Family of 5 airplane seating when it’s 3 and 3. Do you do a row in front/behind or extend into the row beside?

[Anonymous]

Example of the setup at the bottom. When it’s a 3 row type of setup on the plane, do you book the three seats in one row and two in the row behind? Or do you book three and two across to the other side?

I’ve seen people say there’s a strategy to booking them spaced out where on one row you take a window and aisle and hope no one will book the middle (and if they do you ask them to switch) that sounds awful to me. So I don’t have a strategy like that to work with.

Is there any benefit to booking the rows in front/behind versus across? Ages 6, 10, 14 for kids with two parents.

[Anonymous]

Two rows on one side

[Anonymous]

lol. We’re a family of 5 that travels a lot. We do either and it just depends what I feel like on that day. I may give slight advantage to row across so that I can talk to DH and we exit altogether but both setups fairly equal

[Anonymous]

We just did it on our trip to Florida last month. To Florida, we booked a whole row across. On the way back, we did the front and back because that was available. The flights were pretty much full.
Oh, the whole row is better because we all can see each other.

[Anonymous]

Three across, then two aisles. First come, first served.

[Anonymous]

One advantage to booking two rows is that if you have younger kids who are prone to kicking or annoying the people in front of them you can arrange it so they are only kicking or annoying other family members.

Another advantage is that if you have items that might be shared or passed (snacks or activities) they are easier to pass back and for between rows than across the aisle.

On the other hand it can be good to spread across the aisle if you have kids who bicker a lot or age gaps that mean they need very different things -- they will be more separated across the aisle and you can divid and conquer (put one parent with the youngest kid on one side of the aisle and then the other parent with the two older kids on the other side of the aisle.)

[Anonymous]

My youngest is 9 now so the seat back is not really an issue anymore but I used to select one row in front of the other and put anyone I was worried would put their feet on the chair in front of them seated behind someone in our family.

[Anonymous]

Same side, row in front or behind. I put my older 2 in front sitting middle and window and the youngest in the middle between my husband and me. Older two take turns on window seat, one on the way there and other on way home.

[Anonymous]

Pay close attention when you get your boarding passes. Airlines change up the seats all the time, even when you have selected specific seats. This usually happens because they have changed the type of plane so there's a different seat layout, or when they combine two partially full flights into one. For one return flight, DH and I were assigned several rows away from each other and one child was seated by himself. I called the airline and was told I'd have to work it out with the gate agent. Fortunately, the gate agent was fantastic and put me back with the one kid, while DH was seated between the other two kids a few rows away. Try to be flexible if this happens. (Personally, I don't do well with unexpected change but I'm learning.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Three across, then two aisles. First come, first served.

I would do this but not sure what first come, first served means. I would put the 14-year-old in the aisle seat that is in a different row. They might like the independence. We do this with the oldest even with only 4 in our family.

[Anonymous]

Window aisle window aisle in same row, then aisle in one in front or back. If the plain ends up full folks will trade that middle seat for a window or aisle

[Anonymous]

I would do three, then the aisle and middle across the aisle.

I’d also put the easiest kid (prob 14) in the middle seat next to a stranger, then a parent in the aisle, then a parent with the harder kids across the aisle, and have the parents switch seats halfway through the flight. That way each parent gets a half a relaxing flight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two rows on one side

Same. Prefer this one.

[Anonymous]

Depends on what is available usually in front back though but sometimes across an aisle. Doesn’t matter.

[Anonymous]

We’re a family of 5. We book 3 aisles and 2 windows. They don’t have to be in the same row. We don’t care if we sit apart. Everyone has their own preference on seats. Youngest kid is 15 but we’ve been doing this for years.