Everyone always focuses on the redemption aspect, the “how do I get there?”. But even if you get the chance to book a flight, you still have to choose the right seat. Otherwise, your experience could go from positive to satisfactory simply with the position of where you are on the plane.

A few case studies

Take for example United Polaris Business. The product itself is fine, but is set up in an alternating pattern between inside and outside. Though there is direct aisle access, the odd-numbered rows are farther away from the aisle and have significantly more privacy than the even-numbered rows, which are closer to the aisles.

Or Air France Premium Economy, which features a 2-3-2 configuration. For the same price, you might be stuck in the dreaded middle seat – a far cry from both the window and aisle.

On my December trip to Spain, only the middle seats were left on the flight in Premium Economy. That’s why when I was presented with an offer to upgrade to Air France Business class for just $250, I took it in a heartbeat. That’s such a drastic improvement! Not only that, but seat 1A (widely regarded by the industry as one of the best business class seats in the sky) was available, which sweetened the pot even more.

Or see this seat map of JetBlue Mint class. They decided to fit the cabin in an inconsistent 1-2/2-1 configuration. That means if you 66% of the cabin is stuck with a neighbor. Great for couples, but awful for solo travelers. Selecting one of the single-seats is drastically better and more private!

Even in Economy!

Take a look at this seat map here. You have the whole coach cabin in the standard 3-3 configuration, but for some reason the window seats in row 15 are missing. As such, seats 15A and 15F have pretty much unlimited legroom, yet they’re priced the same as any other standard Economy+ seat.

I have quite broad shoulders, so the seat width is an important metric for me. Sometimes, I actually feel more comfortable in the middle seat with both armrests than I do in a window seat rubbing up against the side of the plane.

Take a look at these two rows. Having a seat with a window positioned at the shoulders is critical as it provides another 3 inches or so of shoulder space, which is a huge difference! In contrast, having the seat shoulder be the fuselage is a lot less comfortable

Get unlucky and find a window seat with your shoulders rubbing against the post, and suddenly your usable room has shrunk by about 20%. Or worse…find a seat that doesn’t have a window…

Weighing the difference

Often times when it comes to upgrades, I always look to see if it’s worth it for me. Just like how I would weigh my options between an Economy+ middle seat vs a regular Economy window/aisle, I would always weight the seat for the next class of service.

As a sidenote, this is a common complaint I hear with people who hold Delta status. They get “upgraded” to Delta Comfort+, but are now stuck in a middle seat. To them, it’s really a downgrade, and I would tend to agree!

Bottom line, don’t get too excited at an “upgrade” just because it was called an “upgrade”.