6 plane seats. Side by side vs. one in front of the other ?

[mill4023]

Which do you prefer?
We'll likely be flying SW and we'll have 6 people(Me, DW, 4 kids). Actually, we may have 8 for the flight down (my mom and 14 yr old sister).

I thought it would be better to sit on both sides in the same row, but my wife thought it might be better to sit in 2 adjacent rows on the same side.

Any opinions?

 

[cranbiz]

I guess that would depend on how much that you want to interact with the others in the group. In order to attempt a conversation with the others in your party, seats together on the same side would be necessary, with 8 you would need 6 together and the 2 aisle seats next to that group. It still is hard to have a conversation that way but is better than the 2 window seat people trying to be heard across the aisle.

If you want relatively quiet time grab 2 complete rows and then 2 other seats close by.

 

[sanibelover]

I would pick 6 across, then you and DW could each sit on the aisle and maybe have a converstaion. Talking over the seats is not really easy.

 

[safetymom]

I would do 2 rows on the same side. It would be easier to talk to the others if you had to.

 

[Lord Fantasius]

Two rows one in front of the other...

1) the people in the back row can rub the shoulders of the people in front of them;

2) if you have smaller children that like to kick seat backs or have adults that like to pull headrests getting out of their seats, at least they can do it to relatives; and

3) if you're the Van Trapp family singers it easier to harmonize when you're all on the same side.

Admittedly it's been along time since I've flown SW, but I'm assuming they still don't fly the airplanes that have the two rows facing each other right after the bulkhead?

-R

 

[gw_lit]

Admittedly it's been along time since I've flown SW, but I'm assuming they still don't fly the airplanes that have the two rows facing each other right after the bulkhead?

-R

There may be a few of those planes still out there, but not many. The "lounge" seats are removed when the new leather seats are installed, if not before.

 

[momw/4boys]

Whenever we fly, me, DH and 4DS, we always try to get 6 across. We did fly the other way on our first flight and found it difficult to hear one another without standing and turning around. When we do six across, my DH and I can actually sit together and talk . We sit the oldest 3 (9,7,6) on the one side with the DVD player and movies. My youngest DS (4) sits with us. We even sit the 4 together on the opposit side with all of the arms up. I hope this helps.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

My family sits 5 across, because I bug my children too much when I sit behind them (I never outgrew the "pesky little sister" stage, and now my teens suffer...).

 

[chasbos]

We sit 6 wide.

DH and I and our youngest who is 7 sit in 1 group and the other 3 girls sit across from us.

Very easy to see what they are doing and they can see the evil eye when they are starting to get a little loud!

 

[Princess Patti]

six straight across

 

[Snoozan]

I recommend what one other poster suggested - put the little kids behind some of the other relatives. There's nothing worse than being kicked from behind and even though I do speak up about it at times, it would be nice not to have to deal with someone else's kids.

 

[mill4023]

Seems to be quite a few opposing opinions.
Can a 2 yr old in a car seat easily reach far enough to kick the seats ahead of her?
She's the only one I would be concerned about.

 

[Lord Fantasius]

Can a 2 yr old in a car seat easily reach far enough to kick the seats ahead of her?

Funny...my daughter is two and she can do pull-ups on the seat in front of her and kick the seat at the same time while she is in her car seat. But then again, unless you're sitting in first class, the car seat itself makes it even easier for a 2-yr old to kick right into the middle of the seat in front of them instead of lower where a 9-yr old would kick.

Anyways, take it for what it's worth...I always carry a spare roll of duct tape in case I have a kid behind me who can't find anything else to do with their legs; however it doesn't solve the problem of adults using my headrest to pull themselves out of their seat (my real pet peeve if you couldn't tell); at least kids have an excuse in that they're still kids; adults on the other hand...

Either way have a great time and don't worry too much about the younger kids (and who their kicking...as long as it's not their brother or sister), I think most of us grumpy adults would rather have a kid be a kid (caveat - as long as it's not too obnoxious) rather than a stoic lump. It's really the people who should know better that I worry about...

Whatever you do, don't worry about it too much and a have great time on your trip!!

-R