Are there any advantages to sitting towards the back of the plane?

[Bertha Venation]

I like window seats but on my upcoming flights I'm stuck over the wings. :(

[CBGLuthier]

1. You ever hear of a plane

backing into a mountain?

[snooper2]

12. Well, in the movie Alive the ass end of the plane got ripped off

as they tried to climb over that last peak


Those folks didn't get a chance to try buttocks :)

[NYC_SKP]

2. Yes,

Often you're seated first and don't have to worry about there being adequate room in the overhead bins.

Unless you're in a hurry, when you deplane just sit and read or listen to music and let all the others get out.

Depending upon the airline, you might be able to change seating assignments online.

If you can't do this several days before the flight, try again just before or just after the 24 hours before departure time.

Sometimes they hide the open seats until then.

Bon Voyage!

:hi:

[Bertha Venation]

8. Do you think . . .

. . . that there is a greater chance that the center seat might be unoccupied back there?

[NYC_SKP]

9. I do. Typically, these are the last to fill.

Seat popularity seems to be closest to front and to exits go first, then window and aisle seats, and center seats are the last to be selected or assigned.

If memory serves, windows go a bit sooner than aisle seats, though I prefer aisle seats.

:hi:

[HopeHoops]

3. If it is an MD-80 then absolutely not!

They're essentially Greyhound buses with wings, but the engines are louder and if you're in the rear you get the full stereo effect.

[edhopper]

4. Depends if you want to end up with

Jack, Locke and Kate, or with Anna Lucia and Rose's husband?

[madinmaryland]

5. I have only flown Southwest for the last 7 or 8 years. Its open seating

on their flights!

[Bertha Venation]

6. Stampede?

I dread that kind of seating.

[madinmaryland]

10. It actually works real well.

When you print your boarding pass, you are assigned a sequential number. You can do that up to 24 hours before your flight. You then board by the sequential number. Of course if you get a high number, you will probably be stuck with a middle seat. But if you are booking on a flight that is nearly full, you will probably also get stuck with a middle seat.

Oh well.

[driver8]

7. The seats over the wings are supposed to be the safest.

A friend of mine who worked in aviation told me that.

[petronius]

11. The ride seems smoothest over the wings - it's bumpier in the back

Depending on the aircraft, the back rows are often near the lavatory, which can be a sensory adventure in its own right...

[Deep13]

13. Well, planes never back into mountains.

At least that's what Tim Conway says.

Seriously, if you crash there will be fewer people behind you to slam into you from behind. Those seats can come loose in a crash.

[skygazer]

14. It's closer to the bathroom

[Heidi]

15. Yeah. It's close to an exit and you don't have to listen to the moneyed folks'

heavy sighs every five or six seconds.

[Bertha Venation]

16. there are moneyed folks in coach?

Who knew?

:*

[One_Life_To_Give]

17. When landing in Boston, yes.

If there is too much Ice on the runway. First class has to swim for it.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/666171431.html?dids=666171431:666171431&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+24%2C+1982&author=Al+Larkin+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=THE+PLANE+JUST+DIDN%27T+STOP%27&pqatl=google

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

18. The ride is smoother over the wings.

That's because that's approximately where the airplane's center of gravity is. If you sit way in the back, the moment arm (the distance from the center of gravity) is greater, so in effect that part of the airplane swings or pivots more in turbulence. You won't notice turbulence as much if you are sitting near the wings. Also, if you are sitting in a back row of an airplane with aft-mounted engines (MD-80/88/90, DC-9), you will hear more engine noise.

[LeftyMom]

19. People take forever to get their bags and get the hell off the plane when it lands.

I try to sit up front if I've got a carry-on, so I can grab my crap and go. If I have checked bags it doesn't really matter, I'll have to wait at the baggage carousel either way. But if you have a tight connection it can be the difference between missing your next flight or not.