Q&A with the Seat Expert

To answer your question, we’re going to have to make a couple of assumptions:

1. By “family of four” we assume you mean two parents and a couple of children, with the children being bigger than a bread box and smaller than your average Saint Bernard. We’re thinking somewhere between the ages of 6 and 12.
2. We assume you are intending to travel in Economy class. If money is no object, please ignore the rest of this answer and purchase any four First class tickets. Heck, if money is no object, make that five First class tickets and we’ll join you.
3. And finally, we’re going to assume you actually want to be seated together. Knowing how some families feel about each other when they travel, this is most certainly not a given, but we had to start somewhere.

Before jumping into which seats would be best for your family, it’s important to mention that Virgin flies two versions of the Boeing 747:

Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 – Version 1
Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 – Version 2

The configurations are nearly identical, and what differences there are between the two don’t impact our recommendations. Still, this is useful to know in case you end up with a seat near a lavatory that you didn’t realize was going to be near a lavatory.

As to where your family should sit. You have a couple of good options for a family of four on this flight. The middle set of four seats is the most obvious choice. Your family could essentially own a row to itself and spread out as you like without concern for seat mates. If you elect to go this route, we would recommend against any of the bulkhead rows (30, 40, 52), as the armrests contain the tray tables and are therefore non-moveable. Part of the advantage of owning the row is having the ability to raise the armrests and turn your set of seats into an approximation of a sofa.

You might also want to avoid the last couple of rows (64 and 65), as these are relatively high traffic areas, and the associated noise could dash any hopes you have of peaceful, slumbering tots.

Now, on the off chance your children aren’t always best of friends and occasionally tempers flare when confined to small spaces for an extended length of time, you might consider Plan B.

This option involves splitting up the family and owning two rows. Book seats AC and HK in any of rows 61-63 and you could seat one parent with one child, yet still not bother, or be bothered by, a seat mate. During the flight you could swap kids for a change of pace, or even sit both kids together for a bit and grab a moment of respite.

Row 64 would work as well, but there again you abut the high traffic area, so this is a little less desirable.

Enjoy DisneyWorld, Miami, Key West, Cape Canaveral, the Gulf Coast, or wherever you find yourself in the great state of Florida.

Saturday, May 15, 2010 | Author: The Seat Expert