Bulkheads or Emergency Exits?
 

Which one is better? Which has more room? Its a 3x3x3 seat arrangement on a Boeing 777.

This summer we flew to Nevis and had the first row in coach/bulkhead. The plane was overbooked so they bumped us to business class. Do you think they always bump up the first row first? Or was that just random.

Which airline? You can check if the seatmap is listed on any of the following sites -

www.seatguru.com

www.seatexpert.com

www.seatmaestro.com

I'd take the emergency exit in a second. Love the extra leg room. In some situations, the seat next to the window will not recline, if that is important to you.

To me, the bulkheads are right up next to the wall in front, so there is no place for legs to stretch underneath a seat. Plus there is no storage for carry-on items, except in the overhead.

Can't answer regarding bumping to another class.

Exit row, if you can get them. Always more space, and you can store small items in under the seat in front of you (which you can't do in the bulkhead).

Also, the bulkhead area is where infants are more likely to be, with all that entails.

I prefer the exit row, which generally has more space.

Also, in my experience, upgrades are generally offered to premium frequent flyer members, so on a recent trip to Madagascar, when I flew Air France, I was upgraded to First from Business b/c I'm premium on Delta (a SkyTeam member). I think it has much less to do with where you're seated, but maybe in a time crunch, they move up the front row to avoid delay.

Michael

The travel agent's assistant told me that the emergency exits and the bulkheads had the same amount of room. She felt that the bulkheads are better because they are quieter.

Check seatguru -- it may depend on the airlines.

Also, bathrooms/kitchen galleys are frequently near the bulkhead so I find it a high traffic area, which is why I prefer the exit row.

I actually just checked seat guru. There is a bulkhead row in the front that has only two seats instead of three. I am going for that one.

Wow. that's a great site. But does anyone know of a similar one for Kenya Airways? Although so far I don't know what kind of plane I'll be on for the London-Nairobi portion. I can call them, though. Thanks!

Sharon,
I don't know of any sites that show seatmaps for Kenya Airways. Your best bet is to look on flyertalk.com. Under Airline Programs, try the following forums - Other Middle East and Africa FF Programs or Flying Blue. Flying Blue is the name of the new combined KLM and AF ff program so there may be some comments on Kenya Airways seating in that forum as well since they're a KLM partner.

AGH!! The travel agent was not able to get either the bulkhead or emergency exit. They might be reserved for frequent fliers or something.

From my understanding the bumping tends to be toward frequent fliers.

Also, some airlines use the bulkhead for babies - while this may not really happen on the way to safari, on a big city to big city connection it may

I don't know what airline you're looking at, but American Airlines reserves the bulk head and the exit rows to those in the Gold or above premium categories.

Sometimes on day of flight, if the seats aren't taken, you can nab it at that time.

Dr_Andrea,
For economy class travel, bulkhead and exit row seats generally aren't available for preassignment to non-elite frequent flyers, but they usually open those seats to all passengers at check in. What airline is this? If it's an airline that allows international online check in, I would try at the exact moment when online check in opens for that flight. You have a good chance of changing your seats then. Otherwise try to check in early at the airport. Good luck!

Sharon,
I checked and KQ is scheduled to operate a 777-200 on the LHR-NBO route for May/Jun next year. I found this thread on flyertalk with some seating comments -

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ferrerid=18562

Thanks Patty! One other thing: What's the best way to get on the FF program for Kenya/KLM in order to earn miles for this flight? According to everyone on this board, I'll be returning to Africa in 2007, so I may as well start accumulating some miles! ;-)
Sharon

Cross posted! Wow - thanks again Patty! You all are great!!!

Sharon,
Currently you can put Kenya Airways flight miles in either Air France/KLM's Flying Blue program or Northwest Worldperks.

If Kenya Airways becomes a member of Skyteam by the time you fly (they're scheduled to but I don't know the effective date) that would presumably allow you to put the miles in a number of other Skyteam ff programs such as Delta, Continental, etc.

I would wait and see what your options are closer to departure.

Patty:
While we are discussing favored seats, what section do you prefer in the business class seating on the KLM-JNO/Dar flight? I looked at seatguru and it indicated that some people prefer the smaller front section. Do you?

Patty~ I've actually got miles on the Continental plan. It's been awhile,(I think 2002 or 2003) but if they don't expire I could add on. Thanks for the info. I'll sit tight!
Sharon

bat,
I also prefer the front 'mini-cabin' on the MD-11. We sat in row 2 last time and it was very quiet.