It’s mid-May, and I’ve flown roughly 75,000 miles this year, on track to hit 100K by late June. This is a lot by my standards, more than I’ve flown in any other given year (other than once). Virtually every trip I seek out a few little tricks to make my travel a little easier. I found my favorite neckrest at SFO in the “oh crap I forgot to buy someone a gift so I’ll pick up a cool San Francisco t-shirt” store (located near the useful Zoom Shop). I learned to carry two carry-ons, my Slappa Velocity Pro backpack for my laptop, DVDs, and other electronics, and a second small bag with my books, magazines (which I’ll of course leave behind), Ambien and a couple of bottles of water. Recently, I was introduced to www.seatguru.com, and it’s changed the way I travel.
SeatGuru has seat maps for most of the airplanes (and each of their various configurations), chock full of advice on a seat-by-seat basis. A sample “map” is on the right. In a nutshell, green means good, yellow means beware, and red means don’t sit under any circumstances. Their seat maps also include lavatories, galleys, AC power ports, and even the windows. The best part is the seat-by-seat guide, which has some very practical information. Here’s an example:
Seats 23G,H are standard Business seats, but the proximity of the galley can be bothersome. It tends to get very cold in this area during flight.
The site is great, and all thanks to Matthew Daimler, a frequent flier who started the site himself a few years back. He recently launched a mobile version as well, http://mobile.seatguru.com/, which makes the last-minute seat changes at the check-in counter a little easier to do with confidence. Can’t recommend it highly enough (although he doesn’t have China Airlines yet, so if you are flying them and are sitting back with the cattle like I usually do, get the aisle exit row seats, they’re great)
Another handy site I’ve recently been turned on to is www.bodyclock.com, if you have some international travel ahead, give it a visit.
Oh Jeremy!
I wish I had known. Yes, Mr. Daimler has been making all hard core road warriors lives much easier thanks to the insightful detail of his seat plans and recommendations. Make sure to keep a CLOSE eye on the A319 and A320 rec’s for United Flights. Nothing like being in an excellent exit row, and then having a plane change, and being in the worst economy seat ever!
So the proof really is in the pudding. I recently booked a trip for my wife without using SeatGuru. I figured I was a clever guy, and got her 14F, a window seat, for her trip to London. What my dumb self did not realize at the time was that on most 2-5-2 or 3-4-3 international configurations, F is a middle seat.
Sorry hon!
at least 14 was probably in C though!