Airplane seating

Old Jan 13th, 2018, 06:00 AM
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Airplane seating

We are trying Norwegian Air for spring trip to Ireland. Seating is 3/3, which I don’t like, but oh well. Great savings over Aer Lingus.

Bulkhead seats were available, so we chose them, window and middle, since more legroom for DH. (Aisle taken.) This means no “personal” inflight entertainment and I won’t have room to stash my bag with iPad, Kindle and Dramamine. Now I am second guessing the seats and wondering if we should change them. I think I would prefer an aisle seat since I am a very fidgety night flyer with restless legs, which sometimes makes sitting unbearable. But DH is tall and would like to have the extra legroom.

Any opinions on the bulkhead seats, good or bad? Is there extra space? Thanks for your input!
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Old Jan 13th, 2018, 06:04 AM
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Bulkhead monitor
Are you sure there's no in-flight entertainment? On my flight to/from Italy, the screen came up from between the seats on an arm that could be adjusted. I loved the extra leg room. I'll see if I have a photo.

Last edited by starrs; Jan 13th, 2018 at 06:12 AM. Reason: Add photo
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Old Jan 13th, 2018, 06:07 AM
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The bulkhead puts you near the potty and the galley if you sit upfront.
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Old Jan 13th, 2018, 06:15 AM
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Starrs, the website says the screen is on the wall, with the tray in between the seats. So I am just going on that. If WiFi is available, we can watch Netflix.

Logandog, I guess being near the potty could be good or bad!
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Old Jan 13th, 2018, 06:23 AM
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Originally Posted by allisonm
Starrs, the website says the screen is on the wall, with the tray in between the seats. So I am just going on that. If WiFi is available, we can watch Netflix.

Logandog, I guess being near the potty could be good or bad!
1) Why do you assume there is no IFE if it is mounted on the wall? I can’t speak from experience on Norwegian, but I’ve seen many other carriers with IFE on the wall.

2) I would definitely not count on streaming Netflix on a plane.

3) Unless there are cutouts at the bottom, many bulkhead seats actually have quite restricted legroom as you can’t slide your feet under anything.
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Old Jan 13th, 2018, 06:27 AM
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Originally Posted by allisonm
Starrs, the website says the screen is on the wall, with the tray in between the seats.
I'm really not following. We had a tray between the seats. We also had the individual monitors that came up on an arm from underneath the seats (under the tray storage).
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Old Jan 13th, 2018, 06:44 AM
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Before choosing a seat, I always check the actual airplane on
https://www.seatguru.com/

After entering the airline, flight number, and date, you will see seat plans for the flight with a description of every seat. In some cases, you may have more than one seat plan option so you must choose which one matches your flight.

One learns the benefits and deficits of seats that may be considered better than others.

For example, front row bulkhead seats have extra legroom. However, because the tray table is in the armrest, the seat may be narrower and therefore less comfortable. Sometimes the window is not well aligned with the window seat in this row. Sometimes the curve of the fuselage means the ceiling at the window seat feels a bit low.

You'll learn which exit rows have reclining seats and which don't if that is important for you.

I find this very helpful since I am particular about where I sit (prefer an aisle to get up easily if needed) and I also book a lot of travel for others at my office.
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Old Jan 13th, 2018, 07:59 AM
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You should call the airline and ask.

