Ah, the joys of flying in business class—a rare treat for my wife Sharon and me. But even with all the perks and luxury, there’s one decision we can’t avoid: where do we sit? Do we both go for window seats for extra privacy and soak up the views? Or should we stick to the middle seats to chat and share the experience? Maybe split the difference with a window and an aisle seat?
It’s a small but surprisingly tricky dilemma, and over the years, we’ve tried every option. Here’s how those choices played out on some of our past flights—including what we decided for our big adventure on Singapore Airlines’ A350-900.
Exploring Different Seating Arrangements
On an American Airlines flight several years ago, I took the middle row, while Sharon chose the window seat.
When we flew on Aer Lingus from Orlando to Dublin, we both chose window seats. The extra privacy and views made the long-haul flight even more enjoyable.
On our first Singapore Airlines flight on an A380 from JFK-FRA, we picked the two middle seats at the bulkhead. The extra legroom made it easy to sleep on the redeye flight.
Our Singapore Airlines A350-900 Experience
For our recent Singapore Airlines A350-900 business class flights between the USA and Singapore, we decided to switch things up.
The Flight to Singapore
On the outbound flight, I reserved two window seats. I figured since the flight was so long, we’d be sleeping, eating, reading, or watching movies for most of it. For the times we wanted to chat, we could meet in the aisle. Here’s Sharon settling in for the 18-hour journey.
The Flight Home
On the way back, I chose two middle seats in the “honeymoon” row, where the seats are closer together. The alternating configuration of the cabin meant we were side-by-side, making it easy to chat and share the experience.
What’s Your Seating Preference?
Personally, I feel that any lie-flat seat in business class is better than sitting anywhere else on the plane. Sure, if you fly up front all the time, you might develop a preference, and there are always a few seats that are marginally better than others.
But what about you? What’s your feeling about where to sit on long-haul flights? Does it matter if you’re traveling alone or with a companion? Do you prefer middle seats, two window seats, or a window/aisle combo? Let us know in the comments—we’d love to hear your thoughts!
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7 comments
Definitely 2 middles so we can sit next
to each other and our daughter in a window. I think it would be awkward to not be sitting next to each other, unless the seats faced each other.
I guess a lot depends on how important having a window is to you. If you’re both huge window fans like me then take two windows. Otherwise stick with the center since that avoids clogging up the aisles and I know that I always find it distracting and rather disconcerting when someone is standing near me for a while during a flight, especially when the lights are dimmed so I try to avoid doing the same to others.
If there is an interesting view, such as over Greenland, then consider the windows. Otherwise consider the benefits of sitting together in the middle. My wife and I are flying to Australia next week. We have picked middle seats for this long trip. Enjoy the trip.
The benefit of being on sae aisle is that you can help with getting bags into the overhead.
We take the windows, perhaps 1 row removed, ie 3,5
I’ve seen couples do the two window thing and always think it’s a bit weird. Just sit together in the middle? For one thing, if you take the window seat some single traveler might get awkwardly stuck next to a stranger in the middle. Sometimes it’s just nice to consider other people.
Just flew the SQ A359 from Singapore to Seattle. Those business seats only have one window, but also the center pair are very effectively separated unlike other carriers. We found it best to pick a window and an aisle across from each other – you’re then able to directly interact via the aisle, rather than having to walk across the cabin or, heaven forbid, vaulting the center partition. You’re going to be leaning forward to talk regardless if you’re in the center pair or across the aisle. If you both like windows, then ahead/behind is fine, but we found it cut down on ability to casually communicate – we sat that way into SIN and it was fine for the shorter inbound leg. It also meant I got the bulkhead seat with two windows so it was an easy choice there.