nas527

Kremmen

All bulkhead sets have wider space for your feet. 6L would be among my first choices on that plane.

nas527

polarbears

snardy

I'm flying solo IAH-SYD in two weeks for a business trip. I currently have selected 6A since I wanted to enjoy the big window and extra legroom in the footwell. However, 6B and 6E are also available; 6E is especially enticing since I won't have to crawl over my seat mate to use the toilet (which is friggin ridiculous on a 17 hour transcon business class seat that costs thousands of dollars).

What would you prefer? Is the engine really that bad/noticeable in rear cabin of business?

Kacee

I would take 6E for the aisle access. IMO 6D and 6E are best seats on the aircraft. As for window vs. center aisle, you're over water virtually the entire flight, at night, so not much benefit to window.

Oregonflyer

Am flying a 789 with a colleague PVG - SFO. Plane is empty right now. I usually grab 6E for myself, but I want to see for myself if row 1 is quieter than row 6. Do they still use the shelf in front of 1D/E for snacks and drinks? Is 1A/B appreciably more private and quiet than D/E? Any thoughts? Thx in advance.

Kacee

Yes there is less engine noise. I consider that a mixed blessing, as it means conversations carry farther and louder, including from the galley, which is right in front of you. In all events don't pick 1E, unless it's for your colleague and the goal is infliction of suffering.

I would just take 6D/E.

ExplorerWannabe

I would go with 6E. That's a long trip to have to wake your rowmate in order to get to the lavatory. I was in 6K and got the lights from the FA closet twinkling at me through the cracks of the door over the entire flight. Not much light but it was like a papercut -- more distracting and annoying that a regular bright light would have been.

findark

I would stay in 6A, but acknowledge that I am weird and also that climbing over a neighbor in a lie-flat seat bothers me very little

polarbears

My preference is roughly 6D, 1D, 6E, 1E, 6B/K.

It's a pretty personal choice though. Really any of the seats are totally fine.

For the noise: I loathe white noise, but I wear noise cancelling headphones basically from I board the plane until at least immigration if not the hotel. I can arrange my pillow and head just right so I can sleep with them, too. So with that the engine noise in the smaller cabin doesn't make a difference. As someone else said having less people makes it (on average) otherwise quieter.

For other seat preferences:

I like getting up and stretching, so aisles are good. I can easily crawl over the other seat if I'm at the window, but I know I won't, or at least will stress over minimizing any inconvenience to my neighbor. I am tall so the bigger footwell makes a really big difference for me. I take a window seat in row 6 or 1 over an aisle seat elsewhere. From habit I prefer the seats in the left side; I am sure I could rationalize some reason (like the galley light or whatever; but I've gotten used to using a sleep mask so ... shrug).

Though I am sure 90% of my preference is that those seats are familiar. There are so many things that can go wrong, be stressful or annoying when traveling. I am forgetful, have a short attention span and I get stressed in any sort of line or queue.

When traveling for work minimizing surprises and making everything I can as familiar as possible makes that better.

I'll seek out new food, neighborhoods, whatever if I have time between work, but I don't want to use that energy on figuring out how to get comfortable in a seat, or being annoyed or losing sleep from some insignificant inconvenience (hello Lufthansa knee bumping!).

so ... as I said, all the seats are basically totally fine[1], but we all have our particular preferences. :-)

Enjoy your flight, whichever seat you choose!

[1] (maybe except the footwell if you can use the extra seat length)

bluedemon211

I have always preferred 6D/E as my go-to on this plane. The footwell and direct aisle access are great.

That said, on my recent SFO-SIN-SFO flights with the loss of a FA at mid-cabin, it took much longer to get served meals/drinks refreshed than it used to. If timely and fast service is critical (for sleep or work) you might be tempted to go for row 1. If you do, I would suggest a sleep mask and ear plugs at a minimum.

Oregonflyer

Great input! Thanks!!

kevtux

Hi everyone. My wife and I are packing our bags for our trip to the USA mid April. We're flying on UA99 from MEL to LAX .Unfortunately our tickets are non upgradeable, so we'll be limited to Y. Am told my Premier Platinum status doesn't make a difference.

Be that as it may, would like to poll the experts on the panel on which seats are best in E+. We are currently in 20K and J, and 16L and K on the return UA98 flight. What would be your recommendations?

Thanks!

Kev

GoSh4rks