Is the back the best place to sit on a plane?

The best seats on a plane Best seat for peace and quiet: A seat near the front. Best seat for legroom: A bulkhead or exit-row seat. Best seat for sleeping: A window seat in a bulkhead row. Best seat for extra space without a seatmate: A seat towards the back.



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The study concluded that passengers who sit in the back rows “are 40% more likely to survive a crash” than those in the front. Statistics provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) support this finding.

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Best seat for legroom: A bulkhead or exit-row seat. Best seat for sleeping: A window seat in a bulkhead row. Best seat for extra space without a seatmate: A seat towards the back. Best seat for a tight connection: A seat closest to the front exit.

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“Many times, the windows are missing at these seats as well,” Duff continues, “and to top it all off, you are going to feel turbulence a bit [more] toward the back of the plane.” Being in the back also means you're one of the last ones off the plane—not ideal if you're trying to make a tight connection.

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Seats at the back of the plane tend to be bumpier, and sitting towards the back also means you're one of the last passengers to get off the plane after landing. Similarly, the bulkheads at the front of the cabin are where families with babies and young children sit.

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Sitting at the back of a plane can be beneficial for those who want to avoid noise and distractions from other passengers, as well as having more legroom.

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Seats towards the back of the plane tend to experience more turbulence than those towards the front.

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The study concluded that passengers who sit in the back rows “are 40% more likely to survive a crash” than those in the front. Statistics provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) support this finding.

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Approach and landing is the highest risk phase of flight, accounting for over 50 percent of all accidents at every level of aviation.

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Logically, the safety of these seats makes sense. Seats at the back of an airplane are close to exit rows while providing more cushion from any collisions that may impact the front of the plane first.

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Research found that the noise experienced in window seats was four decibels higher than the middle and aisle seats. Meanwhile, at the back of the aircraft, there is a lot of low frequency noise, says Kochan.

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The middle seat in the final seat is your safest bet
The middle rear seats of an aircraft had the lowest fatality rate: 28%, compared to 44% for the middle aisle seats, according to a TIME investigation that examined 35 years' worth of aircraft accident data.

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As stated in other answers, in steady flight there is no pressure difference along the length of the cabin, and only a miniscule one during lognitudinal acceleration.

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Because the wings provide the plane's stability, the seats closest to them will offer a smoother ride. If those seats are not available, the next best place is towards the front of the plane. It is best to avoid the back if turbulence will cause you distress, as it is the most susceptible to bumpiness.

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“The smoothest place to sit is over the wings,” commercial pilot Patrick Smith, host of AskThePilot.com said. These seats are close to the plane's center of lift and gravity. “The roughest spot is usually the far aft. In the rearmost rows, closest to the tail, the knocking and swaying is more pronounced,” Smith added.

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A strategy that travelers have been trying for years to varying degrees of success is the middle seat trick — when checking in online, two people traveling together will each select the aisle and window seats in a three-seat row and hope that the middle seat remains open.

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Sitting in a seat directly over the wings (typically an economy seat found in rows 10 to 30) can reduce the sensation of turbulence, as the wings help keep the aircraft balanced and smooth.

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Seats towards the back of the plane tend to experience more turbulence than those towards the front. Those who experience motion sickness should avoid seats in the back at all costs. Additionally, those seated in the back are the last passengers to get off the plane.

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The best seats on the plane: Empty rows or rows of two make flying more pleasant. If you sit far towards the front, you can get off the plane quickest, and you also have the quietest seats on the plane.

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Sitting at the point where both the plane's lift and center of gravity meet—and forces are pushing both up and down equally on the plane —usually ensures the smoothest ride. Another rule to fly by: Anything over or a bit forward from the wing will be more stable than anything after the wing.

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