As air travel has evolved, so has the way we book and choose our seats on a plane. In the past, passengers were simply assigned a seat on the plane, with the rest of their party, as part of the cost of their ticket. However, savvy travelers have realized that not all seats are created equal.
Several factors must be considered when choosing the best seat on a plane. Of course, extra legroom is always a plus, and many travelers know to ask for an exit row or bulkhead seat for this reason. However, other factors, such as the orientation of the seat or the proximity to other amenities on the plane, must also be considered.
For example, some seats may be located near the lavatories or the galley, which can be a plus or a minus, depending on your preferences. Other seats may be in a row where the seats in front of you can’t recline, which can benefit if you value your personal space.
When looking for the best seats on a plane, you need reference material. That means having an accurate map of the seats on a plane. Until recently, you only needed to know one website: SeatGuru.
SeatGuru was a combination of reference and crowdsourced material. The website provided seat maps and allowed members to comment on specific seats on a plane, telling whether they were good or not. SeatGuru listed seats as preferable, average, or ones to avoid and provided reasons for each. For instance, they would indicate if a seat couldn’t recline or had a misaligned window.
However, when I compared SeatGuru’s maps to those on airline websites, I noticed they were starting to get out of date. For example, I couldn’t find a plane that matched the seating arrangements on several Delta planes.
When I searched, I found many posts on Reddit and FlyerTalk about how SeatGuru was no longer being updated. In fact, the SeatGuru app is no longer available on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
I’m trying to figure out what happened. SeatGuru was purchased by TripAdvisor back in 2007. TripAdvisor was spun off from Expedia in 2011, so there’s no corporate buyout reason to kill the website. I can only figure out that there’s no profit in keeping the website updated. You head to SeatGuru after you’ve already searched for a flight and have possibly purchased a ticket. All you’re doing at this point is picking out your seat assignment.
But I won’t pick a seat based on an out-of-date map. Thankfully, two websites have taken up the mantle of providing updated seat maps. In fact, they actually provide more information than SeatGuru.
The websites are AeroLOPA and SeatMaps.
AeroLOPA
AeroLOPA is a portfolio of aircraft seating plans, carefully developed and uniquely detailed to help you make the very best decision about where to sit on-board your next flight.
Starting with the airlines we know most intimately, American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, and Iberia, our aim is add new airlines in the future but we will only ever publish information that we know is accurate and reliable.
The website is easy to navigate and provides information about each plane, including the number of seats in each cabin and the types of seats. It also shows an accurate diagram down to the window alignment.
For example, I used AeroLOPA to check out the seat map of the Delta 767-400ER we flew from Orlando to Atlanta.
If I were paying more attention, I would have seen that row 22 has a misaligned window.
One of the great features of AeroLOPA is a description of the seats. This is important when flying in premium economy, business or first class. On our Delta flight, here is the description of the Premium Select cabin seating:
Delta Premium Select
Twenty Collins MiQ premium economy seats configured 2-2-2, with a retractable leg/foot rest, and a 4-way adjustable headrest
Seat width: 19″
Row pitch: 38″
Seat recline: 7″
13.3″ touch screen display
Universal 110V AC (shared) and two USB-A sockets
They’ve also addressed a major gripe many users mentioned: the lack of a key to decipher the maps. Now, that information is at the top of each post.
Delta Air Lines operate twenty-one Boeing 767-400ER aircraft, configured 34J 20W 184M, including 28 Comfort+ seats in Economy, and located at rows 30 to 33. These are indicated in the seat plan with red accents.
SeatMaps
Launched in 2022, SeatMaps.com also provides information on many different airlines.
SeatMaps is a company founded by Fred Finn, a Guinness World Record holder for passenger miles, and Djois Franklin, a tech veteran from AMD and Microsoft. Based in London and Munich, we combine Fred’s experience with the weekly updated seat map data for over 700 airlines. Our 360° panoramic technology helps to get an immersive view of any cabin from (A) Airbus to (Z) Zlin Aircraft. Read flight reviews of others and rate your own experience. Use SeatMaps to find the most comfortable seat for your next flight!
Here’s the seat map for the Premium Economy seats for the same Delta 767-400.
One advantage of SeatMaps is that they color-code the seats to indicate which ones provide more comfort and which ones have issues. For example, here’s the summary for seat 22A with the misaligned window.
Unlike AeroLOPA, SeatMaps allows you to find which plane you’ll be flying on by entering your flight information. The SeatMaps website has a more extensive list of airlines, ranging from JetBlue‘s E190 to the A320 we flew with Cambodia Angkor Air. It also provides links to reviews of the aircraft from sources around the web.
My only fault is that the descriptions are rather generic. For example, here’s a description of the seats on the E190.
The Embraer E190 series, offers an economy class that’s optimized for comfort. Catering to 84 passengers, the environment is spacious with practical seating. A diverse range of entertainment options keeps passengers engaged, ensuring a smooth journey.
Final Thought
I’m not sure which site is better, as both have their strengths. SeatMaps presents information in a more user-friendly format, while AeroLOPA offers more detailed insights about each aircraft, including the types of seats and the Wi-Fi systems available.
