Southwest Airlines Seating Poll

[B_America]

OK, let's assume you have an A boarding pass, so you get to board first and sit anywhere you want.

Let's also assume that there are no scorching hot single members of the opposite sex seated anywhere on the plane. And no other special circumstances. Let's assume a 2 hour flight. If the length of flight affects your answer, please choose the most common choice, but elaborate in your response.

You and a friend board the plane.

Your friend sits down in the aisle of the first empty row he finds. Which seat do you choose?

 

[dcwrestlefan]

i'd call midwest and get a ticket from them. southwest absolutely blows.

last time i flew them though, i had a bodybuilder type facing me in the front row. he was scared of flying. when we took off, he looked out at the wing and saw liquid flying off the top. he lightly shreaked "what is that...what is that?" i told him it was water vapor. seemed to calm him down.

i'd take window if friend was in the aisle though, but i'd debate with him over whether he really wanted it or not. gimme an exit row. more leg room.

flying in a middle seat from houston to baltimore is the most suck ass air experience on the planet.

 

[SpeedoGuy]

Let's also assume that there are no scorching hot single members of the opposite sex seated anywhere on the plane.

Be cautious on LPSG about assuming opposite genders are the only seatmates considered "scorching hot." :smile:

That said, I agree with dcwrestlefan that sitting middle seat on an airliner, especially Southwest, for anything more than an hour sucks hind tit.

 

[LeeEJ]

i'd call midwest and get a ticket from them. southwest absolutely blows.

Agreed! After flying Midwest, every other airline just sucks (reminds me of a bar in Salt Lake City called Port O' Call, whose slogan is, "Every place else just sucks!" :wink: ). The last time I flew for cheap, I thought I was going to lose my mind; I've been spoiled by the big First Class-sized Recaros that Midwest has in all their aircraft. Thank goodness there's a nonstop on Midwest between here and my hometown. Warm chocolate chip cookies FTW! :tongue:

Given a choice, I'd normally take an exit row (preferably the rear row if there are two on a side, because the seats can still recline a bit) on the aisle. Although there's something to be said for sitting by the window, which gives you a place to rest your head.

All else equal, the worst seat, IMO, is the middle of three in the row just in front of an exit. Those seats normally cannot recline at all, because they want to keep the exit as clear as possible under all circumstances. So, you're stuck bolt-upright in a seat that normally has no legroom for a 6-footer like myself -- what am I saying, "legroom" doesn't apply at all, it's KNEEroom that I don't get -- and has probably been pushed forward a couple crucial inches to make room for the exit row.

OH... and BTW...

It's embarrassing if I board a plane and have to climb over somebody (or make them stand up) to get to my window seat; it's also annoying if I'm the one in an aisle seat and have to move for some latecomer to take the window seat next to me.

Because of this, I've taken to doing one of two things, depending on where I'm sitting. If I'm assigned a window seat, I get in line immediately after hearing my row called over the P.A., hoping to get to my seat before my seatrow partner so that I wouldn't have to inconvenience them. If I'm on the aisle, I wait until the last minute, so that anyone sitting by the window in my row is already (hopefully) boarded & seated and wouldn't have to climb over me.

 

[earllogjam]

Always choose the window. I enjoy seeing cloud formations, road patterns, land use patterns and growth, natural formations, my baggage not making it onto the plane....etc.

Usually don't bring a book on board and there are only so many times you can read the Sky Mall magazine so the aisle and middle seat don't appeal to me. I can hold it for 2 hours too.

Did you ever sit in those face to face seats on the old Southwest 737's? Awful. Where do your legs go?

 

[rob_just_rob]

Aisle seat near the front of the plane. I have long legs and I hate waiting for the people in the rows in front of me to exit.

 

[SpeedoGuy]

(reminds me of a bar in Salt Lake City called Port O' Call, whose slogan is, "Every place else just sucks!" :wink: ).

lol

I've closed that place more than once. It does rock!

 

[B_NineInchCock_160IQ]

The most important thing for me is that I have a seat either in an exit row or at the front of the plane, the two places with the most leg room, as I have freakishly long legs.

 

[earllogjam]

The most important thing for me is that I have a seat either in an exit row or at the front of the plane, the two places with the most leg room, as I have freakishly long legs.

I have longish legs too. Aren't the bunkhead seats in the front worse for legroom because you can't slip your legs under the seat in front? I like the exit row but some of those seats don't recline.

 

[LeeEJ]

I have longish legs too. Aren't the bunkhead seats in the front worse for legroom because you can't slip your legs under the seat in front? I like the exit row but some of those seats don't recline.

Right, which is why I mentioned the rearmost of the exit row seats, which aren't affected by a requirement to keep the row behind them clear.

Nice thing about sitting up front, though, is being able to move your legs around. I couldn't do that when I last sat in a regular cramped seat; I was stuck for the entire trip. Might as well have been in a roller coaster with a lap bar.

 

[B_NineInchCock_160IQ]

I have longish legs too. Aren't the bunkhead seats in the front worse for legroom because you can't slip your legs under the seat in front? I like the exit row but some of those seats don't recline.

It depends on the plane.

And as far as I can tell no seats on airplanes outside of first class recline any appreciable amount. They might as well remove those mechanisms altogether and save some weight and by extension fuel. Also they would avoid the potential catastrophe should a plane land without one of its seats in the full upright locked position. Which, if my understanding is correct, would open up an extradimensional portal to hell.

 

[earllogjam]

Nice thing about sitting up front, though, is being able to move your legs around. I couldn't do that when I last sat in a regular cramped seat; I was stuck for the entire trip. Might as well have been in a roller coaster with a lap bar.

