oreocookies

I flew yesterday and I made the mistake of taking the aisle seat in the little two-person row in the exit row. This was on a 737-700 and something especially seemed snug about it - my guess was either the seat is smaller or it was closer to the seat next to it than in other rows. It probably didn't help that I'm chubby and the person next to me is chubby, but the degree to which we were smushed against each other didn't seem normal.

I tested the seat in a row behind with no one next to the seat, and it didn't feel as snug. However, when I compare that feeling to the seats on a 737-800, which was my next flight, it was like night and day. The seats on the 737-800 were so spacious compared to my previous flight, the 737-700. Truly, I can't remember sitting on a plane with seats that felt as tight as my first flight.

So gives? Are the "honeymoon" seats in the exit row of a plane more snug? Are the seats on a 737-700 smaller than the 737-800? Are there way less 737-700s in operation these days?

NoStressHere

Interesting comment. Never noticed but you now have me wondering.

Wife and I work hard to get these seats on every flight. We get them about 80% of the time. She is A-list which helps, and we have used some of those A1-a15 upgrades from our credit card(s) other times.

dmbolp

My favorite seat on the plane, I get it 90% of the time, and haven't noticed a difference

ursine1

As a single flyer, I've never understood the attraction of those particular seats. I suppose for couples it makes sense, but despite being exit row they actually have no more legroom than any regular seat. As far as width, I believe they're the same width as most seats on the plane.

I've also never quite understood the appeal of the endless legroom seat. It is actually narrower than most seats due to the tray table being in the armrest. And your under seat storage it's too far away from you to be of use.

My favorite seat remains the window in a full exit row. Especially a bonus when no one chooses the middle on a non completely full flight, which happens more often than one might expect.

ave1024

Those seats are definitely narrower. I avoid them regardless if i am travelling alone or with a companion.

NoStressHere

Those seats are great. No extra person. Just us. Nobody else. No dealing with armrest issues. Nobody getting up or down. No.... AWESOME seats. What is there not to understand?

That extra legroom. Some folks love to stretch out their legs. What is not to understand?

As to your love of the window in exit row - you have the same "narrow" seat as the extra leg room seat.

BUT - fi you get that seat with nobody in the middle - GREAT DEAL!

ursine1

The "LUV" seats have no extra legroom. Despite being an exit row, the pitch is about the same as almost every other row in the plane. (The exit row(s) behind the LUV seats have extra legroom.)

If you're actually speaking about the endless legroom seat (or sometimes called infinite legroom), the ability to stretch (past what an exit row provides, which is more than I need) is outweighed for me by the negatives I mentioned.

The window seat in an exit row is actually wider than most seats, due to the absence of the window-side armrest. (And also features more legroom, as discussed.) For anyone seeking more room -- width and depth -- it offers the best option on the plane.

ricktoronto

Also known as "always".

Michael El

I sat in 11C Thursday night and believe it's the same as any other seat.

oreocookies

I think people in this thread are kind of ignoring the bit about the 737-700 vs. the 737-800 in this thread. As I said, I definitely think there is a significant difference in the size of the seats to begin with, and that exacerbated how snug the seats felt. And it's also possible that those "honeymoon" seats are configured differently on different models.

All I know is that the 737-700 I took from PDX to PHX sucked. The seats were quite snug. The 737-800 I took from PHX to BUF felt luxuriously spacious by comparison.

TSparky

I good way to estimate is to eyeball how the seat lines up with the row behind. I was in a A321 2-row exit seat that seemed narrow. When I looked I could see that the armrest was misaligned with the row behind by 1-2".

oreocookies

To me it looked like the gap between the seats behind was larger, and the "honeymoon" seats were pushed closer together. But who knows. I just know it sucked, but again, all the 737-700 seats felt smaller too.

Zip_Silver

The exit row seats are perfectly comfortable to me at 6'2/170lbs. Naturally, chubby people are going to be uncomfortable in seats that only have 17" width, but that's not the airline's fault.

PHXflier

According to seatguru.com, the 737-700 has 1" less in terms of legroom than the -800. Indeed, the -700 feels significantly more cramped to me than the -800. The seat width is the same.

willywilkes

Also according to seatguru - the 737-700 LUV seats may have extra legroom compared to a normal row, as will the Max8 - the 800 does not have any additional legroom. That being said, the extra legroom is much more noticeable on the Max8 if memory serves correctly.