What airlines don’t tell you: How sitting on the RIGHT can get you more legroom (including with Ryanair and easyJet)

It’s insider information that airlines don’t want to tell you – that some of their standard economy seats are actually bigger than others.

Researchers at Consumer group Which one? searched the seating charts of popular airlines, including Ryanair and easyJet, and found that some had removed the front storage lockers to allow another row of passengers to be secured to one side of the cabin.

Which one? Travel revealed: ‘The result is that the seats at the front of the aircraft are not really the same size, with the seats on the right (seats D, E and F) often offering an extra half inch to inch of legroom compared to the seats on the right side (seats D, E and F). on the left.’

To find out if your flight has this configuration, says Which?, type in your destination and departure date Google flights to retrieve the aircraft type and then place it in the seat plan website AeroLopa to reveal the layout.

To see which operators and aircraft types this legroom hack works for – and for other seat upgrade tips – read on…

How to get more legroom with Ryanair

Most of Ryanair’s planes are Boeing 737s, says Which?, with AeroLopa revealing that seats D, E and F in rows 3 to 15 are the most spacious ‘in both possible configurations’.

‘That means an extra half inch of legroom compared to other standard seats’, which one? comments.

You can be randomly allocated one of these seats, or you can pick one for £9.

Which one? adds that late check-in is another way to upgrade your Ryanair seat. It says: ‘Those who do not pay to choose a seat can check-in from 24 hours up to two hours before departure. The theory goes that the least desirable middle seats are assigned first because the airlines hope customers will change their minds and pay to upgrade.

“The longer you wait, the more likely the aisle and window seats will open.”

How to get more legroom with easyJet

On easyJet A321neos, choose rows three to 13 on the right

Are you flying with one of easyJet’s Airbus A321neos? If so, which one? recommends choosing the right seats (D, E and F) in rows three through 13 for a seat pitch of 29 inches.

For comparison, rows six through 17 (A, B, or C) and rows 30 through 40 have a 28-inch pitch.

Rows three to 14 (D, E, F) are often more spacious on Norwegian short-haul flights

How to get more legroom with Norwegian

The right seat hack works on two Norwegian Boeing 737 aircraft, says Which?, with rows three through fourteen (D, E, F) offering 0.6 inches of extra legroom.

However, it recommends careful examination, because in the third configuration the left seats are larger.

How to get a better seat with Wizz Air

Which one? points out that the ‘sit on the right’ trick doesn’t work at Wizz Air – but notes: ‘Late check-in for your randomly assigned seat could work. It should mean you have a better chance of getting a coveted window or aisle seat.”

How to get more legroom with British Airways

On BA A320s (above), avoid row 30, which has a ‘tight seat pitch of 28 inches’

For BA’s short-haul flights with the Airbus A320, which one? points out that ‘tapering the tail results in an inch less rear legroom’.

So avoid row 30 and the ‘tight 28 inch seat distance’.

Cancel and rebook

Most airlines allow you to move seats, says Which?, up to about two to three hours before departure, so ‘check the seat map on your booking to see if any price positions have become available’.

For more visits www.wiche.co.uk.