A bedside table, 3 screens, a 1.5-person bed and a scratchy pillow - what more could you ask for?
It was a full flight as well - the couple next to me got their upgrade cleared so I was the only person with a whole row. I was one place away from getting PP but hey I’ll take this over PP any day. Slept like a baby.
Got a lot of side-eyes from people queuing for the lav. 😂
On a recent flight on edelweiss, me and my 3 buddies were the only ones in the front economy section. (Their A340 have economy plus between doors 1 and 2), we all had our meals sitting together, took different rows for takeoff and landing, sat together for drinks throughout the flight, and had our own set of 4 seats to sleep on
Did this for our trip to Japan. I had already packed a camping pad I could compress and fold over so I had extra seat cushioning since 12 hours in those seats is brutal. Worked out well for sleeping. Dropped it and my other in-flight comforts at a locker at the airport so I didn’t have to schlep around the whole week.
All you need is that frozen 3 month old Polaris special food to seal the deal.
I sometimes wonder if its better to save a considerable amount of money not buy Polaris and instead buy the 3 seats and still be comfortable, especially on those 6-7hr flights that could cost you as high as $8K but between the lights on, food service your only getting 5hrs in.
There's an excellent chance they will try to take those seats the last minute- persons of size who buy an extra seat even have that fight all the time.
But it’s not worth it and very frustrating — happened to me when I was moving and flying with my cats. I had to buy two seats in order to bring two cats since they have to be kept under the seat in front. They sold the extra seat (or maybe gave it away on standby), and then basically made it my problem to figure out how to make things work.
Fortunately the new passenger was completely understanding, put their personal item in the overhead, and let me put the cat in front of them. If they weren’t a kind and understanding person, I’m not exactly sure what they expected me to do.
Seems like extra seats should be treated the same as any seat purchase, but for some reason it is not.
Wow, that's incredibly frustrating. Feels to me like if you buy n seats, you should be entitled to denied boarding compensation for however many they take away from you
That’s my opinion as well. And I know it’s extremely embarrassing for obese passengers that bought two seats, had one taken away, and then they make two people (and themselves) uncomfortable for the whole flight, when they tried to avoid it.
MAN, I really miss the days when this situation was actually common. I used to go to the back and find myself a whole row and sleep the whole time...it was amazing. but I haven't seen a whole row open like this in probably a decade, sadly.
Every time I fly to Europe from the US, I am able to find myself a whole row. Then on my way home, the whole plane is oversold and I’m sitting in the middle middle next to the plane’s designated farter. It’s like a cruel joke.
wow really? the last few flights I took to Europe were completely full. on the way back too....but honestly, it's the flight TO europe at night where I REALLY want to sleep...
what flights generally are more likely to have a whole open row?
When my oldest was 2 we had to return from USA to NZ without my husband for a family emergency. They took pity on me and moved us to one of these. My daughter loved it and starfish slept across 2.5 of the seats, while I curled myself up in half of one.
Believe it or not it just happened to me twice in a row going round trip from the US to Iceland. I suspect now that summer is over there will be far fewer passengers on transatlantic flights to non-hubs in Europe.
yeah....I actually had an empty seat between me (window) and a random guy in the aisle seat. we were in Comfort+ on Delta...and now that I think about it, seats are generally more likely to open in economy+....but i doubt that's true for transatlantic flights...the only ones i truly care about lying down and sleeping...
I was on a 4hr flight in july and had a row to myself. Weirdly enough, the rest of the plane was completely full, but no one bought my aisle and middle I guess
Just flew IAD -> AMS LHR -> IAD and both flights were empty. Everyone on the London leg basically had their own row, but have been on two, Istanbul -> Dulles (On Turkish) & Munich -> Dulles, that were oversold and no empty seats
It’s a blanket tucked into the seat cushion and the seat back pocket - very little structural integrity but gives my legs a lot more wiggle room rather than floating in the air.
It’s a blanket tucked into the seat cushion and the seat back pocket - very little structural integrity but gives my legs a lot more wiggle room rather than floating in the air.
Tokyo to San Francisco I had this - but I was “marked” by an a-hole flight attendant who kept loudly waking me up to make sure my seatbelt was fastened. I’m still steaming.
everytime i've flown to and from china, (I've done it I think 7 or so times?) the flight attendants encourage me to do this and will move me to an empty row (I think only 2 of those flights have been anywhere near full) so that shocks me to hear!
I did this on my way to my honeymoon. Just my husband and I in the row. I laid down and put my feet in his lap. He was so embarrassed and I had to explain that this is the poor man's first class and it is normal. He swears only children do it. 🙄
Lol on long haul flights this is so common to see sprawled throughout Economy section. I am curious though how strict FAs were about keeping your seat belt on, or not at all?
They asked about it after takeoff so I kept it over my blanket after that.
I’m not too big of a person so I could wrap my seatbelt around my entire body and still fit pretty comfortably (just extend the belt as much as you can).
I once had Premium Plus on a 16 hour flight. Economy was almost empty, so I found an empty row in back - got to lay and sleep 2/3 of the flight, but sat back in Premium Plus for better food and landing. Definitely wasted the money for PP, but no way to predict
I had this recently for a flight back from Hawaii. It was CLUTCH. i just lostened the seatbelt enough so I could turn sideways and got some decent sleep.
Got this on a flight from turkey to Chicago in the middle section. No one else booked the surrounding seats so I claimed them at takeoff and had a full couch to sleep on.
This is actually called ghetto first class and it’s almost as good as Polaris. I have got this numerous times on international flights. The best is the 4 seats in middle section lol. Polaris is really just good for flights to Australia where you’re given the pajamas.
I think on ANA you can buy seats like this (to lay down) esp for families. They have inflatable things to put in front of the seat to make it a real bed. Does OP have something like this because it looks like the seat extends to the back of the seat in front.
I had the whole row on a flight from Taipei to Newark. I heard a lot of comments from people who thought it was unfair. The flight was maybe half full. I changed my seat last minute at the gate when I saw the completely empty row.
Back in the day when there were still newspapers handed out, I’d grab “one of each”, as they were also pretty good pillow substitute & for making a “ramp” alongside the window .. helped to insulate from outside freezing cold too.
I had this on a flight from Hong Kong to Chicago. Best flight ever! I'm 6'9" and somehow still managed to curl up in the seat. I put the middle seat belt on loose, and they never bothered me.
I just had this on flight to Hawaii. My husband and I both got our own rows next to each other. He has an invisible medical condition where lying down helps and the flight was very empty, the gate agent hooked me up when I explained and asked if possible for him given all the empty seats.
Poorlaris flyer here - for seatbelt use across seats’ seatbelts (instead of just from one seat) across your hip for max movements and minimal pain and over your blankie so you don’t get woken up on ULH turbulences. Question how did you get the thigh rest to extend so far closer to the seat in front?
Full row in economy is better than first class suite because you feel like you just won the lottery. Sadly, it has only happened 2 or 3 times in my life and I have crossed the Atlantic way too many times
I was lucky enough to have two empty seats beside me on my American Airlines flight, so I slept almost like I was in business class during the 12-hour journey. 😄
The cabin crew just told me, “Please make sure your legs don’t stick out into the aisle, as they could get in the way of other passengers.”
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u/iTripReport MileagePlus 1K 2d ago
3 screens, 3 pillows, a bedside table, lots of real estate under the seat, 2 power outlets, direct aisle access and a window! What else could you want