Q&A with the Seat Expert

Traveling with six good friends to Florence, Italy … now that sounds like a great trip.

To make sure your flight is as enjoyable as possible for your group, however, I think you should probably consider changing seats.

First, the good news about your current seats – you have a lot of extra legroom.

Ok, now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about the downsides. The most obvious is the proximity to the lavatories. In addition to the possible odor, be aware that this is a high traffic area and the person seated in the aisle seat is likely to endure some jostling. 

Being exit rows, with exit hatches, the windows are going to be smaller than standard and not ideal for sightseeing. But the real problem with sightseeing from these two rows are the position of the exits directly over the wings. It will be difficult for you and your friends to see anything but sky from these seats.

You say you will all want to get some sleep anyway though (no doubt, you want to be ready to hit Florence running), so perhaps the viewing opportunities, or lack thereof, won’t be a big issue.

Shut eye may not come so easily in these two rows, especially in row 20, which has restricted recline due to the exit row behind it. Add to that the very real possibility that the seven of you could be shivering like a pack of nervous Chihuahuas – these exit rows do tend to be chilly – and rather than hitting the ground running when you arrive, you be hitting the hay.

Unless you are a senior women’s nordic basketball team traveling to Italy for some sort of olfactory restoration surgical procedure, you will probably be happier moving to any set of seats from row 29 to row 40. The views will be better, the temperature more comfortable, the atmosphere more pleasant – and you won’t be surrounded by six cranky women.