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Don't pay for seat assignments

Posted by (SF Bay Area, CA, USA) on

My folks and I are flying on Air India 777-200 and they want $50-$70 per seat per segment per person From SFO to DEL to sit in the front of the plane. I had the mentality of paying but then paying $300 for seats is expensive. I booked the window in the very last row with twin seats just ahead of the emergency exit and per Expert Flyer the seat next to me is blocked due to the exit and irs free. While its not fully reclineable I am not seated directly behind the restroom because the emergency exit door is directly behind me. I should have extra legroom because its the exit row and there is only the middle and aisle seats..

I don't mind being close to the galley so I can easily get drinks. Whenever I am seated in the back of the plane I request a Special Meal tye Hindu Non Vegetarian and enjoy a Curry.

As we have a 10 hour layover what is 15 minutes more to disembark? I find the twin seats with the seat Next to me blocked a plus. I love the twin seat as a sollo passenger on the 747 and had a very comfortable flight. Most passengers use the center restroom.

I bought a 3D sleep mask and hammock Footrest to put around my tray table for comfort. I will go with the flow.

The dining menu looks very delicious and I have lounge access at SFO and Delhi. I may consider upgrading if its a good price or they upgrade me.

Like Rick I make the best of a flight with a Delra One Tumi kit I bought on eBay for $15 and ky 3D mask and hammock leg rest for $11 on eBay. I sleep well on planes thanks to my noise cancelling headphones.

My tip request a special meal when you may be Left with uninspiring options. I love curry and we're basically guaranteed the Hindu meal from the dining menu. I terestigly its rhe same menu for Economy and Premium economy.

Posted by
2847 posts

My tip, if you want edible food on an airline, bring it on with you. The special meal is actually going to be just as bad as all the other inedible stuff the airline is trying to pass off as food.

Posted by
22225 posts

Hey, the food on Turkish Air isn't half bad.

My choice of seats is usually the center section. I pick an aisle seat on a row where the opposite aisle seat is already sold. The middle seat 9 out of 10 times doesn't sell and I get some breathing room. Then when I check in I check other rows and on ocassion I find an empty row and change my seat so I can sleep across the 3 or 4 seats.

Usually my seats cost $125 to $150 total, Budapest to Istanbul to Houston and the return.

Posted by
2847 posts

Mr E

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m not sure “ isn’t half bad” actually a compliment about food

Insert smile emoji

Posted by
22225 posts

It leaves the half thats good to consider. ;-) To be honest, given the circumstances I have never had an issue with Turkish Air food. But Lufthansa ..... yuck! But I still eat it.

Posted by
804 posts

Your post combines two parts of the flight experience; seat assignment and food.

Food is obviously a personal taste (!) type of thing, so I'll leave that to the others.

As for seat assignments, airlines have found this to be a revenue producing item
just like baggage fees. OP's experience on his flight is great, but seating configurations
differ by plane, and by airline.

I think OP is saying (or, I'm saying) that if you care about these types of things, you
should study the seating map for the plane (or planes) you may fly on, and consider
what you're willing to live with. I would not wait until check-in time to let the airline
pick a seat for me unless I knew the plane would be fairly empty, for example. I
would pick a seat if it's free and then see if I can improve on it at checkin time, when
often, all the seats in a cabin become available for free.

Posted by
2847 posts

Because of my job, I travel a lot.

I’ve never been on a plane where the seat next to the exit row is blocked from being used. It may be blocked to be assigned at the airport to assure that the person is able to handle the exit row, but it is not a routine situation where the seat is blocked from anyone using it. And that’s what expert flyer will be telling you the seat is blocked by the airline not that it is not going to be in use. I routinely see the same thing on expert flyer, for example for bulkhead row seats, they are blocked for special needs, but when you get on the plane, there will be bodies in those seats.

instead of looking at the seat map on expert flyer you might want to consider looking at the available tickets. They show you by fare class how many tickets are still available. If that is nine for a lot of classes that means they are still selling a lot of tickets and you may have a good shot at an empty seat if your flight is fairly soon. If that is showing zeros or very low numbers that plant will probably be full.

Posted by
5050 posts

I used to purposely order the seafood plate on my domestic flights, which sounds dodgy but I would usually get several large shrimp with cocktail sauce. And envious glances from everyone seated around me.

Now I just get the least objectionable sounding meal from the cart, WTH. It's just one meal.

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