HAVING racked up nearly 60 countries in just a couple of decades, it’s fair to say I’ve been on a LOT of flights.
But at the same time, I’ve been cursed with the double whammy of being unable to sleep on public transport, and old knee injuries that swell up on planes. Not ideal for a Travel Editor.
So when it comes to choosing a seat on a plane, I think I’ve got it down to a fine art.
(Sadly the days of constantly flying business class everywhere are over).
When faced with spending 11 hours in economy, there is actually a great seat that I found I slept better in, even compared to premium economy.
Not all planes have this seat, so it is worth using something like SeatMap when you know what kind of plane you are flying with.
But my favourite seat is the one behind the bulkhead row on either the left or the right side of the plane.
Some of the bulkhead rows only have two seats on either side of the centre, due to the layout of the aircraft door.
That means the seat behind these by the window has a crazy amount of legroom, but is more tucked away than the bulkhead.
Bulkhead seats, while often the best for legroom in economy, also come with the downside of lots of passenger traffic of people using the toilet or stretching their legs.
But this tucked away seat is a gem when it comes to economy.
In fact, I think it can be even better than premium economy, especially when you factor in the price.
I paid around £65 to pick this seat, whereas Premium Economy seats can be hundreds of pounds more expensive.
Not only that, but a lot of Premium Economy seats have built in arm rests you can’t lift.
If I lucked out with no one next to me on this seat, I could even lift the arm rests and have a double set to myself.
As a non-sleeper, I managed to get about five hours on and off of sleep, something unheard of for me normally on planes.
Not all planes will have this seat, so if it doesn’t I still recommend paying for the bulkhead seat if they are still available.
Here’s a plane hack you should NEVER try for better seats – unless you want to annoy other passengers.
