The quality of seat padding, the size of the seat bottom, the amount of potential seat recline and, personally meaningful to me, the shape of the seat back and size and height of the headrest, all contribute to passenger comfort. While seat pitch is important, itвЂ™s not the only factor contributing to airplane seat comfort. Airlines have been reducing seat pitch and switching to thinner seatback seats to squeeze more seats into their planes. Generally, the smaller the seat pitch, the less legroom youвЂ™ll have. Seat pitch, a big deal for taller passengers, is the distance from the back of one seat to the seatback of the seat in front of it. I use it whenever I purchase plane tickets. The SeatGuru website and apps are great sources of information for you to find out everything about the seats on your flight. Many bulkhead seats are extra narrow, due to immovable arm rests to accommodate their tray tables. Some seats, particularly in bulkhead rows, have no below seat storage. IвЂ™ve sat in exit row window seats without a window. Some seats next to lavatories or galleys can be noisy throughout the flight. This can be important for passengers on long flights with tablets, games, and laptops. Some seats have power outlets, others donвЂ™t. Seats on planes may look alike, but donвЂ™t necessarily have the same size, feature set or comfort, even ones next to each other. While my seat changed, at least I wasnвЂ™t bumped like some passengers. IвЂ™ve been caught a couple of times when my plane had to be swapped for a smaller capacity plane, due to mechanical problems. PassengersвЂ™ seat assignments are changed to try to seat families together, accommodate passengers bumped from first class by air marshals, find seats for top-tier fliers, squeeze in passengers from canceled flights, etc. It may not have happened to you, but passengersвЂ™ seats are reassigned every day. You may have recently read about the Twitter broadside by political pundit, Ann Coulter, when Delta moved her from her chosen extra-fee seat.ДЇor operational, safety or security reasons, airlines reserve the right to reassign seats, seat fee or not, even after you board. Even VIPs or celebrities sometimes lose their seats. Guaranteed assigned seats on commercial flights is a myth.

Choosing an airplane seat when you purchase a ticket doesnвЂ™t guarantee you that seat. ThereвЂ™s much to know about an airplane seat and its assignment, so hereвЂ™s a brief seat FAQ to help you for your future air travel.

IвЂ™ve encountered both situations and they were maddening. Have you ever arrived at the airport to find the airplane seat you carefully chose was no longer your assigned seat? Were you ever seated on your flight in first class then moved to an economy seat? Airlines reserve the right to move you from your paid reservation airplane seat assignment

Airplane seats