Travel: How to Get a Good Seat On the Plane

I absolutely hate getting the middle seat on an airplane. Then again, who doesn’t?

Sooner or later, though, you’re going to run into a situation where you get stuck with a middle seat. Here’s a tip to help you get an aisle or a window seat.

Most airlines assign the aisle and window seats first, even if two people are flying together. So if you get assigned a middle seat, ask the gate agent if they can scan the passenger list to see if there’s an aisle where two people with the same last name are flying. If so, ask for the middle seat in that aisle.

Most of the time, the two passengers will want to sit together and will offer to switch with you for the aisle or window seat. Problem solved.