On my recent trip to Italy I had bulkhead seats and there was both an entertainment screen and a tray in between the seats.
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Old Jan 13th, 2018, 08:29 AM
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After checking Seat Guru and if those bulkhead seats have issues, maybe consider both getting aisle seats across from each other. Then you'd both have some legroom and be able to get up during the night.
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Old Jan 13th, 2018, 09:20 AM
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Bulkhead seats - bad for this tall flyer. What you get in those seats is KNEE-room, not leg-room. If I sat with my feet flat on the floor for the whole trip then it would be ok. But I do want to stretch my legs out and there is not enough room for that in a bulkhead seat. I want a seat in front of me because my feet are going to go under it.
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Old Jan 13th, 2018, 11:37 AM
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Originally Posted by mrwunrfl
Bulkhead seats - bad for this tall flyer. What you get in those seats is KNEE-room, not leg-room. If I sat with my feet flat on the floor for the whole trip then it would be ok. But I do want to stretch my legs out and there is not enough room for that in a bulkhead seat. I want a seat in front of me because my feet are going to go under it.
I agree. I am tall with long legs and at one point thought bulk head seats were a good idea. I felt like i had less leg room in bulk head. Give me an aisle seat any day.
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Old Jan 13th, 2018, 11:44 AM
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I don't need either leg room or knee room, but what I liked about the bulkhead seats was not having anybody's seat-back in my face. That said, I don't think they're worth the extra money.
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Old Jan 13th, 2018, 01:09 PM
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https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/No...eing_787-8.php

Looks to me like the TV is in the armrest. I flew these 3 times but never got a bulkhead. They list the front ones as having more legroom.

There is no wifi on the transatlantic flights. Their IFE is rather weak, IMO. You might want to download a movie or two onto your phone or tablet. There is a ton of overhead space on the 787, no worries there.

Last edited by rs899; Jan 13th, 2018 at 01:14 PM.
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Old Jan 13th, 2018, 02:51 PM
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My daughter really likes bulk head seats, but I don't because you can't keep any of your stuff at your feet, including your purse. Instead, everything must be put into the overhead bin that I, being short, can't reach easily.
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Old Jan 13th, 2018, 05:20 PM
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IMHO bulkhead seats are the worst - you have no place to put your feet and no seat in front of you under which to put your small carry-on. Also I always take an aisle seat since I have long legs. You could not pay me to take either a middle or window seat. (If long distance we always do business or first depending on cost and points we have.)
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Old Jan 13th, 2018, 06:27 PM
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Well, we looked at the seating map this morning before we took off for the Cape. (MIL’s 86th birthday!) When we picked the seats, we chose row 2 since on that side there was no row 1. Now there appears to be row 1 on both sides. So when we get home tomorrow DH will call to ask if we have bulkhead seats and where the screen is. It looked like there were lots of other middle and aisle seats available so we should be able to sort it out. (I know there are worse problems to have.)
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Old Jan 15th, 2018, 05:09 AM
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Originally Posted by allisonm
(I know there are worse problems to have.)
​​​​​​​When you call Norwegian, ask that they assign you seats that are NOT directly in front of a fidgety, seat-kicking 5 year old boy.
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Old Jan 15th, 2018, 05:37 AM
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Originally Posted by rs899
When you call Norwegian, ask that they assign you seats that are NOT directly in front of a fidgety, seat-kicking 5 year old boy.
There are: The very last row. Of course, those seats are directly next to the toilets.
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Old Jan 15th, 2018, 12:39 PM
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AJ, funny!

Here is what I found out:

We are pretty sure the seats we chose are bulkhead.
The plane is a 737 Max 8.
There are no personal screens on this flight but there are screens scattered around, ceiling mounted. So we all get to watch whatever together. (Download some movies to your device, they tell us.)
No charging outlets. (Bring your own power pack, they tell us.)
We already knew no blankets or headphones provided.

This flight saves us almost 3 hours in overall drive time and about $500 in ticket costs, so we can deal with the lack of those usually taken-for-granted little amenities.
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Old Jan 17th, 2018, 09:20 AM
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I think you are confusing two things. You said you wouldn't get a personal screen due to the bulkhead seat issue. That has nothing to do with it, it's the type of plane. Norwegian doesn't have personal screens on any plane but the Dreamliner, the 787. You aren't flying on that plane. Norwegian (and some other airlines on shorter flights or depending on type of plane) have entertainment but you have to bring your own screen device. United and AA don't have seatback screens on many of their 737s, either.
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