3 days ago
There are lots of ways to secure more personal space on a plane. Try these.
Cruising Altitude is a weekly column about air travel. Have a suggestion for a future topic? Fill out the form or email me at the address at the bottom of this page.
One of the top complaints I hear from fellow travelers is that airplane seats are too smushed. No one I know who primarily flies economy feels like they have enough space on the plane. It's true that airlines try to squeeze every penny out of their cabins, and as a result, usually cram as many seats as they can into the back of the plane.
Still, it doesn't have to be this way for every traveler on every flight. Some airlines make it possible to get a little extra space in a variety of ways. Of course, this bonus leg or elbow room doesn't usually come free (unless you're an elite frequent flyer in your airline's loyalty program), but it also doesn't have to cost the thousands of dollars it normally does to buy up to business class.
Here are some of the ways airlines will let you pay a little extra for a little more breathing room.
Blocked middle seats
This arrangement is more common with overseas carriers than in the U.S., but Frontier Airlines' Business Bundle allows passengers to get a guaranteed empty adjacent seat on their flights.
'They're pretty common outside of the United States. You see a lot of global airlines selling extra seats. We don't see it as much in the United States,' Brian Sumers, editor of The Airline Observer told me.
In some avgeek circles, blocked middle economy seats are colloquially referred to as 'euro biz,' because so many European airlines don't have true premium cabins for their intracontinental flights, and sell rows with blocked middle seats as business class tickets.
Sumers said the only other airline he's aware of in the U.S. that makes it easy to buy a middle seat is United.
'There's a box you can check on the app or the website where you can buy two seats,' he said, but noted it's a little different than Frontier's model, where blocked middle seats are part of a ticket bundle. On United, passengers still have to pay the full price for the second seat, which can be cost-prohibitive on many routes.
'If you find a really expensive cross-country fare, it's not going to make a lot of sense to buy that extra seat,' Sumer said.
Breeze Airways also offers blocked middle seats and other upgrades through a partnership with Plusgrade, a company that helps airlines manage their seat inventory. Breeze passengers can pay a little extra to get a guaranteed empty middle seat next to them, or move to extra legroom or recliner-style seats through Plusgrade's offers.
'Everyone knows the feeling they're sitting on the plane and they're watching everyone get on the plane and they hope no one sits next to them,' Ken Harris, Plusgrade founder and CEO, told me. 'If there's a way I could pay to guarantee this, I would definitely do that.'
Extra legroom seats
Many airlines, of course, also sell extra legroom seats in economy for an incrementally higher charge.
'If legroom is your thing, most airlines are offering some extra legroom section. Even if they don't, they have exit rows you can pay extra for,' Brett Snyder, author of the blog Cranky Flier and owner of the travel agency Cranky Concierge, told me.
But Harris said this doesn't always appeal to every passenger.
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'Everyone has their own quirks and personal preferences, so having this as an extra arrow in your quiver, you're able to target to different passengers what would be their preference,' he said.
For some elite frequent flyers, upgrades to preferred and extra legroom seats are included based on availability with their economy fares as a perk of their status.
Bidding for an upgrade
Both Snyder and Sumers said overseas airlines are increasingly using technology to allow passengers to bid for an empty seat next to them, or to bid on free space in a premium cabin right up to departure.
'If an airline is truly creative and smart they're looking at the data, they're seeing how many seats they expect to be available on any given day,' Snyder said. 'If they expect something is going to be empty, can we sell that seat to someone sitting next to it and make a little more money that we're not otherwise going to make?'
On many overseas flights, I've been given the option to bid for upgrades or a little more elbow room. Basically, the airline directs passengers to a third-party app that asks how much they'd be willing to spend on available space, and then assigns better seats or empty middles to the highest bidder. Plusgrade is one of the companies that manages these kinds of upgrades.
Just paying for it
Sumers said the option to secure an empty middle seat or paying for an upgrade is appealing to a lot of travelers, and that's backed up by airlines continuing to tell their investors that premium leisure demand remains strong.
'If you can give yourself this kind of space in economy class you can save yourself a lot of money and have a pretty comfortable experience,' Sumers said. 'It can be more comfortable if you're in a couple to buy three seats in coach than to wedge yourself in a recliner seat in premium economy and pay a lot more money for it.'
Some airlines, like Air New Zealand, also offer extra space premium options in economy. That airline is already known for its Skycouch, a product where economy passengers can buy a full section of specially-designed seats that convert into a flat sleeping surface across multiple seats. Air New Zealand is also planning to introduce the Skynest in 2026, which is a set of bunks in its economy cabin that passengers can pay for a turn to sleep in for a portion of their long-haul flights.
Getting in the weeds about your airplane
Beyond all of these paid options, Snyder said, knowing the specifics of the plane you're flying on can help you find seats with the maximum amount of space available in the cabin you've booked.
'If you're on a widebody on a long-haul flight, look in the back where the cabin starts to taper and they have to reduce the number of seats in the row,' he said. 'You can think about cabin architecture.'
And of course, some airlines just lay their planes out with more legroom than others.
'If you're comparing JetBlue and Spirit, you're going to get more room on JetBlue's base product,' Snyder said.
