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The best place to sit to avoid disturbances is a window seat.

o Whether you are willing to help the crew in the event of an emergency. Exit row seating requires that you be willing to help the crew if needed. Children cannot sit in exit rows so if you want to avoid children beside you, that is also a good choice.

Now that you've decided where you want to sit, you need to know how to get the seat you want.

Most, but not all, airlines used assigned seating. Generally, you can choose your seat when you purchase your ticket. This writer strongly recommends that you make your seat selection online. This will show you the plane layout and available seats so you know exactly what you are selecting.

First class seating aside, some airlines charge a premium for seats that are considered the "best", but most do not. Airlines will typically allow seat selection until a percentage of the plane's seat capacity is sold. After that, you will be sold a ticket, but seat assignment will not be allowed until the day of travel, frequently at the boarding gate.

Most airlines also reserve exit row seats and preferred seating at the front of the plane for frequent flyer advance purchase seat selection. Unless you are a frequent flyer on the airline in question, you will not be able to select one of those seats in advance. However, unselected seats are generally "freed" up 24 hours prior to flight time, and you can change your seat online if one is available. Note that since most people know this, you really DO need to do it exactly 24 hours in advance.

If you can't get the seat you want, or don't yet have a seat assignment, get to the boarding gate one hour in advance (domestic flights) and make your seat request known to the gate agent. They will do what they can to accommodate you when all passengers have checked in. You might also want to see if first class upgrade purchases are being offered. Sometimes airlines will allow you buy an upgrade for a fraction of the difference in ticket price. (If flying on Airtran, you can check this at check-in prior to going through security).

Finally, even the best seat on the plane can be lost if there is an equipment change to a different type of plane. The airline will attempt to assign a new seat automatically based on what they know about your seating preferences, but you may not get the seat you want. You have a better chance of coming close to what you want if you joined their frequent flyer club and completed seating preference information.

Another thing to note is that even if you check the plane's open seating on the day of the flight and choose a seat that appears to have no one else beside you, everything is subject to change by the time the plane takes off. Sometimes you just need to relax and realize that this too will pass.

Learn more about this author, Karen Yvonne.
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