Flight attendant explains which plane seats to avoid when booking a flight

A flight attendant has shared some handy travel tips for anyone looking to get away this year, including the inside scoop on the specific seats to avoid when booking a flight.

While plane seats are sometimes allocated for us upon checking in, these days we’re often given the choice of where we’d like to go as we actually book our tickets.

But many of us arguably won’t put much thought into the selection, as it usually seems a bit arbitrary.

Sitting near the back to get off first only works if the cabin crew are using both ends of the plane to disembark, while some people see paying for extra leg room a mere con.

But even if you’re not willing to splash out any cash for add-ons like more space or priority boarding, you may want to consider avoiding some certain seats if you can.

Joshua Woroniecki/Pixabay

UK flight attendants from leading airlines such as TUI, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and easyJet spoke to Velloy about their best tips for plane travel, ranging from wearing shoes to go to the toilet to avoiding eating off the fold-down tray.

But there’s one that stuck out in particular for us, which came from Tara, who works as a member of Tui’s cabin crew.

She warned travellers to be wary of seats 11A and 11F, which Velloy said have been desired as the least desirable spots to be.

“If you are heading on a short-haul flight, you’re likely to fall short on food by sitting in the middle of the plane,” she said.

“If you are planning on getting any form of drink or snack from the bar on board a short-mid haul flight, then sitting towards the front or toward the back is 100% the way to go.”

JUNO KWON/Pixabay

According to Tara, you could miss out by choosing row 11, as things may have run out by the time they get to you.

“If you sit in the middle, especially on your way home, we are much more likely to have sold out of whatever it is you want because we always start at the front and back and work towards the middle,” she said.

The flight attendant added: "Overall, the very best seat option on a plane for a comfortable and odourless trip with great toilet access is 4C.

“This seat is an aisle seat towards the front of the plane and isn't too close to the front of the aircraft that you have people queuing for the toilet next to you.

“It's also far enough away from any odours coming from the bathroom."

Topics: Travel

Jess Hardiman

Jess is Entertainment Desk Lead at LADbible Group. She graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman