window on shorter flights 3 hours or less...

aisle long haul flights...

I got stuck on a 12 hour flight next to the window and both people fell asleep and i couldn't get out it was tramatic...I really had to go...

I'm a converted aisle-sitter...

Where I sit in the plane, generally not that big of an issue...on the bigger plane i prefer middle to back, but not too close to the back because then you get bathroom fumes...

But the exception: On american airlines on some of their longer flights (NY-LA and beyond), they have two seaters, in which case I wouldn't mind the window as it would only be one person to get over...Also I do like to get up and walk around on the long-haul flights, not so much the bladder...

Aisle; for my nana-bladder and cos I get really fidgitty and like to get up and move round. (once I found a party going on a the back of the plane; about 8 guys all standing around the crew spce having a few drinks with the hostesses!)(who probably shouldn't have been drinking...?)

Also I like to be in the back of the plane because my inner paranoid knows its the safest place in a crash (although my inner sceptic knows my inner paranoid is fooling herself and if the plane's going down in flames she's going down in flames too regardless of where she sits...) although not too far back; nothing worse than being in the "toilet fume zone" !

I'm an aisle person - I hate making others move for all my restlessness/bathroom breaks. Also that means I only have one stranger right next to me and can lean my head to one side without getting too friendly.

<-- I like to sit in the front. All the way in the front, ahead of the cockpit door. The view is spectacular and the airline pays me to sit there.

quote:

Originally posted by rawjer:
Emergencies never cross my mind, or at least they won't until that day when the pilot introduces himself as "Captain Steve".

rawjer, you will never be safer on a plane than when I am flying it.

I'm with the people that like to sit in the window on a short flight and aisle on long-haul. I like looking out the window and having a wall to lean on, but ocean definitely isn't interesting to look at and I prefer a bit more leg space to pillow space on longer flights, especially since my knees nearly always dig into the back of seats on those flights. I'd say I like exit row seats, but I've never been lucky enough to get one, even upon request.

As for where on the plane, I'm not too bothered, as long as I am not within a few rows of the toilets, both for the fumes and for the lines that form that leave people crowded around you and nearly sitting in your lap. Being an avid Lost fan, there is always something in the back of my head telling me to sit in the middle of the plane.

Aisle ... even though I rarely shift once sat down, I want to have the choice of standing up and moving about a bit without having to clamber over people who quite rightly want to stay put too.... aisle is guilt-free. Funnily enough it doesn't bother me at all to shift if they want to get out of their seat!

I generally prefer the aisle, just for the option of getting up (though, like kbcara, I rarely do), but the husband prefers the window... And since I'm smaller than he is, I usually end up in the middle seat. The best flights are when it's just two seats per side of the aisle, so we each get what we want.

When I was in college and flew to Australia/New Zealand, I was with my college choir, so we took up 40-some-odd seats on the plane. I was wedged into a window seat on the flight there, next to two people I didn't know and who slept the entire way. When I wanted to get out, I was limber enough then to just climb over them, using the armrests as places to put my stockinged feet. I'm not so sure I could do that as gracefully now...

aisle, to pretend i have lots of Personal Space. i also like to sit closer to the front of the plane so i can get off sooner.

My only disclaimer to my aisle preference is that when in biz class, it just does not matter...my only concern then is whether I'll sip OJ or champagne before take off.

A question for all you aisle people (like me): Did you start out with an aisle preference? I started out flying with a window seat preference...but a) got bored with the window, b) discovered I like taking short walks, and c) always felt guilty about disturbing the person adjacent my sissy bladder. So, now I am an aisle person.

Keppie: the headrest thing is always hit and miss though, no? Sometimes your seat is positioned so that no matter how many pillows and blankets you ask for, they all fall through the crack and you wake-up with your head vibrating against the cold, hard window.

No, I started with a window preference. That was back when I loved to fly and I wanted to see out the window.

Then for years I gradually developed a discomfort, then an actual fear of flying. I moved to the aisle to avoid being reminded that I was in a metal tube weighing a gazillion tons that had no business being in the air.

My fear of flying turned to indifference a couple years ago. Now I prefer aisle so I can stretch my legs and not be penned in by other passengers.

Aisle seat. Its not necessarily because I have an active bladder, but I like to get up and walk around a bit, pretending to have to go the bathroom. There is little worse than having to go, or get up and stretch, then find out the person in the middle and aisle seat weigh 300 pounds and are sleeping. You can't step over them, and you can't slip by them.

Worse than this is a screaming infant or toddler directly behind one. One hopes they are not screaming because they are hungry, tired, or are teething. One hopes they will settle down, but somehow they always find a way to bellow into ones ear at the most inopportune times.

I like window seats on shorter flights, or when I'm first approaching the landing area. otherwise, its all clouds, blue sky, and more clouds, which can be exciting sometimes.
Overall, the aisle seat beckons more. Another good thing about the aisle seat is that when the plane is not full, one can scoot over to a nice window seat with no occupants in the row, and get the benefits of a window seat without the hindrances.

I like exit seats as well, of course, because the leg room is spectacular. Still, they are hard to get.

quote:

Originally posted by Stoo:
Keppie: the headrest thing is always hit and miss though, no? Sometimes your seat is positioned so that no matter how many pillows and blankets you ask for, they all fall through the crack and you wake-up with your head vibrating against the cold, hard window.

So true, but I'll take the cold, hard, vibrating window over inadvertently waking up snuggling up to Mr. Creepypants in the next seat over.

quote:

Originally posted by Trentt:
Then for years I gradually developed a discomfort, then an actual fear of flying. I moved to the aisle to avoid being reminded that I was in a metal tube weighing a gazillion tons that had no business being in the air.

My fear of flying turned to indifference a couple years ago. Now I prefer aisle so I can stretch my legs and not be penned in by other passengers.

That's really interesting. I used to really love flying- kind of like a roller coaster. Now, I'm not so fond. I like the view, but take off and landing kind of freak me out.

Guess I've seen one too many plane crash stories.... speaking of which, my mom just told me about some guy she saw on Oprah with a plane crash story. It was a pretty incredible story from what she said- the entire plane engulfed in flames, he saw the wave of fire coming, ducked, it came back the other way, he ducked again, put his suitcase in front of his face, made it to the exit, it barely opened, most people in the plane were sitting in their seats, buckled in, completely on fire, like Dante's inferno, and the guy saw their life auras (of varying brightness) floating up as they died. That's what my mom said. Anyone catch that episode?

hey capt steve how much for your view on a flight?

First class, in that middle aisle of two seats.

Barring that, I like aisle. I don't really sleep, and am fidgety, so like the option to move around. I do not like getting thumped on the head/leg/foot by the careless flight attendents (really, they have smacked me hard). But, I'll take that over being locked in on the window.