The Best Seats To Book On A Flight If You Need To Get Work Done

You're settling in for a long flight. You've stowed your carry-on in the overhead bin over your seat, ordered your drink (no ice, please), folded your tray table down, and pulled out your laptop so you can get some work done for the next few hours. Unfortunately, it's hard to focus between the sound of the engine, your dying battery, and the passengers on either side of you chatting. How can you avoid this next time? By choosing the right seat.

The aisle seat may be the most popular among experienced travelers (via USA Today), but if you're hoping to buckle down and get a few hours of work done on the flight, you may want to opt for the window seat. The other passengers in your row are less likely to disrupt your work since they can get out to use the bathroom without asking you to move. You also have access to the window shade, so you can shut it to reduce glare on your computer screen.

However, there are many more factors to consider beyond the great window versus aisle debate. It can be hard to guarantee a distraction-free trip without paying for a first-class ticket or scoring a coveted upgrade. However, picking the right seat in advance certainly improves your chances of having a productive flight.

If possible, you should choose seats that are farther from the bathrooms. As a cabin crew member on a travel forum described, not only is the flush of the airline toilet loud, but people with babies and young children tend to book seats close to the bathroom. As a result, you're increasing your risk of having the back of your seat kicked or hearing crying during the flight.

Airplanes can be loud, so you may be tempted to choose a seat towards the front, where the sounds of the engines are much quieter. However, since you can always solve this problem with a pair of noise-canceling headphones, you may want to choose a seat over the wing instead. While these seats are louder, they will ensure a smoother ride since turbulence affects the front and back of the plane far more than the center.

If you plan to use your computer or tablet to work on your flight, you'll want to ensure that you have access to a power outlet in case your device runs low on power. While you can always charge up your devices, if your flight is long, working on the plane might drain it before you land. Today, many airlines offer some kind of power for passengers, but that doesn't always mean you'll have an outlet of your own for the entire flight. It can mean nothing more than a USB port or a single outlet you must share with your row. Unfortunately, in the latter case, you might have to choose a middle seat to have full access to the outlet, as it is usually located underneath it.

In general, cheaper airlines are less likely to offer power outlets outside of first class. Still, in some cases, a few power outlets are available in certain economy rows but not in the rest of the cabin. When choosing seats, you may want to check a site like SeatGuru to see which can access an outlet. While you're at it, if your work requires you to be able to access the internet, you may want to also check if your flight offers free WiFi with your ticket or how much it costs to buy it once you've taken off.