# Where do you like to sit on a commercial flight? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 8, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958 "2010-11-08T21:09:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/61 "2010-11-09T16:58:19Z")
When I was younger and someone was sleeping in the aisle seat next to me and I had to get out, I would sometimes get up on my seat and use the armrests on either side of the sleeper to literally climb over him and then jump down into the aisle. Doubt if I’d do it now, though. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/62 "2010-11-09T17:03:04Z")
I’m weird. I like to wait for others to get the hell out of the plane, let the rush subside, before I leave. I sit in the back, at a window, if possible. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/63 "2010-11-09T17:06:46Z")
Window seat near the rear of the plane. It sounds stupid but I like to watch the wing control surfaces in action. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/64 "2010-11-10T01:35:24Z")
Aisle of course, but I also chose the “knucklehead” answer of towards the front of the plane. I’d take an aisle in the back before a centre seat in the front, though. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/65 "2010-11-10T02:40:06Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Aisle of course, but I also chose the “knucklehead” answer of towards the front of the plane. I’d take an aisle in the back before a centre seat in the front, though. That wasn’t a knucklehead answer ya knucklehead. The knucklehead answer was choosing the option that was just there to divide the two parts of the poll. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/66 "2010-11-10T02:51:06Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > Aisle seat, middle. Should the unthinkable happen (and it never will again) I’m not dying without a fight. Period. Wait, you actually pick your seat based on how easy it would be for you to fight off mid-air hijackers? That’s like choosing what car to drive based on … how easy it would be to fight off mid-air hijackers (as you seem to acknowledge). Oh, and window/no preference. I do have long legs, but I like the “snug” feeling the window seat provides (and the view is nice, too, of course). I don’t like the bulkhead. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/67 "2010-11-10T03:04:00Z")
I don’t care, as long as whoever sitting next to me doesn’t ooze into my space. I’m very short, so leg room is never an issue. I just don’t want to be touched. StG ---
**Author:** ![FrancisCastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b4bc9f/32.png) [@FrancisCastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrancisCastle)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/68 "2010-11-10T03:08:29Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > I just don’t want to be touched. Ditto. I also have to have that little air nozzle blowing on me at all times. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/69 "2010-11-10T03:15:53Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > Front, because I tend to be anxious about getting off of a plane sooner rather than later (and, lately, I’ve come to believe that the flight feels a bit smoother from up front), and window, because I can generally go an entire cross-country flight without going to the bathroom, and I hate having people crawl over me or making me move. Front for me for the same reason as you; the quicker I can get off the plane, the better. Window for me, again because of the same reason you stated. Also, I tend to fall asleep and a pillow against the window is just the ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/70 "2010-11-10T23:39:45Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > Window. I’m a mapmaker, and so I always want to know what town that is down there. Usually I have the sectional charts with me so I know. I just wish more people would ask me. Those people that would ask you got a seat by the window of their own, they don’t want to be stuck next to some map-dude, they want to see for themselves! ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/71 "2010-11-11T02:17:29Z")
Aisle, always – I hate rubbing shoulders with strangers. I’ll take a window seat only if I can’t get an aisle seat. Taking a middle seat only happens if I can’t take another flight. Front of the plane, when I can get an aisle seat there. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/72 "2010-11-11T02:19:32Z")
Aisle seat, always. Don’t care which portion of the plane. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/73 "2010-11-11T02:36:37Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > N/A. I can’t sleep on a plane. Never been able to. So I’ll be up reading the entire flight. Sorry if my reading light is shining in your eyes. It’s okay–doesn’t bother me in the least. I don’t sleep terribly well on flights, either, but I do nod off for periods at a time. At the very least, I enter that zen-like half-awake state with my eyes closed, head leaned against the window, listening to my iPod, where time sort of disappears. I find that much more difficult to do without the ability to lean against something. My neck gets sore in a sitting position. ---
**Author:** ![cherry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cherry)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/74 "2010-11-11T07:27:38Z")
Before the baby I preferred the exit row window. Now that I fly with her I prefer first class or economy plus middle and window near the front as long as there is underseat storage ( so no bulkheads). Also facing forward I pick the left side of the plane. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/75 "2010-11-11T09:55:49Z")
I’m not too fussed where in the row I sit but I very much prefer escape route seats for the extra legroom, and seats over the wings for a more comfortable ride. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/76 "2010-11-11T10:18:24Z")
I voted 'Other." I prefer to be seated next to very attractive younger ladies who are polite enough to engage in meaningless conversation with an old man. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/77 "2010-11-11T11:57:13Z")
I’d love to sit nearer the window, but being a larger person, I’m very conscious of encroaching on other people’s space, so sitting in the aisle allows me to ensure I’m not causing my neighbour any discomfort. I’m not too bothered about where on the plane I sit, because I always have luggage and there’s really no benefit to getting to the baggage collection before the bags start coming out. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/78 "2010-11-11T12:04:55Z")
Aisle or window in the middle of the plane. I’m the one meditating doing slowed controlled breathing and gripping the arm rests, while dressed in a manner that would allow me to flee a burning airplane if the need arises. Sitting next to map guy would be interesting, I can never tell where I am from up there… ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/79 "2010-11-11T14:59:31Z")
Window seat, over the wingbox, which normally is the middle of the plane. If things go badly and the plane goes down, the wingbox area is the strongest section of the fuselage and there will be one or two exits no more than about ten feet away. Yes, I’m one of those people who take note of how many rows are between me and an exit, fore and aft. In much less alarming terms, the wingbox is also a center of rotation, so there’s less perceived motion. (Picture yourself sitting on the center pivot of a teeter-totter, and compare that to sitting at the end of the teeter-totter.) ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958/80 "2010-11-11T17:05:49Z")
Aisle seat. Back of the plane. (There are always bathrooms there.) I may not need it, but if I do, I’ll need it now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-you-like-to-sit-on-a-commercial-flight/559958.md?page=5)