I am traveling from Norway to the US with my dog in-cabin on Friday. I am currently booked on a Boeing 330-300 from AMS to SEA in a window seat in a 2-person aisle, but wondering if it wouldn't be better to be in an aisle.

Could anyone share their experiences of traveling long distances with a dog under their seat in this model of plane? I want to avoid bothering other passengers, as well as avoid getting deep vein thrombosis from not being able to move my legs. Advice gratefully received.

Erin,

First, welcome to FT!

If you are concerned about your own legs, then you have answered the question.... you need to get an aisle seat so you can occasionally stretch your legs into the aisleway. There is no way you can do that effectively from a window seat without intruding on the aisle passengers' leg room.

I have found that is is easier to maneuver the dog's bag underneath the seat from the aisle. You can put the bag down partially in the aisle, parallel to the seat, and then turn it perpendicularly and slide it underneath the seat gently. If I'm in the window seat, it is more difficult to do this, and I generally end up having to stick pup-pup under the seat at a 45 degree angle, and with a bit more force than I'd like to use.

The aisle seat is just easier to do.

Have a good flight!

I always take an aisle seat when I have my little girl with me.

Thanks for your responses. The reason this was particularly hard to know is because I seem to remember a metal bar under the seats in the boeing 330-300 that makes the legroom in the aisle seat in fact much smaller and then the bag wouldn't fit. I will check seatguru.com to see if that is the case. Thanks again.

First off welcome.

Second, there is no such aircraft as the Boeing 330. The 330 is made by Airbus.

Finally, I tend to go for the window when I travel with pups if possible even though I personally hate the window. My reason is this: sitting in the aisle means I will have people in the window or middle seat wanting to get out and I run the risk of pups getting kicked.

If you are on a 330 (Airbus) the configuration is 2 x 4 x 2. That means every row has two window seats, four aisle seats and two middle seats. Good luck.

Thanks Dingo. Yes, I meant the Airbus 300-330. I just read on seatguru.com that the window seats are where the entertainment devices are stored, so that could be trouble with the animal. I knew I remembered something about that! Only trouble is all aisle seats are reserved for elite members so I am unable to change my seat. Maybe I will get lucky at the airport... but yeah, good point on why window might be better (that is one thing I had been thinking... dog getting kicked or run into by the trolley)

If this is a US Airways 330, the two aisle seats in the section with four seats (the middle part of the aircraft) do NOT have enough room for a pet carrier. They barely have enough room for my feet actually.

I would personally try to get either of the seats in the side sections...either window or aisle. Speaking from personal experience, there is less room in the aisle seats in the four seat section than the aisle seats in the two seat section.

Please trust me on this one, though I don't believe you are on US Airways.

You may want to go to the forum for the airline you are considering and ask your question there as well. While related to pets, there is an element of the quesiton that is airline specific. I'd say the question to ask is "which seats in coach on this aircraft have the most legroom" and you will get a lot of helpful information.

I am on KLM/NWA's Airbus 330-300. Just to follow-up with what I learned, I was advised by the airline that the seats in the two-person rows on each side of the aircraft are NOT suitable for stowing pets. The window-seats have the entertainment systems under them, and the seat next to it (the aisle) is more narrow to accommodate for the legroom lost by the entertainment system in the window seat.

The only place one can sit on this plane with a pet is in the MIDDLE of the four-person row. There is no bar separating the legroom of those seats.

Hope this helps anyone else that might need it.