Earlier this month I won the lottery. Not the Mega Millions, but something close. I flew economy class from California to Europe and got three seats to myself. And I wasn't the only one, there were about 20 other people in the back of the plane who all shared three or four seats each.
I asked the flight attendant why the plane was so empty, and she explained that I was taking a seasonal route (United Airlines from San Francisco to Zurich) early in the season, and such routes often take a long time to fill up. I immediately regretted not booking the same route for my return flight. On my return flight from Munich a week later, you could count the number of empty seats on the plane on one hand.
Want to put this tip into practice? Check out “Direct Flights for Easy Travel” to find seasonal flights from your local airport.
Another reason economy class was empty on my flight is because San Francisco and Zurich are popular departure and arrival points for business travelers. Airlines may have been willing to operate with economy class mostly empty because they were making enough money from business travelers sitting at the front. Another tip for getting a seat (or two) next to you in economy class is to fly routes with a lot of business travelers. Consider flying from business hubs like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC to business hubs like Brussels, Geneva, London, Milan, Mumbai, Singapore, and Zurich. (These hubs don't have to be your final destination; they're just connections to your final destination.)
While you won't always be able to get an available seat (I certainly won't), here are some strategies I employ to make the most of the space in economy class.
Fly on Tuesdays or Wednesdays when the plane is less crowded. Of course, fly in the low season too. If you think the plane will not be full, choose a seat towards the back of the plane. If you are traveling with someone, choose a window and an aisle seat in the same row. The middle seat at the back is the last to be filled, so there is the highest chance that the seat next to you will be free. I like windows, not only because of the view, but also because I can rest my head against the fuselage of the plane when I sleep. However, if you are traveling on a wide-body plane without a window, choose an aisle seat in the middle section so that the other aisle seat in that middle section is already filled. The middle seat can only be filled if the entire plane is full. Download the airline app to check the seat map for your flight so that you can change seats if your row is full. Check the seat map every day for the last week of flying. (Note that not all airlines allow this kind of visibility or flexibility: On my Lufthansa ticket from Munich to San Francisco, I had to pay a seat selection fee and could only change my seat over the phone after that.) At the airline gate, ask the agent if there are any seats available on the plane, and if there are, politely ask to sit next to them. (It might help to tell the agent that you have a lot of work to do during the flight and need more space.)
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