Use Seat Guru to find the best plane seats

We all complain about how cramped airline seats are these days. Cramped seats are such a point of consumer pain that airlines are starting to “un-cramp” their planes by removing seats and telling consumers about how spacious their cabins are compared to the other airlines. Let’s face it, unless you are flying business or first class, the seats are cramped…and flying in coach sucks.

The consumer’s competitive advantage to find the best seats BEFORE a flight is booked can be found in Seat Guru . This site ROCKS and is part of the TripAdvisor family. I am able to review a floor plan of each aircraft flown by whatever airline I’m about to book a flight on. The floor plan clearly notes exit rows, bathrooms and steward kitchenettes to help navigate the most optimal seats. The site also provides indicators (in red) for the worst seats and points out the seats with the most legroom.

My wife and I flew the 14 hours to Sydney last year on Qantas. Before we booked, we researched the plane our flight would be on and reviewed the seating layout on Seat Guru. We quickly realized through the site’s interface and content that the best “coach” seats were way in the back…where the “three in a row” seats become just two in a row as the plane fuselage bends into the tail. This two seat set afforded additional leg room as my wife and I were not cramped by the third seat or person. We would not have known about these seats if it were not for Seat Guru. On a long flight, every inch of additional space counts.