Thoughts on paying for extra leg room seat?

[Kevin Chan]

Don't see discussion here. What are people's thoughts on paying up for the extra leg room seats?

On one hand, there is the extra leg room. But then there is the proximity to babies, the toilet queue and people milling around stretching their legs in the area.

78 AUD extra from SYD-SIN on the 777-300ER
117 AUD extra from SYD-ZUR on the A380-800. Main deck. No upper deck (what a shame!)

77 EUR extra from MUC-SIN on A350-900
51 EUR extra from SIN-SYD on 777-300ER

Neither of us are very tall. I am 5"6 and travelling companion is 5".

 

[JohnK]

I'm around 5'8" and don't need the extra legroom but love bulkhead/exit rows to avoid sitting behind recliners.

In my opinion the SQ AUD77 charge or QF AUD120 charge for exit row is excessive and increases the cost of the airfare. Lucky that I can usually get bulkhead with Qantas and book most medium-long haul flights with them.

 

[DaveB]

What are you foregoing by paying the money?
Extra comfort particularly on the long overnight flight would be a no brainer to me.

 

[daft009]

if its a night flight I'd go for it, though I am ~5ft11.

bear in mind the seats are/feel a little narrower though, as the armrest also needs to hold your TV screen & meal table.
Therefore the armrests also don't fold up.

 

[jetpack]

I am the same height as you OP and extra leg room has never held any value for me so I will never pay for it.

What I find more useful is an empty seat next to me. Doubling my personal space and even just having exclusive use of both armrests is highly valuable to me. I personally concentrate my efforts on that.

 

[dxwell]

I consider it good value:

• the considerable extra space in front of you vs the confined space of a seat reclining into your space
• the ability to stand up and go to the toilet or for a stretch without having to wake up or step over your fellow passengers (I'm always windows seat)
• You can lift your legs up to stretch or to place on the convenient bulkhead
• Certain yoga positions such as downward dog are easier to perform
• you will get off the plane before all those behind you = first into customs line = first into hotel pool/bar

Sometimes we will spend a couple of hundy or more for a 2 hour meal at a restaurant, put this into perspective to what I consider low numbers for the seat.

 

[trooper]

Ive always thought the SQ cherges were 'about right"....(QFs are excessive) and happily pay them...

Im not sure what John K is getting at with "increases the air fare"..as you are getting something quite useful for the money, right???

 

[BAM1748]

I'm happy to pay on long haul, being tall it's worth it. On a trip that's already costs several thousand what's another couple of hundred.

 

[JohnK]

Im not sure what John K is getting at with "increases the air fare"..as you are getting something quite useful for the money, right???

A $750 airfare with Qantas and getting exit rows both ways quickly turns into a $1000 airfare.

And that's one person. With the OP there are 2 of them travelling. With my situation there are 3 of us but out of the question anyway as daughter too young.

I have a SYD-SIN-CNX award on SQ on Christmas Day. I don't need the extra legroom but I also hate recliners. Daytime flight. I'm not sure if exit rows are available but for now happy to take the free seat I can pre-allocate.

 

[JohnK]

Ive always thought the SQ cherges were 'about right"....(QFs are excessive) and happily pay them...

Im not sure what John K is getting at with "increases the air fare"..as you are getting something quite useful for the money, right???

You are spot on. I've changed my mind for flight in 5 days time.

I have 71H and that's too far back although only one seat behind exit row. I note that 42K is available and costs $63.40 and I'm prepared to pay to avoid a recliner.

But then I thought what about the seat belt. Am I likely to struggle with the seat belt? QF is Ok. JQ is Ok. VA is too tight. Forget what it's like on SQ. If you end up needing a seat belt extender they'll move you from exit row.

 

[33kft]

What I find more useful is an empty seat next to me. Doubling my personal space and even just having exclusive use of both armrests is highly valuable to me. I personally concentrate my efforts on that.

Agreed, this is why I avoid the extra legroom seats. It is much more likely that you either never had a seatmate to begin with, or that they will opt to pay for the extra legroom seat, than if you pay for an extra legroom seat hoping that nobody else will book them and you'll have an empty seat next to you. The price is low enough and anyone regardless of status can opt in and I find that they're almost always full.

 

[Pleb Status]

Avoiding 'the recliners' makes purchasing an exit row seat worth every cent...

It can add almost 33% to the original Y fare however.

 

[JohnK]

Avoiding 'the recliners' makes purchasing an exit row seat worth every cent...

It can add almost 33% to the original Y fare however.

Agree it's worth it but now have second thoughts as I'm sure I'll struggle with seatbelt.

 

[marki]

I like exit row seats being tall. However paying for them gives me hiccups.

 

[MathNerd]

I usually wouldn't pay a 3-figure (AUD) sum for an exit row seat, especially for a long-long-haul flight (say ⪆10 hours). For reference, I'm a ~6'1", ~85kg male. Have dreamt of flying J/F/R my entire life.

Having flown MEL-KUL and KUL-BLR on MH last week, I typically plead for exit row seats at check-in (and whilst waiting in line to check-in, have the seat map open and watching seats getting taken one by one).

Unfortunately this strategy has worked less times than it hasn't, which is a shame. Even trying to check-in online (or Manage Booking) at T-24/T-48/T-72 etc sometimes has hiccups. The check-in line for MH128 on Dec 15 was the longest one I've been in. Having arrived at the airport at pretty much T-3, the line was already ~200 people long, it was absolute chaos. Seeing the length of the line instantly cast immense doubt into my mind that my dream of an exit row seat would be realised. Eventually reaching the check-in counter, the lovely lady who was tending to my fiance and I understood our plight, especially after saying "we're flying over to get married!". However, the two seats (10A and 10C) that remained open all this while, were apparently "blocked", and even she couldn't put us in them. The only way to get them was to go see her "supervisor", which we promptly did and politely asked. This was met with a disgruntled, perplexed and dismissive look, and the only words she muttered were "we have a full flight tonight, as you can see, so I can't switch your seats". Sad faced, we had to walk away. My fiance was almost ready to console the tears that were about to fall down my cheeks... Anyway I digress, had to get that off my chest.

In saying that, I'm going to try the same strategy on my BLR-KUL-MEL trip on MH next month. Though the check-in agents at BLR tend to be drones who either don't understand what you're asking or simply lack the capability/willingness to assist.

Why do we even fly whY??

Back on topic, we're flying MEL-SIN-MLE in SQ Suites (!) for MEL-SIN and MI whY for SIN-MLE (how are we going to survive?), then MLE-CMB-MEL in UL whY for the return. Going to try our luck at MEL check-in asking for exit row seats for the MI leg. For the CMB-MEL leg that finishes our honeymoon, I've actually paid AUD ~70 / pax for exit row seats, for a 10/11 hr flight it made sense to pay that pittance of an amount for some comfort.

Ah, the joys of flying.

 

[Chicken]

I always pay extra for confirmed exit row, for international / long haul.

Everyone is different. Some people above mentioned that they don't like exit rows because the seats are narrow. This does not really bother me. What bothers me is being stuck in a Y seat, or worse, inbetween people or window seat. Exit row means I could avoid recline in front of me, and I could stand up if I want to. People waiting for the toilet does not bother me, they make me less obvious if I start dancing around in fact.