Things to Know Before Booking a Bulkhead Seat in Flight
On the Elliot Advocacy user forum, one commenter posted his experience on Air Canada’s Premium Preferred Seats with the Promise of “More Legroom” and other parks for an additional $ 100 per seat.
“When we boarded the plane in Porto, I found that seats 27H and 27K actually had a wall in front of them, which meant that the actual legroom was significantly less than it could have been,” they wrote.
As it turned out, the commentator had unknowingly booked what is called a “bulkhead,” usually a row behind the wall that separates one cabin from the other. But while they are considered “preferred” seats, they don’t always have extra legroom – or other important benefits – despite the added cost.
Instead, airlines may offer it to customers as a means of embarking and disembarking in the first place, since you are usually given some sort of priority access or just a more convenient seat. If you are considering purchasing a bulkhead seat, there are a few things you should consider first.
First, if you’re looking to splurge on premium seats with extra legroom, be sure to read the fine print while browsing. Airlines such as American, for example, offer seats in the Extra main cockpit in the bulkhead rows, with the guarantee of an additional three to six inches of additional legroom.
However, Air Canada’s policy is cleverly phrased; according to its web – site , the airline offers “additional elbow room” in the bulkhead seats, which makes sense since someone – it can not be folded in front of you, but it is careful not to mention legroom. (Air Canada was not immediately contacted for comment, in particular regarding its legroom policy.)
If ever in doubt, always look for your seat using SeatGuru’s seat maps and look for rows behind or around exit rows. (This seat map for a United Airlines Boeing 757-200 , for example, shows that most bulkhead seats do provide extra legroom, with a few exceptions.) If you find that there is no extra legroom in your row, try replacing its to another one that does.
Since bulkhead seats are usually located around toilets, you may also want to reconsider reservations if you don’t want to deal with the constant presence of passengers in line above you. (Again, check the location map to be sure.)
Finally, since you will be behind a wall, you will most likely have no storage space under the seat in front of you. If this is a problem and you need your carry-on baggage to be easily accessible, perhaps consider a different location. As Smarter Travel writes, your seat may also be slightly narrower than your middle seat, in part because it should leave room for your tray in your armrest, although that could mean no more than one to two inches.
And in case anyone ever asks to swap places, here’s an opportunity for you to tell them “in your dreams, buddy.”