How To Pick The Best Seat On A Southwest Flight

It’s one thing to know the tricks on how to be the first one to get on a Southwest flight (Hint, it’s not Early Bird) but once onboard you also need to know what’s the best seat to pick on a Southwest flight.

Once you know your preferences, you can make a mental list and scope out the seats as soon as you enter the plane. Knowing which seats you’re taking prevents a mid-aisle game of “How’s this row?” Trust me, you don’t want that type of pressure in your life. (Right, Sharon?) (*cough* Right Joe. And if you would work on your decision-making skills, it would make picking the “best” seats a whole lot easier, wouldn’t it? *cough*) (Note from Sharon: We really do love each other, I promise!)

So what are the choices for the “best” seats on a Southwest plane and how do they compare?

Southwest only flies three planes – the 737-700, 737-800 and the 737 MAX 8. The 800 variants have about 30 more seats than the 700, but if you’re looking for a seat in the front of the plane (and if you’re getting on first I’d imagine that’s where you’re looking), here are your choices:

Bulkhead

When boarding first, you may have the option of grabbing the front row bulkhead seats. There are some pros and cons to sitting in Row 1 (or row 2, depending on the plane)

Pros

1. Additional legroom with no seat in front of you
2. No one will recline into your seat during the flight
3. The first one off the plane

Cons

1. No tray tables for seats on the 737-700. Tray table in the armrest of 737-800s is smaller than the ones that fold down from the seat in front of you.
2. Seats are narrower because of tray tables in the armrest
3. All bags must be stowed in the overhead during takeoff and landing
4. Carry-on bags may not fit in the overhead bins because the bins are smaller at the front of the plane. You’ll have to store your bag several rows behind your seat
5. The first overhead bin may be full of emergency equipment and unusable

The Infinite Legroom Seat

Seat 12A on the 737-700 and seats 16A & 16F on the 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 are exit rows with no seats in front of them. In reality, the exit is in row 15 but I’m guessing the window seat in that aisle would impede the door’s opening, if necessary.

Pros

1. Infinite legroom
2. No one in the seat in front of you to recline into you during the flight

Cons

1. The tray table in the armrest is smaller than the ones that fold down from the seat in front of you.
2. The seats are narrower because of the tray table in the armrest.
3. A carry-on bag is far away (but this isn’t such a big deal, really)
4. This seat can get a bit colder due to the nearby emergency exit.

Exit Row

Not all exit row seats are created equal and nowhere is that more apparent than on Southwest’s planes. Some of the seats will provide extra legroom while others will give a narrower seat with no other benefits.

As you can see on SeatGuru, for the two planes only a few seats are solid green (good) and the rest of the exit rows are yellow (Be aware)

Pros

1. Additional legroom
2. In some rows, the row in front can not recline

Cons

1. Seats in these rows may have less padding
2. Tray tables are in the seat in front of you, which may be far away for shorter passengers
3. It can get very cold by the exits while in-flight

Any Other Seat

Maybe you’re one of the passengers who just wanted a seat that wasn’t in the middle and is towards the front of the plane.

Pros

1. Most seats on Southwest planes are the same.
2. You can try to get an empty seat in your row if the flight is not full

Cons

1. There are still some bad seats on Southwest. Be careful when choosing or you may end up in a row that doesn’t recline or one without a window.

Final Thoughts

What’s the best seat on a Southwest flight? I guess that depends on what’s most important for you. If you want to have legroom and be in the front but don’t mind your carry-on being behind you and possibly not having a tray table for your flight, then you might prefer the bulkhead. Others might want the exit row for the extra legroom but otherwise normal seats.

If it’s available, I’ll take the infinite legroom seat. Since Sharon doesn’t need any extra legroom, this row works fine for us. We’ve even managed to keep the middle seat open a couple of times.

Which seat you want depends on what you value the most. Now that you know what’s available, you can make an informed decision.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary