Not all seats are equal. Apart from upgrading to Premium Economy/Business or First there are some tricks which can help to get the best economy seat.
- check seatguru.com for the map of the plane and reviews of different seats (check the airline as well to make sure it’s the same aircraft type)
- front part of the plane is usually less noisy (because of engines)
- emergency exit row seats have much better leg space (but usually paid)
- first row in each section of the plane has generally more leg space, but the entertainment screen is usually less accessible and these places are often occupied with people with infants
- window seats have usually a bit more space – especially towards the back of the plane
- if you’re 2 travelling, book seats A and C in the same row (leave the middle seat empty), especially on less busy flights and in rear part of the cabin it’s highly likely the middle seat would be free and you have more space
- flying newer planes like Boeing 787 or Airbus A350 will generally make you less tired (especially on long routes) – the reasons are mainly higher humidity, higher cabin pressure, more natural light (bigger windows) and also better ambience
- if there are more sections on the plane, try to get a seat in smaller one (less people around you)
- back of the plane has higher chance of finding a free seat next to yours, but it’s a bit more bumpy sometimes, more noisy from the engines and also you’ll probably be the last served a meal so your favourites might be gone already
Beware that most of the airlines charge fees on early seat selection (not only lowcost carriers) but lot of legacy airlines like British Airways do that too. Might be still worth it through.