This Dreaded Airplane Feature Can Be A Frustrating Surprise When Settling Into A Window Seat

There is and probably always will be a debate about whether the aisle seat is the best on the plane, or if it's the window seat that takes the crown. Aisle seat fans argue that the ease of movement makes it a more convenient spot, while window seat aficionados tout the sleeping potential, particularly on red-eye flights. If you fall into the window camp, however, you may have come across a situation where you book a window seat, only to find that there is no actual window. If you book these for sleep, you might not care, but if you do so because you're trying to look outside to avoid motion sickness, or a sense of being too enclosed, or you're flying overnight and want to be awoken by the sun, you're out of luck. 

Sometimes your windowless window seat may be in an exit row where there is no window, or just a small one out of alignment with the actual seat. Other times, it's because there are things like wires, air conditioning units, ducts, or other tech in that area that means you can't really have an opening. Some planes, like the Airbus A320, may not have windows in the last row. Not all planes have this issue, because carriers have their own seat layouts, and placement can vary. However, it can be incredibly frustrating if you chose this seat for a good reason. That said, you may be able to prevent it ... some of the time.

One thing you can do is to look at seating charts on websites like SeatGuru or Aerolopa, though they're not always accurate. One Redditor responding to someone who ended up with a seat like this on a Delta flight said, "If it's important to us to know it, but Delta doesn't share it, then it's on us to go hunting for it."

Whatever the reason, sometimes you'll find a windowless window seat when you're in a row that charges more for extra legroom. If you notice on the seating chart when you make your reservation that the middle and aisle seat are more expensive in that row, but the window seat isn't, this might be why. However, sometimes you'll be charged extra anyway (since it's for the legroom and not the view).

Additionally, you may also have an issue if your planned plane was changed to another for, say, a mechanical issue. This is why it's important to keep checking the seating chart, even after you've booked your flight. Still, if you do end up in one of these seats, you can ask the flight attendant nicely if you can change (if there are other seats available). You can also mention it — politely — and you may get something like a free drink out of it. Finally, windowless or not, window seats are the best seat on the plane for traveling germaphobes, since they may help keep you from getting sick from other passengers. And at the very least, you can always take a nap with your extra leaning room.