Window or Aisle Seat: Which One Is Better?

It's the day before you take your long-awaited spring trip to France, and you check in online for your Air France flight to Paris. You verify your personal information, add your passport data, and pay for an extra suitcase. (You just have to bring back goodies from Europe!) Then, you are presented with a seat map. You hate the middle seat! Nobody likes being stuck between two people. Thus, the dilemma of choosing the window or aisle seat pops up once again, as on so many flights you have taken before. 

For ages, the debate over picking a window or aisle seat on an aircraft was boiled down to personality traits and personal preferences. Some even claim that you can tell the type of personality a person has based on where they sit in the window-aisle seat debate. Here's the truth about what your preference says about you. 

Window Seats

Before having in-flight entertainment (IFE) screens onboard, entertainment for most people on flights came from gazing out the window at the scenery as it zipped by below. Sometimes, having a window seat on a long-haul flight makes it easier for passengers to sleep, as they can rest their heads against the aircraft wall. 

Occupying the window seat provides you with complete control over the window shade. That's right. You can control whether you and your seatmates get to sleep on that seven-hour, early morning flight to Paris. Best of all, you have minimal disruptions, as your annoying seatmates do not have to climb over you to relieve themselves or retrieve something from the overhead bins. 

On the contrary, if you pick a window seat, you will be annoyed when you need to go to the bathroom after having too many Pepsis. So ensure not to take too much advantage of the free drinks on your next long-haul flight. On certain airlines, such as British Airways, passengers with window seats in economy class receive storage lockers next to the window when flying on the Airbus A380. Great for legroom, as your overstuffed bag full of books you'll definitely read on your two-week trip to Europe is not taking up any of your leg space. 

If you're scared of heights, flying, or drinking abhorrent amounts of liquids before and during your flight, the window seat may not be the best spot for you. Introducing your new best friend - the aisle seat. 

Aisle Seat Freedom 

The ability to leave the aisle seat whenever you feel like it makes this seat supreme for those with small bladders on long flights. The ability to get up frequently is particularly useful to those vulnerable to blood clots, who should leave their seats around every hour to stretch their legs.

Short layovers can be stressful, especially when flying economy at the back of the aircraft. With an aisle seat, de-boarding the aircraft is often easier, as you do not have to wait for your seatmates to get their things and de-board first, making it possible for you to book it off your flight and through the airport to your connecting flight.

If you hate flying economy but want slightly better legroom, the aisle seat is a holy grail for tall flyers. Passengers in these seats can stretch their legs out into the aisle as long as they are not obstructing service or passers-by in the aisle. 

On most widebody aircraft types, the layout of the seats in economy in the last few rows of the aircraft changes due to the fuselage narrowing towards the back. On the Boeing 777, for example, the standard layout of economy class seats is 3-4-3 - a cramped and tight fit even for smaller people.

This shifts to a 2-4-2 layout for the last 5 rows of seats, so if you are traveling with a partner, you two can sit together without the nuisance of a middle-seat mate. Most airlines that operate certain widebody aircraft, such as the Airbus A330 and A340, have a 2-4-2 economy class layout for the entire economy class section of the plane due to a smaller fuselage.

For most, the factor that determines a window or aisle seat is the duration of the flight. Before a long-haul flight (a flight longer than 4-5 hours in length), most people who complete online check-in will typically opt for an aisle seat due to the convenience of it, while for long-haul or overnight flights, it is better to go for a window seat, due to the aircraft wall serving as a headrest to doze off. Ultimately, whether or not you pick a window or aisle seat comes down to you and your preferences.