A travel vlogger who’s visited 49 countries has revealed what she thinks are the best seats for passengers on long-haul flights. Alysia forms one half of a globe-trekking duo (alongside her husband, Will) that runs the World Wanderers travel channel on YouTube, with the couple providing various tips and hacks to intrepid tourists.  

In a recent video titled ‘Flight Travel Hacks to Survive (and Sleep) in Economy’, Alysia opened up about her preferred sleep methods on long-haul flights in economy class. As many of us know, our options on these types of flights can be limited, with restricted space and cramped conditions alongside other passengers. Still, Alysia has some tactics to make the journey more comfortable. 

Alysia said: “First up, let’s talk about where to sit if you have the option to choose a seat. My first priority is always getting a window seat. I sleep best when I’m able to lean my head against the wall.

“This also gurantees I only have one person next to me, so if someone is on the larger side and intruding into my space a little, at least I know I can get a little extra room by leaning towards the window. 

“I also find I sleep better when I can lean to the right, so I try to pick the correct side of the plane if there’s a lot of seat options available.”

Alysia then referred to a seat map for a long-haul flight she took on board a Boeing 777-300ER to point out the locations of the seats she would try to book. 

In the first instance, she explained that she’d book seats on either side of the plane, provided they were next to the window. Her next aim was to obtain a seat with nobody sitting behind her. 

To achieve this, she would book a seat in front of a wall, perhaps in front of a toilet. Alysia said that’s what she achieved on this flight, meaning she only had to disturb one other seat to use the facilities. 

She acknowledged that her flight was fully booked, but Alysia likes to hedge her bets by selecting the last few rows for several other reasons. She said people tend to book the front rows so they can leave the plane more quickly. 

However, Alysia has spotted that airlines often autofill the seats from the front. As a result, when she ends up with empty seats around her or even has an entire row to herself, it’s when she’s sat at the back of the plane. 

If she’s travelling with her husband or companion, Alysia will try to leave an empty seat between them. For example, they book seats A and C, as people will be less likely to book the centre B seat.