Purchasing Legroom from US to Greece
 

This question may seem a little lame question, but I have to ask because I'm concerned about comfort.

My husband is 6'5 and when flying on American Airlines throughout the US and Caribbean, we have always been lucky enough to check in early at the airport to request either the bulkhead or exit rows. I'm not familiar at all with the international airlines, but should we go ahead and purchase those type of seats when making the reservations or take a chance and wait until we check in at the airport to see if they are available. If we wait, does the price go up? The longest haul will be from Houston to either Paris, Amsterdam or Frankfurt.

If you or someone you have traveled with is just as tall, which airline has the most legroom economy seats in your opinion?

Thanks so much!

I am 6'3". I have purchased extra legroom both in advance and at the gate for long flights. If I was 6'5" I probably wouldn't wait. That would be agony in economy.

Bulkhead seats in coach on international flights are normally reserved for women who are pregnant or with babies. Besides, from my experience on US Airways to the EU, the bulkhead seats are smaller (narrower) than other coach seats. The exit row, aisle seat, would be your best bet, if you can book it ahead of time.

You should book as soon as possible because of availability. You're not the only one looking for more legroom on an international flight.

If you don't fly often, you may want to consider flying business class and book as far in advance as possible. An agent may be able to get you a better price if they work with consolidators.

Look at the premium seat availability of your flight. They might have been all gone long time ago to even worth spending any thought on this.

Even if they are available, the international availability is usually tighter than the domestic. People seem to be more willing to pay for the leg room for a longer flight. There are pecking order for each airline. In case of Delta, they don't offer as many of this type of seats as some United flights. I have never seen them available on Delta on my flights even for the top tier Medallion member as a complimentary upgrade. All the premium seats I have looked at in past years have already been sold to those who are willing to pay for it by two months before the flights.

The most coveted of this type of premium seats are bulkhead seats in the premium section. I have gotten these sometimes by booking 8 months ahead or more. Look at Seatguru to see if bulkhead seats on your flight actually offers the leg room. Not all the bulkhead seats do. On one United flight, I got a premium bulkhead seat which actually offered more leg room than the first class. A first class passenger was incredulous that I got more leg room than he did. Study the Seatguru chart before spending on premium seats.

We just got back two days ago from Greece. We go quite a lot b/c of husband's business. All I can say is if you want extra legroom, book it right away! Flights to Greece from the U.S. (there are only two nonstops available) are often overbooked. In fact at the gate there were 18 people on the waitlist.

We pay for Economy Comfort on Delta....well wort it for the long flights.

Thanks everyone. ... ANY recommendations for consolidators?

A consolidator is likely to be an anachronism for induvidual travelers in the age of internet booking where anyone can do competitive bookings on their own. Consolidators make sense when even a meager savings is needed to meet a strict price target for a group and are willing to put up with additional restrictions such as not able to earn any miles.