As an American living in Australia, I’m quite familiar with the 20-hour long-haul flight from Sydney to New York. A direct flight to Los Angeles takes about 14 to 16 hours, depending on headwinds, and then there’s the stopover and then another five hours to JFK. As a poor student, I’m always on the lookout for cheap international flights, so it means I end up with a lot of red eyes and plenty of lengthy stopovers.
For this arduous long-haul journey, finding a good seat is critical. There’s nothing worse than touching down in Los Angeles at 7 am, having not slept a wink and then needing to wait another 8 hours at LAX to board a connecting flight to New York. Funny enough, I’ve never managed to get myself upgraded, except to Economy Plus, which gave me an extra inch of leg room – and a broken entertainment screen.
If you’re making the long haul for the first time, here are a few tips on picking the best seat:
Check in online. If you can pick a seat at the time of booking, go for it as seats fill up fast. Alternatively, many airlines will let you check in online so you can head straight to the gate without needing to queue at the airport. Many carriers also tend to release exit row seats on the day of the flight, so you have a better chance of securing some highly coveted leg room then.
Beware drafty conditions. There is nothing more irritating than not being able to sleep because you’re freezing! Entrances to the galley can create a wind tunnel, so seats right next to these can be quite cold. Ask for an extra blanket.
Watch for babies. Seats located in the front row directly behind the galley are often reserved for families with infants. On many international flights, a baby bassinet can be secured to the galley wall while the plane is in air. It can be exceptionally disappointing to get a great bulkhead seat only to have it come with a burbling baby.
Consider gambling on the back seats. A really nice flight attendant once pointed me to a row of five empty seats in the last row. Since most people tend to reserve seats in the front, the back rows are the most likely to be empty for you to sprawl out. The drawback of course, is most back seats are narrower so if you don’t get extra room, it can be quite disheartening. Red-eye flights tend to be emptier than other ones, so there’s a fairly good chance you’ll be able to catch some Zs.
Consult SeatGuru. This website has a great guide for picking a great seat for any airline and almost every aircraft. The trick to know what type of plane you’ll be flying in. You need to be on top of this, however, as sometimes airlines will change aircraft without prior notice – and then reassign your carefully picked seat!
Break up the long-haul flight. Another thought to consider, that I personally have come to prefer, is breaking up the long haul flight. Last year, instead of flying direct, I found a cheap flight to New Zealand that then connected to Los Angeles. The process of getting off the plane after the first three hours to stretch my legs and then hopping back on a flight that only lasted 12 hours was actually a lot easier on the knees.
If you have more ideas on how to make a 20-hour flight more pleasant, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have a great flight!
Paige Green is DownUnderGal and she writes and blogs in Australia. Originally from the US, she’s always on the lookout for last-minute holidays and deals to pop back home.
Backseat Gamble – a really nice flight attendant once pointed me to a row of five empty seats in the last row. Since most people tend to reserve seats in the front, the back rows are the most likely to be empty for you to sprawl out. The drawback of course, is most back seats are narrower so if you don’t get extra room, it can be quite disheartening. Red eye flights tend to be emptier than other ones, so there’s a fairly good chance you’ll be able to catch some Zs.
SeatGuru has a great guide for picking a great seat for any airline and almost every aircraft. The trick to know what type of plane you’ll be flying in. Keep an eye out as sometimes, airlines will change air craft without prior notice – and then reassign your carefully picked seat!
Another thought to consider, that I personally have come to prefer, is breaking up the long haul flight. Last year, instead of flying direct, I found a cheap flight to New Zealand that then connected to Los Angeles. The process of getting off the plane after the first three hours to stretch my legs and then hopping back on a flight that only lasted 12 hours was actually a lot easier on the knees.
If you have more ideas on how to make a 20 hour flight more pleasant, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have a great flight!
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Paige Green is DownUnderGal and she writes and blogs in Australia. Originally from the US, she’s always on the lookout for last minute holidays and deals to pop back home.
Avoid sitting near small children as well. They are bonkers after about an hour or two, and then they will drive you bonkers!
Great post. I never knew about seat guru.. thanks for that tip!!
Great tips. I always spend so much time worrying about my seat and my seatmate(s). It can make or break a trip.
Thanks for the great advice. You can bear a bad seat for a short flight — but long hauls will do you in.
You’re an American living in Australia? Well, I’m an Aussie living in America. We must tawk.
I’ve been doing the SFO-SYD shuffle for, ah, a few more years than you (20-plus now) but wished I’d had these tips way back when.
Truth be told, though, in the glory days before Down Under was discovered I could have my pick of seats — I’m talking an entire row — and I would just flip those armrests and make myself a bed and call it a night, at least on the way over.
