liesel

Hi, my Fiance is 6'7. I've been doing research on SeatGuru.com and noticed that many of the transatlantic flights have a few seats that say "extra leg room."

In your experience, which airline is the most comfortable for a tall guy? He's about 230 pounds. Airline? plane? We are looking to fly into Germany.

Thanks in advance for your help!

TexasAggie

I'm afraid his legs are going to be cramped in any seat on any airline, poor guy. Definitely try to get him an aisle seat

Intrepid1

He'll be a lot less cramped if he's in a First Class seat but the question is always, "Is it worth the money?"

Kavey

Liesel
My husband is 6'6" so I sympathise with your situation.
Although most seat configurations mean that seats fronting on to a bulkhead have extra leg room most airlines do not allow you to prebook these, even with the height issue, because they give preference to those travelling with kids. Babies that need the travel cots that can only be affixed there I understand but to give any aged kids preference to someone that tall just pees me off.
Anyway, the only alternative, if you can't persuade them to let you book these, is to get to the check in EARLY to be one of the FIRST to check in and to beg for emergency exit row seats. These cannot be preassigned and usually have lots of legroom.
Or, to guarantee it, without paying Business or First Class prices, opt for Premier or World Traveller classes which give more legroom than cattle class but same meals, service etc.

LoveItaly

Hi liesel, I have a cousin the height of your fiance and he has to buy a business class ticket as he cannot handle coach. But everyone is different of course. Think my cousin weighs more then your fiance too, in fact I am sure of it.

Has he flown a lot, especially has he made the long flight to Europe before (assume you are somewhere in the US)? What are his thoughts regarding his comfort level in coach? Seating in coach is not pleasant for anyone so I can't even imagine what it would be like for a 6'7 man.

Underhill

A while back someone here suggested buying a second economy-class seat so a tell person could sit sideways and be a little more comfortable.

china_cat

my husband is a big guy too, and its impossible to be comfortable in coach. We found Lufthansa moderately more comfortable than some other airlines. My husband actually hates bulkhead seats. He says they actually have less room, because he can't stick his feet under the seat infront of him.

I don't know what your finances allow for, but we have recently taken to buying 3 coach seats for the 2 of us. This is a lot cheaper than business class, and makes both of us much more comfortable. if you can get a good cheap fare, this makes the long flight far more tolerable. (ticket agents still seem to get confused when I hand over my boarding pass.."who is this person named Extraseat Smith?" they keep asking)

Gardyloo

The "buy 3 to seat 2" strategy works nicely, but only on planes with 3-3 or 3-3-3 or 2-4-2 seating arrangements. If they assign you to a 2-seat window/aisle pair it's money wasted. So knowing what specific aircraft you're on makes a big difference.

I certainly would look at British Airways' World Traveler Plus for longhaul - 38" seat pitch v. 31 or 32" in the rest of coach, usually around 25% more than standard economy. (He would have to endure short pitch for the intra-Europe hop but most people can handle an hour or so.) Also look at Economy Plus on United (watch out if it's a Lufthansa "codeshare" plane with a United flight no.) - E+ also has a couple extra legroom inches over E-. American Airlines' "More Room Throughout Coach" program is dead, by the way.

The only people that can regularly get exit rows pre-assigned are elite members of frequent flyer programs. If you travel a lot, that's the way to go.

Good luck.

Philbill

We fly British Air World Traveller Plus quite frequently. The seats are larger and see the leg room info above. We usually pay $500 per seat more on an LAX to London round trip for this luxury (same old rotten food but it's a very small cabin so it is much calmer as well as quieter).
There is extra baggage allowance too!!

crefloors

On my first trip to Europe there was a gentleman from Seattle that was well over 200 pounds and was at least 6'5". BIG guy. He flew in coach but had bulkhead seating on the way over. I know this because he was really dreading the flight home because he could NOT get the bulkhead again. So, if all else fails, try that or the seats by the exit doors. They usually have a bit more room.

clevelandbrown

I don't understand why tall people say they won't fit in a normal seat? From your seat to the top of your head, there is plenty of excess room. From your knees down, there is plenty of room for the longest shins and the biggest feet. It seems to me the sole limitation would be on the length of your thighs. If your thighs are abnormally long your knees would hit the back of the seat in front of you, but when I have looked at the amount of space there, I have difficulty believing that anyone has thighs that much longer than normal.

I can understand that there might not be room to cross your legs over your knee, but how essential is that?

nbbrown

Clevelandbrown, I am 6' and my husband is 6' 6". It make a huge difference. Naturally, our thigh length is a lot longer than most average people when it comes to sitting in an airplane with cramped seating for 10-12 hours. It is uncomfortabe for anyone, let alone someone taller. My husband's knees actually touch the back of the seat in front of him, so shifting position is very difficult without constantly bumping the person in front of you.

WillTravel

I guess I must have long legs, because I'm shorter than the people referenced here, and my knees still jam against the seat in front of me if the seat pitch is tight enough. I can imagine this is even more hellish for people taller than me.

When I flew on a charter airline the first time overseas (probably 29" seat pitch), I got terribly sore knees for a week afterward. Fortunately the next time I was smarter, and put the pillow between my knees and the seatback.

LoveItaly

WillTravel, that is probably the difference between one person and another and their comfort level on an airplane. Some people will have really long legs, someone else a long torso and short legs.

I have two friends almost the same height, both are tiny. One can wear a regulars size top but has to have all her petite size pants shortened. The other friend has to buy petite tops but can generally buy regular size pants.

WillTravel

That's exactly true, LoveItaly.

Air Canada has two types of planes on the Vancouver to London route - Boeing and Airbus, but I don't know the exact model numbers. With Boeing, my knees get jammed (although not so bad as with Airbus). With the Airbus, my knees do not get jammed - and my taller son can also fly in coach in comfort. I think the issue is how Air Canada configured these planes - not the plane itself.

Gardyloo

Er.. try telling the person in front of you not to recline his/her seat on an overnight 6-10 hour flight. 32 inch pitch is the measurement between rows when the seats are both upright. When one of them reclines by 20 degrees or so the distance from seatback to kneecap is reduced by some trig function that I can't remember offhand, but measurable, for sure. The only partial solution people can try is to recline their own seats proportionately, then scoot their backsides up into the seatback/seatbottom crease as far as they can, with two outcomes. One, the person behind them has to do likewise, and two, nobody's comfortable except maybe the people in the bulkhead or exit rows, except for the fact that the bulkhead rows don't have a place for the feet of tall people, and the exit rows on some planes have limited recline in the first place.

There used to be an old saying that architects should spend a year living in every building they design. I truly think airline executives should be required to take an overnight transatlantic flight in economy once a month to refresh their memories about what "yield management" means to us poor schlubs in the back.

LoveItaly

Good thinking Gardyloo!

jlm_mi

For those suggesting buying an extra seat - keep in mind that "Extraseat Smith" may end up being seated several rows away from Mr. and Mrs. Smith. There is no guarantee that tickets, even when purchased together, will be seated together. It's a risk. Maybe a small one, and maybe worth taking, but it's a risk all the same.

china_cat

well, I've purchased "ExtraSeat Smith" 3 times now on 3 different airlines. Always on a plane with a 3-3 configuration. And always I do it by phoning the airline, explaining what I want to the sales person, and making sure that I can get seat assignments before I buy. so far, I have not been disappointed. but one of these days I'm afraid I'm gonna get burned for just like jlm says.

Kavey

ALL of my husband's extra height is indeed in his legs, so, believe it or not, in regular economy seats, even with his bum as far back in the seat as humanly possible, his knees push hard against the seat in front. HARD.