Idea for a great seatmap tool!
 

I've been searching the forum for a little while and it struck me as surprising that one of the more web-savvy FT'ers out there hasn't thought of this. It would be a great fit for an "unnoficial United" guide.

Here's the idea:
Scan the seatmaps from a recent timetable and turn it into an Image Map.

Post said Image maps on a website and take input into what are good seats/bad seats. Hovering the mouse over the seat would display why that particular seat is good/bad.

Color code seats for Class of Service and then put an icon on good/bad seats.

For instance, seats 15AB on a 747-400 would have a star on them whereas the bulkhead seats 5EF on a 767-300 would have an X.

Seat ratings would have to be relative to cabin/class. If I was looking in Business class on a 777, I'd want to know the best and worst seats in that class. Obviously, the worst First Suite seat is better than the best C seat.

Average (nothing bad or good about them) would receive no special designation.

Criteria I'd be interested in would be: limited recline, lesser or greater legroom, if other pax tend to cross in front of that seat (like the centers in the first row of the Y cabin on a 747), etc.

Collectively, we've got this information, but it is asked for again and again. How great would it be to book a flight on an unfamiliar aircraft (say a EMB120) and be able to look up that 9BC are the best seats on the plane (at least leg room wise)?

This is a fantastic idea. Seat maps are already available at:
http://www.ual.com/site/primary/0,10017,1076,00.html

If someone is willing to take the lead on this, I would be more than happy to help out (e.g. creating the image maps).

Not to spoil the idea, but "good", "bad", "best & "worst" are all pretty subjective terms. Some people like exit windows, others aisle bulkheads. Everyone has their reasons.... I'm sure you'd end up with some conflicting ideas, I reckon.

IMHO

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RichardMEL, UA 1K
A Star Alliance Member.

Hehe, funny you should mention this. I had some free time a few months back and put together a prototype of it. It wouldn't be that hard to continue development, but I just haven't found the time. Have a look at:

http://www.seatguru.com

Most impressive Phatteus!
Your detailed descriptions avoid the subjectivity problem.
What an asset to an 'unofficial guide'!

Cool

Only problem is that I personally love certain seats that others hate (777 exit row 30 for example), so subjective listings are difficult.

Phatteus, Great start!!
I hope that you and/or someone else can find the time to complete this project. What a terrific tool for UA FT's.

Phatteus: great site. I must have read your mind. I'll be happy to help in any way.

I can see how subjectivity could be an issue. Maybe it wouls serve us better to divide the seats into two categories:

Average: not good/not bad, no one has a particular comment.

Comment: This would be a place to list factual evidence about the seat. More or less legroom, high traffic, lousy view of the movie screen, limited recline, etc.

I think www.seatguru.com does this pretty well.

If we avoided opinions and stuck to the facts we would be OK. Heck, my wife loves to fly but is absolutely petrified of flying on the left side of the plane on International departures out of SFO. I'd hate to see her opinion of good vs bad seats.

Great start! Well done. Two comments:

First, I find it works with Internet Explorer but not with Netscape 4.76 (which is my preferred browser).

Second, I would add a cautionary note to the descriptions for seats 9A and 9F saying that one may experience considerably coldness around the legs and feet.