My how times have changed. Now I white knuckle it in the cramped confines of a single coach seat & have fun with pharmaceuticals to pretend i’m not up in the air (debilitating flight anxiety kicked in around about the time my boy was born.)
Here’s what I wanna know: I’ve been a slave to United since the early days but am aware that it’s probably the least comfy way to cross the Pacific. I hear Virgin is lovely. QANTAS too, of course, but around Xmas their flights cost more than I paid for my first car!
Your thoughts please.
Sarah Henry, my experience of Virgin Blue, as a US expat in New Zealand with occasional trips “across the ditch” to Aussie, is that they would charge you extra to use the toilet if they thought they could get away with it. There was one particularly uncomfortable cross continental flight I remember in the back row with no ability to recline from Perth to Brisbane. Ugh. I haven’t flown a regular Virgin flight though.
Australia is on my “get there” list, but the length of the flight always seems so daunting. These tips are great – hopefully I can put them to use sometime soon.
I’m with Kris. I *so* want to visit Australia and New Zealand, but that flight. Oh, that flight. I’m not sure I could do it. Thanks for the seating tips.
Year ago I did seasonal work in Australia and New Zealand, and before it was time to belt up for take-off I would have a look around and move if I saw better seating options. I managed to stretch out on a number of flights. The days of flying with many empty seats may be over but it’s still worth checking to see if other seat options exist that may be more comfortable than what you have. If someone shows up for the seat, just apologize and move back to your assigned seat.
Am I ever glad my international flying days are over!!! Used do Boston/Paris four times a year and was always cold by the end of the flight. Now I hear airlines plan to charge for the first blanket, eight bucks, so for two you’d need to pay $16.
Just took a flight from Ottawa, ont to San Diego…
I always go for the bulkhead seat at the front of the ‘economy section’. Here you have the luxury of:
– no one in front of you to put their seat back
– extra leg room
– steward/ess’ will take and look after carry on as there is no room under the seat in front of you
– first to be offered food and drink
– close to the toilet
– first off
After that I try the ‘exit’ over the wing. They have extra leg room.
Hi – having recently done the Sydney – LAX flight in the Economy section, I wanted to share my two tips: (1) seatexpert.com is a great site too (like seat guru) and (2) if you have to fly Economy, choose a window seat way in the back, where the plane narrows, because there are only two seats per row rather than three and there is a bit of extra room between the seat and window; plus, you’ll only have one person next to you rather than two. I chose a seat back there and had extremely good luck in terms of a seat mate (which I wrote about in this blog post if you’re interested, http://www.sarahlavendersmith.com/2010/02/craig-crowie-alexander/)
Thanks for the post!
- Sarah (aka FarFlung Gal, guest contributor in past)
This is great advice! I’d also say, be careful of sitting near the bathrooms or galleys. People can often congregate around the bathrooms or keep popping into the galleys for snacks, making it hard to sleep or get privacy. If you’re traveling with companions, you might want to ask for the two aisle seats in the center section, hoping that nobody will want the center seats. If you get a whole row to yourself, you can really stretch out!
Thanks for these tips. The only tip I would add is that when we travel with our family of 4, we always try to get seats on the side of the plane where there are only two across. So we sit two in front and two right behind. It feels a lot less cramped then being smushed into a row of three seats. I also always lift up the arm rest between the two seats so both people feel like they have a bit more room. And always, always wear pants and bring a jacket or blanket. I am always freezing on an airplane no matter what time of year we travel.
Great tips for choosing the best seat on an international flight. I like emergency row seats, if the airline isn’t charging extra for them. I always consult seatguru.com when making airline reservations. Of course, you never know when the planes will be switched out and all of your well-made plans are for naught.
I don’t like sitting in the bulkhead–even if there is more room it makes me feel more claustrophobic staring at the wall. My new trick is taking a little dramamine right before the flight. And if you are traveling with your kids this OTC pill works wonders for them too.
These are great tips! I sometimes feel like NO seat is a good seat on super long flights but with a little savvy at least you can get a better seat…
Nice information you have here. I now know better.
I’ve flown Boston to Oahu and Seattle to London, which are pretty long flights, too. I try to bring lots of reading material so I can lose myself in a good book or a trashy magazine. Also, sometimes if there’s a screaming baby or other unpleasant noises, I’ll taken an Ambien and just conk out. (Doesn’t work as well when you have a connecting flight, though.)
I like window seats to see landing/take off,but I also like aisle seats so that you have best access to the bathroom!
Aisle seats all the way if you can get them! Quick access to bathroom and for a leg stretch!