LOL
It's better than a roller coaster because you get a barf bag.

Sitting up front traveling alone you invariably get stuck with a colicky, shrieking, screaming infant and a mother at wits end which makes the trip all so pleasant. "Is your son OK?" as you walk back to the lavs - "Really, no I'm not the infant's father, really, REALLY!"

 

[LeeEJ]

LOL
It's better than a roller coaster because you get a barf bag.

Sitting up front traveling alone you invariably get stuck with a colicky, shrieking, screaming infant and a mother at wits end which makes the trip all so pleasant. "Is your son OK?" as you walk back to the lavs - "Really, no I'm not the infant's father, really, REALLY!"

Roller coasters don't need barf bags -- you just turn your head and use the wind. :tongue:

Fix for the screaming kid = iPod + earplug-style earphones + a double helping of Benadryl :biggrin1:

They cram so many seats in there to make money -- simple as that. If they took out seats to supposedly save weight, they'll either lose more in airfare than the weight savings would've saved in fuel costs, or they'd just raise prices to keep profits as high as they are. Why carry just 80 paying passengers when you can carry 110 in the same metal tube?

 

[whatireallywant]

I'm short (5' 2.5") and while I could stand to lose a few pounds I'm not obese, but even I find middle seats uncomfortable. I can't imagine what taller or heavier people feel when they're crammed into those seats. I sort of prefer aisle seats because of more room, but window seats are good too to look out the window and see the clouds, landscapes when the plane is low flying, etc. I've actually only flown twice in my life (both last year) and so I still get a thrill from the takeoff too!

 

[CUBE]

Why the fuck this company can't set up a decent seating chart is beyond me. To think that we have planes in the air and can't identify the passanger in a specific seat is foolish and out of date. To say nothing of the angst of getting the freaking boarding pass and standing in a free for all line...

 

[Principessa]

I'm claustrophobic and have long legs. My first choice is always an aisle seat. I prefer to be in the emergency exit row as they have the most leg room.

OK, let's assume you have an A boarding pass, so you get to board first and sit anywhere you want.

Let's also assume that there are no scorching hot single members of the opposite sex seated anywhere on the plane. And no other special circumstances. Let's assume a 2 hour flight. If the length of flight affects your answer, please choose the most common choice, but elaborate in your response.

You and a friend board the plane.

Your friend sits down in the aisle of the first empty row he finds. Which seat do you choose?

 

[dong20]

All classes:

<2hrs, daytime and good weather probably a window seat by an exit for the leg room.

Economy:

Anything else, aisle seat preferably in an exit row, on long overnight flights as far from the galley as possible, on shorter or long daytime flights as far from toilet as possible - the ideal is a 4 row to myself, it happens occasionally.

In business or first:

I've found it really makes little difference.

I've only flown with SW once or twice and like most domestic flights in the US it was, by and large, entirely forgettable.

 

[HazelGod]

Why the fuck this company can't set up a decent seating chart is beyond me. To think that we have planes in the air and can't identify the passanger in a specific seat is foolish and out of date. To say nothing of the angst of getting the freaking boarding pass and standing in a free for all line...

You mean as opposed to the other major carriers who have the seating charts down to a tee, but can't organize or adhere to a flight schedule worth a rat's ass?

American Airlines, I'm glaring at you.

My territory is mostly Texas and the adjacent states, with Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri thrown in for good measure. Occasionally central Florida. And parts California. And next week, apparently Greenville, SC (!??!). Suffiice it to say, I *love* Southwest. I've never had a problem with them, and the planes are comfortable for the 45-90 minute flights I take 90% of the time.

Contrast that to American...with whom this year alone I've spent over 16 hours in DFW for various flight delays, been diverted to San Antonio and had to rent a car to get home, had my flight cancelled after being delayed 4 hours (again renting a car and driving 3 hours home), and having my flight home cancelled after a 2.5 hour delay so that I got to spend a lovely night in Springfield, MO.

As for the staff...SWA tends to be a generally jovial bunch, and very polite to customers...unlike the rude, surly motherfuckers at AA who make you feel as though your travel delays were some sort of bonus that you were lucky to receive without being charged extra.

 

[Principessa]

You mean as opposed to the other major carriers who have the seating charts down to a tee, but can't organize or adhere to a flight schedule worth a rat's ass? :tongue: ROTFLMAO :tongue: If only that were true! :biggrin1:

American Airlines, I'm glaring at you.

Contrast that to American...with whom this year alone I've spent over 16 hours in DFW for various flight delays, been diverted to San Antonio and had to rent a car to get home, had my flight cancelled after being delayed 4 hours (again renting a car and driving 3 hours home), and having my flight home cancelled after a 2.5 hour delay so that I got to spend a lovely night in Springfield, MO.

As for the staff...SWA tends to be a generally jovial bunch, and very polite to customers...unlike the rude, surly motherfuckers at AA who make you feel as though your travel delays were some sort of bonus that you were lucky to receive without being charged extra.

My least favorite airline is Delta, they are consistently late and I have twice in the last 6 months had flights cancelled after being delayed for no less than 6 hours. The seats are uncomfortable and they have the least leg room of any airline.

I used to love American Airlines; but that was about 8 years ago when I travelled a lot for work.

I miss Peoples Express! They were cut-rate but awesome. You knew what you were getting when you booked your flight. They were always on time, you could pay on the plane, and you were encouraged to bring your own food. :smile:

 

[dreamer20]

OK, let's assume you have an A boarding pass, so you get to board first and sit anywhere you want.

Which seat do you choose?

I'd sit in the flight attendant's lap.:biggrin1: