Earlier this month I won the lottery. Not the Mega Millions, but something close. I flew economy class from California to Europe and got three seats to myself. And I wasn't the only one, there were about 20 other people in the back of the plane who all shared three or four seats each.
I asked the flight attendant why the plane was so empty, and she explained that I was taking a seasonal route (United Airlines from San Francisco to Zurich) early in the season, and such routes often take a long time to fill up. I immediately regretted not booking the same route for my return flight. On my return flight from Munich a week later, you could count the number of empty seats on the plane on one hand.
Want to try these tips for yourself? Find seasonal flights from your local airport Direct flights make traveling easier.
Another reason why economy class on my flight was empty is that San Francisco and Zurich are popular departure and arrival points for business travelers. Airlines may be willing to operate with economy class nearly empty because they make enough money from business travelers sitting in the front. Here's another tip for getting a seat (or two) next to you in economy class: Flying routes with a lot of business travelConsider flights from business hubs like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Washington DC to business hubs like Brussels, Geneva, London, Milan, Mumbai, Singapore, Zurich, etc. (These hubs don't have to be your final destination – they are just connecting points to your final destination.)
While you won't always be able to get an available seat (I certainly won't), here are some strategies I employ to make the most of the space in economy class.
- Fly on a Tuesday or Wednesday when flights are less crowded. Of course, we also fly in the low season.
- If you think the flight will not be full, choose seats towards the back of the plane. Window and aisle seats in the same rowThe middle seats in the back are the last to be filled, so you are most likely to have an empty seat next to you. I love having a window so I can enjoy the view and rest my head against the fuselage when I want to sleep. But if you don't need a window and are flying a widebody, Choose an aisle seat in the middle section A row where the other aisle seat in the middle section is already taken. The middle seat can only be filled if the entire plane is full.
- Download the airline app Check the seating plan for your flight and be prepared to change seats if a row fills up.Check the seat map every day for the last week before your flight. (Note that not all airlines offer this kind of visibility or flexibility: On my Lufthansa ticket from Munich to San Francisco, I had to pay a seat selection fee and could only change my seat over the phone after that.)
- At the airline gate ask the attendant if there are any seats available on the planeIf so, politely ask to sit next to them (you can tell the attendant that you have a lot of work to do during the flight and need more space).
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