Purchasing Legroom from US to Greece
 

This question may seem a little lame, 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!

My wife and I are much shorter than your husband and get "Economy Comfort" seats on Delta when we fly to Europe. Flights arrive early and we want to get all the rest we can on the planes and the slightly larger seat helps with that. We generally don't have too much jet lag so we can keep moving until about mid afternoon, when our room becomes available.

In regard to the price, it all depends on demand for those seats. The prices may go down--Delta sends E-mails if it has excess capacity so you may be able to get them for less if you wait. But I generally don't take a chance, even though I'm short.

We are not as tall as your husband, but when available on international flights, we always pay for the seats with extra leg room. They are not comfortable, but they are more comfortable than the regular ones…and for a 8-9-10 hours flight, a few more inches make a big difference.

This is the only way to go now, in my opinion. There is no way we can afford first class :( so this is how we will go from now on. We generally only fly on Delta so that is my only experience. All seats are available to anyone and are priced as such so I wouldn't wait and hope that they will be available when you check in, we had to change our flights this year still two months before our trip and there were only a handful of the extra leg-room seats left.

The extra leg room seats always go early. Reserve seats as soon as you are ticketed.

As far as economy IMHO all of the regular airline has the same hideously uncomfortable seats. DH (6'3") and I always use miles to upgrade to business - the only thing bearable IMHO.

I just booked tickets for a flight that includes a Seattle to Amsterdam leg on Delta. The cost to upgrade to Economy comfort as $139 for that specific leg. The odds of you getting a free upgrade are pretty slim, though, unless you are a Medallion with Delta. These perks go to the frequent flyers first, and most of these long-haul flights are full or nearly full, so if you want these seats, best to pay for them up front. Me, I'm only 6', so I can generally manage pretty well, especially on the Airbus A330-300 planes in the side sides.

I've flown EC on Delta and find it only marginally better than coach. For a really generous EC product try Air France.

Take a look at this from SeatGuru:

http://www.seatguru.com/charts/longhaul_economy.php

My biggest gripe is when the passenger in front of me reclines his/her seat all the way back as soon as the plane reaches cruising altitude. If you can gain a few extra inches of seat pitch by paying extra, it may well be worth it for a long transatlantic flight. You might be interested in this website: http://www.seatguru.com/charts/longhaul_economy.php

Haha, Dukey1 types faster than me! ;-)

No worries, Heimdall, but I agree with you that there is only one sure way to eliminate the possibility of someone reclining their seat and that is not to sit in any "economy" seat which isn't always feasible.

But in fairness when someone books a seat which reclines they expect to be able to recline it.

Seat pitch is not everything. Another area of comfort not often mentioned is the angle of the seat recline. If you want to get some sleep on a long flight one needs the seat to recline at least enough that your head stays back as you drift off to slumberland.

On our last flight to Europe we flew on Airbus 330 equipment with Delta/Air France flights. My problem was the design of the new seats do not recline quite enough -- probably due to Heimdall griping. What happens is that as one relaxes and tries to nap ones head falls forward with a snap; waking you up. A quarter of an inch more recline would fix the problem and possibly not anger the person behind you.

If you need extra legroom, book it while you can! Flights to Greece and back are often overbooked. Three weeks ago, there were 18 people on the wait list for our flight from JFK-Athens.

Thanks to everyone! I had no idea the transatlantic flights would be overbooked. Guess I need to dig deeper in my pocket for slightly more comfortable seats.

Nukesafe, I trust you aren't one of those people who keep the seat reclined even while meals are being served. I don't mind the seat in front of me being reclined during overnight flights, because I will probably do the same, albeit not all the way back. ;-)

Of course not, Heimdall. Common courtesy applies. I hope you are not one of those who is so feeble they must grasp the top of the seat in front of them to leaver themselves out of their seats, thus shaking the person ahead of them out of a sound slumber.

Bulkhead is usually saved until last minute for handicapped passengers.

<i>I hope you are not one of those who is so feeble they must grasp the top of the seat in front of them to leaver themselves out of their seats, thus shaking the person ahead of them out of a sound slumber.</i>

Yes, that sounds like me, but only when the seat is all the way back! :-))