I found this graphic posted on another website and found it to be accurate and informative, so I thought I would create a page and add some additional details and thoughts of my own. The image gives a nice representation of airline seating, broken down by Classes, Revenue by Seat Space, Space by Seat Type and Ticket Price.

As the image states, this representation is primarily for long-haul, non-budget airlines. For example, international flights from the US to Europe on carriers such as British Airways, United Airlines and American. Of course, depending on the aircraft, the seating configuration will be different. It is also important to note that not all planes have a First-Class section. There may only be Business Class and then the different Economy Classes.

Years ago, I worked for American Airlines and won First-Class round-trip tickets in a corporate innovations contest. I flew with some friends from Dallas to Frankfurt to spend a few days in Germany. The service was amazing with our own personal chef who explained the menu choices. The service also included champagne and caviar appetizers and a large ice cream sundae with your choice of fresh fruit toppings for dessert. At this time, there were no personal, private space electric seats that transformed into a bed as you see today. However, the seats were leather and would recline to an almost flat position with a foot rest extension so you could actually sleep quite comfortably.

I have also traveled in Business Class on several occasions when I worked in the travel industry, taking trips from Denver to different European locations to meet with customers. Business Class had individual seating compartments with electric seats that reclined into a flat bed with just the touch of a button. (You have probably seen these types of seats as you walked through the cabin on your way back to the economy section)

Of course, traveling in First and Business Class is going to be far more expensive than traveling in Economy. Like most people, when we go on vacation, we travel in either Economy or Premium Economy depending on the price and services offered.

British Airways - Denver to London

Economy Seating

In the photo, we are sitting in Economy with an empty seat between us. On this flight, meals and drinks were included. Most people had their seats reclined at the time of the photo and if everyone does it, it's not that bad. If we did not recline our seat while the person in front of us did, it would have been quite cramped. The seat on the right where I am sitting and taking the photo was not reclined, so you can tell the difference in space.

A little on seat reclining etiquette. We have seen some people get quite upset if the person in front of them reclines their seat. It's even been on the news about whether reclining your seat is acceptable. Here I'm talking about a long-haul flight, not a short domestic flight. On long-haul flights, I think it’s perfectly acceptable to keep your seat reclined during most of the flight. During the actual meal service, it is polite to return your seat to the upright position as it makes it much easier for the person behind you to eat. However, if the person in front of you has their seat reclined, it's nearly impossible to eat if your seat is also not reclined. In this situation, I have sometimes tried to go halfway instead of a full recline. I have even turned around and talked to the person behind me about it trying to be polite.

Now, on to Economy.

Depending on the airline, an economy seat will have different costs, so consider what you want and get for the price. In some economy classes, you may be able to select your actual seat at no additional cost, while in other economy classes it will cost you extra to select a seat. You may also pay more for a window or isle seat compared to a center seat.

While meals may be included in First and Business class, you may have to select meal service when you purchase you ticket or pay for a meal on board. All this depends on the carrier as they have different service and fee plans.

 On one occasion we flew Iceland Air in economy from Denver to Reykjavik. We paid an extra fee to select our seats but did not purchase a meal. On the flight, we had the opportunity to purchase snacks and drinks. They did not serve anything complimentary, including water.

A Premium Economy seat should be slightly larger, a bit more comfortable and have a few extra inches of leg room.

When it comes to selecting your actual seat, here are some things to consider. In the past, we typically selected a window seat and an aisle seat. This is great when the plane has a row seat configuration of 2-3-2 or something like that (2 seats, then the aisle, 3 seats, then the aisle, 2 seats). We find that most planes have something like a 3-3 or 3-4-3, so selecting a window and isle means you may have someone sitting in the middle seat between you. We have also found that if the plane is not entirely full, we often have no one sitting in the center seat between us. I think that if you reserve your flight and seats early enough, other passengers won’t be selecting the center seat as they also don’t want to be stuck between two people they don’t know.

The advantage of a window seat is that you have a head rest against the side of the plane which can make it a little more comfortable to sleep. The advantage of an aisle seat is that you get more leg room to stretch your legs in the isle. However, you have to be careful of others walking by and risk being hit in the knee with the service cart.

On recent flights, we have selected to sit at the back of the plane as there are often a few rows with two seats together in a 2-4-2 configuration. This gives you a window and isle seat with no one in between. The downside of this is that you are more than likely going to be the last ones to deplane when you arrive at your destination.