747: Last rows in Economy with only two seats - Good choice?

I've flown back there before on a 747. The location is ok, but I wouldn't pay extra to sit there-BA among others charges for advance seat selection until 24 hours before departure. One thing I liked about the seat was some additional space between the seat and cabin wall to put stuff. The downside is that a couple of times during the flight a line for the restrooms forms in the aisle beside those seats. On the other hand they are near the restroom when you need one. Occupants of those seats are the last to get off the plane.

Look it up on www.seatexpert.com or www.seatguru.com. Off the top of my head, I seem to recall that when the rows narrow like that, you do not have a seat directly in front of you. Therefore, instead of having a tray table fold down from the seat in front of you, the tray table is in the arm rest, so you cannot raise the arm rest and the seat is ever so slightly narrower than standard.

I think it was a 747 when I booked the last two seats thinking it was a good location near the bathrooms. Didn't realize the seats do not recline. The noise was incredible and it felt as if the plane "wagged" its tail the whole way across the Atlantic. That was only a six trip and it was very wearing. I would definitely look for another option for a 14 hour trip.

The seat I described had a tray table in the usual place directly in front of me however, now that it's been mentioned, I recall having a seat back there once with the table in the arm rest. But the seats were normal width. Tail waggling is a function of winds en route. If it's a rough crossing the seats toward the tail certainly feel it more. Except for the very last row in economy sections the seats recline normally.

No extra charge reqd in this case, the seat is a 'normal' seat per SeatGuru, it kind of aligns with the seat in front of it, not indicating if it is an arm rest tray table (that is usually noted if the case), no red flags there. My concerns were if there is a restroom line ALL the time, or if it is noisier being so far behind the engines. I have read there is a bit of extra room adjacent to the cabin wall, but it makes it too far to lean against the wall if sleeping. Seems to be a mixed bag, but probably worth it to not be in a row with three persons in it.

I've sat in those seats before and they were OK. I was in the last row and the seats do recline on the newer 747s. It was nice not having someone behind me bumping into my seat. I bring my own noise canceling headphones that are great! I have noticed that the back of the plane tends to be colder.

My wife and I have been sitting in that last row on the two-seat side for five or six trips, and we really like it. They do not always recline, but on newer planes, they do. We found the noise only an issue at take-off, and we're pretty sound-sensitive. The best part is having your own little nook without direct neighbors AND no on behind doing god-knows-what to your seat!

A 747 has wing engines only. There will be no noise difference between those seats and one's further forward. Bathroom lines also form at the front of cabins. Depending on how they board and disembark, you might not be dead last off as sometimes you disembark from the middle. One major advantage is not being jammed in from all sides.

Thanks Dick. I really want to fly on the -800, but so far only Lufthansa has the passenger version in service.

We ended up liking these seats. They were on a United 747-400 about four rows from the last row where the seats switch from 3 seats per row to 2 seats per row. We would book them again without hesitation.