worst rows on a flight. A flight attendant posted on Reddit about how "the row directly in front of the exit row will NOT recline." It makes sense from a safety perspective; you want people to access the emergency exits as easily as possible if something goes wrong onboard. Some people also argue that you shouldn't ever recline on a plane, so the non-reclining factor wouldn't be a problem in this instance, but it's certainly nice to at least have the option. Another flight attendant told Business Insider they wouldn't recommend the bulkhead rows, as you'll have to put your personal items in the overhead bin, making it harder to access things you need during the flight.
If you've been assigned one of these less-than-ideal seats, however, think twice about asking the flight attendant for an upgrade while boarding. Wait until you're at least seated. That said, the sooner you realize you want to make a seat change, the more options you'll have. Granted, you may have to pay more for a different seat, but if your goal is to maximize comfort, it's going to be worth it.