AeroLOPA, the go-to resource for detailed airplane seat maps, has launched a paid app with flight alerts, tail number predictions, and seat ratings.
good note on delta's seats, amigo 🙂
Thanks, Ben. A very helpful story!
I checked with ChatGPT, and it claims that the app works for these devices:
* Android phones/tablets — native AeroLOPA app available from Google Play. AeroLOPA on Google Play
* iPhone — native app, requiring iOS 15.1 or later.
* Mac — the iPhone version can run on Apple-silicon Macs (M1 or newer) with macOS 12+, although Apple says it is not verified for macOS.
* Windows — I still find no native Windows AeroLOPA app. Windows users can use the AeroLOPA website through their browser.
Not sure that this is accurate, but worth confirming.
I'd love there to be a ChatGPT function where you can search for a flight (e.g. CX549 in business, 15 Nov 2025) and return a description of what the seat product will be like (e.g. You'll be getting the Aria Suite, Cathay's newest business class produt with a door. Make sure you check out both the Japan Airlines and Cathay lounges at Haneda Airport, and the AmEx Centurion Lounge if you have a Platinum card). A bit like ExpertFlyer except it checks AeroLOPA by itself and returns what the seat will be like, as well as other ground experience tidbits.
If anyone from AeroLOPA is reading this (or anyone who has access to airline seat data and can make GPTs) we should make it happen!
Former Tripadvisor employee here! Totally agree, I wish we had done more with Seats.Aero, and flights in general.
Quick FYI, the org name changed several years ago to Tripadvisor, dropping the capital A. Thanks for all the great content!
"I think many frequent flyers will find this to be useful."
Ironically, it is the frequent flyers who do not need this. They would already know what are the best seats in each cabin or aircraft configuration.
This is such a crazy thing to try and monetize tbh.
Disagree. I'm a frequent flyer but I don't have every aircraft of my preferred airlines committed to memory so I frequently reference AeroLOPA.
Now, I still think their specific niche will be hard to monetize in the way websites and apps are expected to these days, but I wouldn't say there's no value for frequent flyers.
@jetset--I completely agree. I would add that most airlines have multiple versions of the "same* aircraft so a tool where you can punch in the airline, flight number, and date to get to the correct seat map, with ratings for each seat, is potentially very useful--PROVIDED it's accurate.
Alvin | YTHK you nailed it.
Also, while some people fall down YouTube rabbit holes, I can't tell you how many times I've fallen down AeroLOPA rabbit holes. Those of us who geek out on civil aviation (Hi there!) are thrilled with this app, and I've already happily subscribed today.
Geek-tastic!!! Love it.
App looks pretty good. Would like to see a lifetime option.
hmm.. you'd want an actuary to evaluate that option to see what value it would give!
AF’s Ben Smith is an investor and company director of Aerolopa.
"The AeroLOPA website continues to be free to use, with everything we’re used to — that includes architectural drawings of real aircraft, with a level of detail you won’t find anywhere else."
Sorry Ben, not gonna let this slide - it is false.
The drawings are still free (and wonderful), thankfully, but the site has had one level of "enshittification" (technical term - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification ). The details for each seat, for example platform, pitch, IFE details, etc, are now hidden behind a login. If it's free, why log in? Well, we all know the answer - the same reason as the restaurant requiring your phone number to turn on the grill. Some may claim it's anti-bot/AI, but we also know that AIs can make accounts just fine, etc.
There is a real value to the additions you describe on the app. The team has done great work. Additionally, I don't take issue with the team wanting to get paid. Adding value is a great way to do that.
But do not tell your readers that the website has "everything we're used to" when things have recently changed (earlier this year). Removing or blocking something that used to be casually available leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I've gotten extremely sensitive to this over the recent years.
Best and sincere wishes to you, Ben, and the AeroLOPA team!
"...the same reason as the restaurant requiring your phone number to turn on the grill."
I'm sorry, but what does this mean, or to what is this referring?
Many restaurants (and other establishments) require a phone number in order to process you as a customer, as a result of their point of sale systems or some other procedure. "Requiring your phone number to turn on the grill" here means that they need some piece of personally identifiable information before they can serve you food, which I find distasteful (and I don't enjoy giving false info either). Neither the food cares who I am, nor do any of the processes leading up to it.
The specific reason for a restaurant to do this and not offer an alternative is, of course, so they (either the restaurant or, more likely, the point of sale vendor) can spam your phone/email (I'm sorry, I misstated it, they "send you promotional offers you can opt out of") and sell your number, email, and various other data onward to data brokers. I don't know if AeroLOPA is currently doing this, but let's put it this way: you can't (ab)use information you don't have.
I hope bringing these thoughts into the conversation helps things improve!
Totally agree. The new-ish requirement to sign in to view the cabin specifications is really annoying and does not strike me as a good sign of what's to come.
I agree 100%.
I am not creating an account on AeroLOPA to obtain access to supposedly "free" information.
I will stick with seatmaps.com.
Fine. It's the best we got for now, but... *sigh* I miss SeatGuru so much. Can we please bring back user-contributions? Reading through real traveler comments on specific rows and galley noise was infinitely more helpful than just looking at a pretty layout.
“….. a “Sunny Side” feature (showing which side of the aircraft the sun will light up on a specific flight) …..”
Sometime ago, right here in the OMAAT comments section, someone mentioned a web-site that does this very thing. Stupidly, I forgot to make a note of its name at the time but IIRC it had the word ‘helios’ in its name.
Does anyone remember what its name was?
Know all we need is a free seat finder. (1 year in advance)
Love their site but will continue to use the free website instead of the app. Most of my bookings are done from my home office anyway so no problem. The times I may be traveling and need to check a seat location are slim and none with slim having left town.
This is great - thanks for the heads-up on this! Like others, I miss SeatGuru very much, and am glad this is developing. And like others: Please include user reviews! 🙂
If they also included the same features as Flighty then it could be an all around replacement and they could gather huge market share
Important to me: shows 'window-less window seats.' Clearly shows where the fuselage has no window.
$29 per year no thanks. Subscriptions are mainly a ripoff.
I actually feel that the accuracy of the cabin layouts is starting to deteriorate. The website was great to begin with, but as the number of seat maps grew, and the rush to get them loaded before final information is available and then missing the final touches, the quality startet to drop.
With seat recommendations, are we now going to get all the pointless 'close to galley' comments from seat guru?