We are flying on a 777 from Houston to London in June. In looking at Seatguru.com we see the middle seats have an entertainment box under the seats that will restrict leg room. Does anyone know if this is the case and if getting the 3 seats in the middle is the way to go? We have flight BA0194 going to London and flight BA0197 returning to Houston. We like the idea of getting the 3 middle seats close to the front due to fact that arm rests will swing and the two of us on the ends will be able to come and go without as much disturbance. Our thinking is not to see to close to the front because of the bathroom locations and we might have people lining up to getting to the bathroom and blocking the aisle on each side. Is that a valid concern? Any advice you give us would be appreciated. We do plan to purchase the $38 reserved seats since we want to be sure we will have the seats we want on such a long flight and not take the chance on getting separated by waiting for the airline to assign our seats during this
heavy traffic period in June. Thanking you in advance for a reply.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
The electronics boxes will not only restrict leg room, but also make it impossible to put your carryon bag anywhere but in the overhead bin. I'm a little confused by your post, since you say you want to get the three middle seats near the front, but you also say you don't want to sit close to the front because of the bathroom locations. People rarely line up in the aisle for the bathroom, unless it's just before landing. Most of the time, one or two people at most might be waiting. Since you have specific seat preference, you might think it worth it to pay for a reserved seat. I never pay for a particular seat, though, I just check in online at the earliest possible opportunity (24 hours) and choose my seat then. For what it's worth, someone posted here very recently saying that the armrests do not fold up in the middle section of BA planes. Different planes could be different, but that is what they reported.
Posted by
Gulf Coast, usa
1161 posts
Joe, we just got back a couple of days ago from the exact flights (out of Houston). Not all seats have the silver boxes under them. If that were the case no one would have leg room. We flew the middle section on the way out. We had seats reserved (3) on the side but at the airport we asked if the bulkhead seats were available (they hold those out for parents with babies) and they were. We changed seats at the airport. These seats just have a wall in front of them. Since they are 4 across in the middle we took the two isles and one other and had the extra seat to pile stuff on during flight. The BA armrests do not go all the way up in economy. About three quarters of the way. The ones in Economy plus to not move at all. For all that extra leg room, see if the bulkhead seats are avail at the airport. The other best option is the exit row seats. Those are awesome (we paid extra for those on the way back) as there are no seats in front of you and you have so much space. Usually it is toward the end of the flights when people stand outside the bathrooms. It really isn't that much of a problem. Seat guru can help with some choices of seats that people of had. You could call BA and ask them, but we have found that you will get a different answer every time on anything you ask. We finally found a competent agent - PM me and will share her # in the Jacksonville call center. Once you pick your seats be happy with it. You will have to pay again if you want to move your seats before the 24-hour free change. These flights tend to sell out or are very crowded so keep that in mind as well. If your strategy is to grab the two end seats in the middle, someone very well could end up in the middle seat. Will be happy to answer any other questions. Just PM me!
Posted by
OP
Houston, TX, US
28 posts
Since I am learning that passengers don't normally block the seats close to the front I would now like to get 3 seats fairly close to the front. I am 74 and my wife is 61 and my Grandson just turned 18 and this is a Graduation gift for him so it is important to me that we all sit next to each other preferably in the middle where we will have all 3 seats in the center reserved for ourselves so we can alternate seating and have two aisle seats. Our diagram shows 3 seats on the left; 3 in the middle and 3 on the right. Is this a 777-200 or 777-300? I do hate to spend over $200 but since we are going in the Summer where plane will be filled I thought it might we worthwhile rather than taking our chances 24 hours before where we will have little option if for some reason we get separated and in the back of the plane. Thanks to those who have responded here. Joe