When SeatGuru launched, passengers weren’t charged extra fees for most seat assignments. However, now, airlines have started charging passengers for reserving seats of their preference, including aisle or window seats, and even seats towards the front of the cabin are labeled as “preferred” and come with a higher price tag. Knowing the layout of a plane has become more important than before. Unfortunately, SeatGuru has been neglected and is no longer updating seat maps. Still, I’m glad that AeroLOPA and SeatMaps have taken the mantle and are providing passengers with more comprehensive and accurate information than before, enabling them to make informed decisions when selecting their seats.
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24 comments
I noticed that out-of-date/erroneous/missing info SeatGuru was often providing/not providing too. Which was very disappointing as I’d depended on them for my seat selection fairly often. So thanks very much for the heads up on this new site!
AeroLOPA is missing some information. For example, on AA’s aircraft, Main Cabin Extra seats have a colored stripe shown on the back of the seat…but there’s no legend anywhere showing the user what color represents MCE. The 737-MAX shows rows 16 and 17 with a stripe colored differently than other coach rows. If I hadn’t looked at Seat Guru, I wouldn’t have known that 16 and 17 are MCE rows.
The thing I liked about SeatGuru were the reviews of individual seats. Even if I wasn’t looking at that specific seat, it would give me a little more data about the row or area. I’d love to see AeroLopa introduce that feature. Totally love them even without it, though!
Seatguru has been garbage for years
Agreed. Quite like AeroLOPA.
Can’t find AeroLOPA FOR Apple app store
Any thoughts about seatmaps.com for that purpose?
This is old news – I’ve been using Aerolopa since it was first launched. It does have its’failings but is very comprehensive compared to SG.
I could not find AeroLOPA in the Apple App Store today.
I agree Kevin. The flyer reviews were really great. I didn’t see any great, average or bad seat indicators on the AeroLopa site for AA aircraft.
The site does not show you the version of the plane that is to be used on a future flight.
It was also nice to have comments as to what seats to avoid.
Perhaps these will be added later
Where can you find a legend that explains what the various bars on the seat backs represents? One airline has 4 or 5 different colors on one aircraft type.
There seems to be a trend that when a web site becomes a good go-to for consumers, it gets bought and either fades away for becomes less consumer-friendly and more industry-friendly. Seat Guru was like having an industry insider. And although unrelated, I remember getting some AMAZINGLY great deals on NICE hotels using Hotwire and Priceline. Of course, they got bought and with new ownership, away went the deals. The meager savings are usually eaten up by the service fees, and then there’s the intangible cost of paying up-front for an unknown hotel, often located in a very (VERY) liberal interpretation of your selected neighborhood. I haven’t used Priceline or Hotwire now in YEARS after having been a very loyal customer for a number of years.
Aerolopa may have nice diagrams of the plans, but unlike SeatGuru there is no information on the seat. Is it good or bad. down the bottom there is a green or red circle which do nothing. How can I make the best decision on which seat I want if it won’t say if it’s bad or good… does it have a window missing…does it have an entertainment box at my feet??? You put your cursor over the seat, and nothing happens??? Tried on the red or green dots, nothing happens???
“AeroLOPA is a portfolio of aircraft seating plans, carefully developed and uniquely detailed to help you make the very best decision about where to sit on-board your next flight. ”
Am I missing something…
Not sure what you are talking about with Aero LOPA. I have used the site before (or rather, tried to use it) and got zero information. I just tried it again for my 2 flights tomorrow on UAL and once again the site provided nothing but a picture of the plane. No seat dimensions, pitch, good or bad. I find it worthless.
Not in Apple app store
As the article states, it’s a website. You can make a web app from it if that’s important to you.
Unless I’m missing something AeroLopa doesn’t give you the aircraft for your specific flight. I’m taking a Delta flight that uses a 757. They have 4 models. How don’t know which one my flight uses? Seatguru used to let you input your flight brand and number and it would show the specific aircraft.
If you look at the map of your plane on the airline website, you can see how many seats in each class and then match it to Aerolopa’s map. It’s not as user friendly but it still works.
The Aerolopa site gives no indication on where the plane’s exit rows are. Also no comprehensive review of individual seats like SeatGuru did and no map of floor mounted communication boxes that could restrict foot space.
My desire for seat maps is actually more rudimentary: I know the exact aircraft and want the seat map for it. Neither SeatGuru nor AeroLOPA will display any seat map for a flight that has already been completed. I find that disappointing. I have wanted past maps for other reasons, such as reading some of the comments, or comparing a past flight’s seat map with a coming one. I realize I am an outlier in this, yet it surprises me that with thousands of seat maps available, the only way to actually find one is to search by the flight number and date.
Odd. The most recent comment is a year old. Will be interesting to see more recent comments to see how people feel about the sites currently.
Agreed–SeatGuru appears to have outlived itself and/or its new owners never intended to maintain it. AeroLOPA has worked well for me and seems to be up to date (barring last minute a/c swaps by the carriers). Sadly, another very useful tool, ExpertFlyer seems to be on its way out for much the same reason: acquired by a new investor team which has chosen to neglect (end) the brand. This tool would allow you to accurately see which seats were occupied/vacant. Recently, with the exception of a handful of airlines (ie QF)–no more seat map access. No comments or replies from the new brand owners Red Ventures/TPG based in South Carolina.
Do either have a phone app??????