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The $160 exit row seat

post #1 of 47
8/9/11 at 12:21pm
Thread Starter 
So my wife and I are flying coach from L.A. to Sydney this fall. I've done it before, all 14 1/2 hellish hours. Spent a lot of time stretching the legs near the bathrooms and praying that time would speed up.

This time around Qantas offered the exit row seats for an extra $160 each, one-way. I kopped.

Complete waste of money? Or worth it?
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post #2 of 47
8/9/11 at 12:25pm
I would do it in a heartbeat.
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post #3 of 47
8/9/11 at 12:35pm
It's funny cause in 2009 and 2010, I flew from JFK to HK(on my way to BKK) on Cathay and got the coach seats right before the bathroom and the fist class seating. UNLIMITED room as there were no seats in front of me. This year(April), when I got to the airport, they said that there was now a $100 fee to get those seats(previously, all I did was select them via Expedia.) I paid going. Coming home, I wanted to see if I needed to pay that extra $100 and I just requested an aisle seat. No big deal to me. If you are a larger dude, I would def do it. But I might pass on them going fwd.
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post #4 of 47
8/9/11 at 12:38pm
Probably worth it...

I wish you could pay to be sat next to an empty seat. That's all that I need, being 6'2". I absolutely hate flying when I have a large neighbor, especially since I usually get stuck next to a wide shouldered man who weighs over 200 lbs. If I ran airlines, I would make it so when you check in, flight attendants notice your height and weight and try to pair you with someone who is much smaller than you. Or, if you are above 6 feet you should be put in an exit row or bulkhead road.
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post #5 of 47
8/9/11 at 1:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pocketsquareguy View Post

I would do it in a heartbeat.

same here, a no-brainer

would not do it on a short domestic flight
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post #6 of 47
8/9/11 at 2:10pm
Yes, definitely worth it.
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post #7 of 47
8/9/11 at 2:35pm
By the way, the seat you don't want to have on a plane is in the row behind the Emergency exit. I was in an emergency landing (landing gear didn't seem to be coming down). They pulled the person next to the exit door out and put in a flight attendant. As we went through the belly landing instructions she said "as soon as we stop moving, the door will open inward and we push it over our heads (gesturing behind us) and then you get out as fast as you can". (fortunately the landing gear did come down)

So no women and children first, no helping people, just toss the door over your head and get the hell out of the plane....
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post #8 of 47
8/9/11 at 5:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pocketsquareguy View Post

By the way, the seat you don't want to have on a plane is in the row behind the Emergency exit. I was in an emergency landing (landing gear didn't seem to be coming down). They pulled the person next to the exit door out and put in a flight attendant. As we went through the belly landing instructions she said "as soon as we stop moving, the door will open inward and we push it over our heads (gesturing behind us) and then you get out as fast as you can". (fortunately the landing gear did come down)

So no women and children first, no helping people, just toss the door over your head and get the hell out of the plane....

Women and children first or trying to help people would be a bad idea and get more people killed in a real emergency. Trying to prioritize is just going to create logistical issues moving people who may or may not have heard or understood the instructions around, and it will take much longer for everyone to get off. Traffic jams are bad, herd mindset is good.

Incidentally, it works the same way getting on. Row boarding, zone boarding and whatever else are all slower than just telling everyone to board and letting the random distribution take its course. But while airlines know that, they do the zones because it's the fastest while making people think that there's an order and a process, which means customers think airlines are working harder to make sure the process goes smoothly. It's PR to make passengers happier with the service.
Edited by cptjeff - 11/9/11 at 7:10pm
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post #9 of 47
8/9/11 at 5:35pm
..
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post #10 of 47
8/9/11 at 6:07pm
Worth it. Although I find that those seats gets really cold sometimes, but you can always ask for a business/first class blanket.
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post #11 of 47
8/9/11 at 6:58pm
yeah..they get cold s shit..but worth it!
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post #12 of 47
8/9/11 at 7:36pm
I had a cross-country plane trip cancelled yesterday. Today on the flights they rebooked, they put us in exit rows. Made a terrible day with nowhere near enough sleep a bit more pleasant. They are actually noticeably more comfortable.
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post #13 of 47
8/9/11 at 9:08pm
Definitely worth it, with that flight. Recently bought some upgraded ticket from United that had me flying Biz/1st from Seoul to LA, but the way back was LA-Tokyo in Economy and Tokyo to Seoul in biz - I got to the counter in LA on the way back and bought the upgrade for like $100. It was really worth it. Those premium Economy seats have the leg room of like a domestic 1st class plane. Seat pitch isn't as great obviously, but here's the kicker: with the US airlines that usually charge you $25/35/35 for checked luggage, those Economy plus seats get you 3 checked bags included in your upgraded ticket, dedicated overhead bins only for those seats, plus priority boarding and luggage sometimes.
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post #14 of 47
8/10/11 at 8:11am
Thread Starter 
Well then, I suppose I should now get them for the return flight.
Thanks for the responses.
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post #15 of 47
8/11/11 at 2:04am
i would just sleep 12 hrs and watch a movie. staying up till 5 on work nights helps with that
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