Sit Next To An Empty Seat On A Plane: Tips & Strategy To Maximize Odds

Perhaps the single thing that can most positively impact your experience on a flight is having an empty seat next to you. That’s especially true in economy, where space very much comes at a premium. I think everyone wants an empty seat next to them, but not many people are actually strategic about assigning their seats in order to maximize these odds.

So in this post, I’d like to talk about that in a bit more detail — what’s the best approach to maximizing your odds of having an empty seat next to you?

The order in which airplane cabins & seats fill up

Maximizing your odds of having an empty seat next to you is essentially a game of reverse psychology. You want to assign yourself next to a seat that someone else doesn’t want.

For that matter, you also want to assign yourself the seats that gate agents are least likely to assign passengers at the last minute (whether those are confirmed passengers who just don’t have a seat assignment, or standby passengers who are cleared onto a flight).

So with that in mind, let’s cover the order in which seats on planes typically fill up:

• Seats are generally selected from front to back, within each zone; that’s to say that an extra legroom economy section is considered separately from the standard economy section
• Aisle seats are generally assigned first, followed by window seats, followed by middle seats
• The left side of the plane generally fills up first, followed by the right side, followed by the center section (if it’s a wide body aircraft with 7-10 seats per row)

It’s important to emphasize that the above is true broadly speaking, but of course there’s going to be some variability between flights:

• Extra legroom economy seating is going to be much more popular on a Monday morning flight from Chicago to San Francisco than on a Sunday morning flight from El Paso to Dallas
• Exit row seats are going to be more popular on a business route than on a flight to Orlando (since kids can’t sit in exit rows)
• Aisle seats are more popular on daytime flights than on overnight flights, where more people prefer being able to lean against the fuselage to rest (personally, I always prefer window seats)
• Seats filling up front to back depends on the extent to which airlines monetize seat assignments; beyond extra legroom economy seating, some airlines designate seats toward the front of the standard economy cabin as being “preferred,” and often those may fill up toward the end

Maximizing your odds of an empty middle seat

My seat selection strategy for maximizing my odds of an empty seat next to me is pretty straightforward:

• I select a seat as far back as possible in the “best” cabin I have access to; in other words, if I have access to extra legroom seating, I’ll sit as far back in that section as possible
• If I have access to exit row seats, I’ll assign myself the exit row seat that’s furthest back
• I typically sit on the right rather than the left, simply because for whatever reason, people tend to assign seats left to right
• When possible, I try to assign a seat that’s next to one empty seat, rather than being next to a pair of empty seats (since the middle seat is more likely to fill up if it’s available in conjunction with another seat)

For example, take the below economy seat map today on a United Boeing 787-9 from Houston to Tokyo Narita. The seat that are blue are Economy Plus (extra legroom), while the seats that are white are standard economy seats.

If I were traveling alone and had access to Economy Plus, I’d probably select seat 33L. Why? Because it’s the furthest back seat on the right side with just one empty seat next to it. Why not seat 34A, where there are currently two empty seats next to it?

Well, most flights have standby passengers (this flight has 13 listed), so I imagine that when a pair of standby passengers are cleared and they request to be seated together, they’d possibly be assigned seats 34B and 34C (if I selected 34A).

What about in regular economy? As you can see, a lot of people are in a pretty good spot there, with lots of empty middle seats. If booking early, I would’ve selected seats in rows 50-55, in the “J” or “L” position. As you can see, most of those seats currently have an empty middle seat.

With what’s currently remaining, I’d probably select seat 46D or 46J — they’re the aisle seats the furthest back with one empty seat next to them. You’ll absolutely want to stay clear of seat 47D or 47F — you don’t want to risk sitting next to someone who intentionally chooses a middle seat like that, it’s just too risky. 😉

Don’t forget the most obvious strategy for an empty seat

While there’s a lot of effort you can put into maximizing your odds of having an empty seat next to you in advance, the most obvious strategy is to just politely ask at the gate. Shortly before boarding starts, there’s no harm in asking the gate agent if there are by any chance seats available that might have an empty seat next to them.

Of course don’t ask this in an entitled way, but rather, just very politely inquire. Furthermore, try not to do it if the gate agent is obviously overwhelmed, or dealing with some issues.

Some gate agents will be happy to make your day by helping you with that, while others might have a bit of an attitude, and be unhelpful. Either way, there’s no harm in politely asking.

Should you even bother aiming for an empty seat?

I think one logical question is to what extent it even makes sense to strategize to get an empty middle seat. The reality is that so many flights are full nowadays, and if you’re trying to get an empty seat next to you, it might involve selecting a slightly less desirable seat than you’d otherwise choose.

Globally, the average load factor for flights is approaching 85%, so most flights are close to capacity, but not actually full. So I do think there’s value to being strategic with seat assignments.

However, it’s also important to be realistic. If you don’t get an empty seat next to you, don’t be surprised. Furthermore, consider the time of year and route you’re flying.

Like, if you’re flying from New York to Athens in July, don’t even bother angling for an empty seat next to you, because it’s almost certainly not going to happen. Meanwhile if you’re flying from Chicago to London in February, you might get an empty seat next to you without even trying.

So I think it’s worth putting a little bit of thought into this, but I wouldn’t select a materially worse seat in order to gamble on an empty adjacent seat.

Does the aisle & window seat swap strategy work?

A lot of aircraft have sets of three seats (an aisle, a middle, and a window), and one common strategy is for people to select an aisle and window seat. The idea is that by there only being a middle seat, it’s less likely to be occupied. Furthermore, if it does end up being occupied, the person in the middle seat will almost always be happy to switch for an aisle or window.

Is this a good strategy? While we can argue over whether this strategy is inconsiderate or not, I think it’s actually a smart approach to take. Indeed, someone is less likely to voluntarily assign a middle seat than to assign an open window or aisle seat, so this is more likely to work.

Does this strategy work in business class?

It goes without saying that having an empty seat next to you in economy is a lot more valuable than in a premium cabin, given the real estate allocated to each seat. That being said, it’s also nice to have an empty seat next to you in a premium cabin, especially if it’s not a solo seat with direct aisle access.

I’ve written in the past about my business class seat preferences, and I generally assign seats in the back of the cabin, ideally on the right side. That maximizes the odds of having an empty seat near you.

I love when there are multiple business class cabins on a flight, because if a flight isn’t full, it’s amazing how everyone gravitates toward the forward cabin. I’ve been on flights where the forward business class cabin was nearly full, while I had the rear business class cabin nearly to myself. It’s awesome when that happens.

Obviously this very much falls into the category of “first world problems,” but as a bad airplane sleeper, it really helps me to not have many people seated near me. I wake up too easily if there’s light, noise, smell, etc., so the quieter the cabin, the more uninterrupted sleep I get.

Bottom line

Most flights have some number of empty seats, so you might as well try your best to be one of the lucky people who doesn’t have anyone sitting next to them.

The strategy is pretty straightforward, and it’s basically to take the opposite approach that everyone else takes when assigning seats. If you want the best odds of an empty seat next to you, select a seat as far back as possible, ideally with exactly one empty seat next to it. All else being equal, sit on the right side rather than the left side.

Obviously it’s not always going to work out, because you’re making a bet as to how other passengers and even gate agents will assign seats. However, more often than not, this is the strategy that will maximize your odds. Lastly, don’t forget to just ask the gate agent if there are any seats that might have open seats next to them.

Where do you stand on strategizing to get an empty seat next to you on a plane?