MileValue is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Note: Some of the offers mentioned below may have changed or are no longer be available. You can view current offers here.
A few days ago I flew from Honolulu to Guam in United economy and got myself five seats in a row, so I could sleep during the flight.
Even at 6’4″, I only needed four consecutive seats for sleep. I raised the arm rests, collected a few pillows and blankets, and had some great sleep for a few hours after take off. Then I switched off with my brother and he napped for a few hours.
- How did I maximize my chances of getting an entire row?
- How does a row in economy compare to one First Class seat?
- How was my sleep?
United shows the seat map online and on its mobile devices.
The 777-200 we flew had a 2-5-2 configuration in economy. I had originally selected a window and aisle seat for me and my brother on the left side of the plane.
As the date of the flight approached, I noticed that some entire rows of five seats in the back of Economy Plus and other rows in the back of economy were empty.
Our seat map was a bit like these seat maps for an upcoming flight except there were entire rows of five in the back that were empty too.
When I checked in a few hours before the flight online, the rows of five in the back were still empty, so I changed my seat to the middle seat in a group of five.
I reasoned that that would block groups of 3+ from being added to the row and would discourage groups of 1 and 2 from choosing the row, preferring a row without someone right next to them.
I boarded as soon as I could with my group, headed to my row, and discouraged people from moving to it by lying across four seats for the rest of boarding. Of course, if someone had officially switched his seat to my row before boarding, I would have given him his seat, but I just didn’t want people to see a mostly empty row and move on their own.
Nobody ever joined my row, I sat up when it was time for take off, and laid back down after take off for a two hour nap. I then let my brother have the row for a few hours.
Back Up Plan 1
If no rows of five were empty, a row of four would have been plenty. The middle section in the back has only four seats as the cabin narrows.
I am 6’4″ and didn’t reach the fifth seat of my row when lying down.
Back Up Plan 2
I was willing to pay $72 onboard to upgrade to an Economy Plus seat in an empty row of five to colonize it. That seemed smarter than paying $989 to upgrade to first class at check in.
I confirmed via twitter in advance that the same price is offered for an onboard upgrade to Economy Plus as is offered at check in.
Five Economy Seats vs. One First Class Seat
Some of United’s 777s that serve Hawaii, like the one we flew, have large recliners in First Class in a 2-3-2 configuration.
I would much rather have a row of economy to sleep fully flat than one large recliner.
In economy, we could stream entertainment for free on our own devices, so entertainment wouldn’t have been better up front.
The only benefits of First Class would have been:
- priority security, but I had TSA pre-check
- free food, but food only cost $10 in economy
- free booze, but I wouldn’t have drunk on this flight
- priority boarding, but on an empty flight there’s plenty of overhead space
- more comfortable for sitting and working, but I’d prefer more comfortable for sleeping
For this situation, I much preferred my own row in economy, and I was ecstatic to get it for free.
On fairly empty planes, the empty rows go to those who plan ahead and make the bold moves. What tips do you have to secure an empty row?
Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel℠ and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers.
The comments section below is not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all questions are answered.
Looking into trying this on Emirates here in a few days. I snagged one of the few “two-seaters” toward the back of their 773ER, but am certainly noticing full rows empty (both middle section, and the flanks). 16 hours in coach is going to be horrendous, but perhaps I can sneak this tip in and enjoy some more space. Thanks for sharing!
You mention paid upgrades at checkin that are available on United. I mostly fly Delta, especially Asia and Europe, and when I’ve asked, they quote me the normal Business Elite fare that is out of the ballpark. Northwest used to offer occasional paid upgrades for a “reasonable” few hundred dollars, but DL seems to have eliminated that, and wants thousands. What airlines offer upgrade at checkin?
I don’t know all of them but United offers it on all the flights I fly. The upgrade from Guam to Hong Kong on my itinerary was a much more reasonable $199, but I didn’t even want to pay that for 5 hours in a recliner.
Glad this worked for you. The only thing that might thwart this is if there are a lot of non-revenue passengers waiting to board the flight. When airline employees (and their family members) are flying non-revenue, they can’t reserve seats in advance of the flight. They are assigned seats at the last minute by the gate agent. If you choose a middle seat in a group of 5, there is a possibility that 2 different parties of two people traveling together could be seated on both sides of you, giving you the middle seat with 2 people on either side of you. There is no way to know how many people have listed to fly non-revenue on any particular flight, unless you can get an airline employee to tell you. I’ve noticed with United, nearly all the passengers listed on the standby list (viewable on TV screens at the gate for all passengers to see) are actually non-revenue passengers, not people with paid tickets. If you saw 20 unassigned seats on the seat map, and there are a lot of people on that standby list at the airport, you better talk to the gate agent and make sure you have a seat you want to fly in for that long flight, as standby passengers may completely fill up that plane. On the other hand, if there are lots of unassigned seats and only a handful of standbys, you’re probably safe (unless another flight gets cancelled and they put all those passengers on your flight). It’s a gamble, but hopefully it pays off.
Who knew? I’ve actually flown first class afterall. LOL. I also ALWAYS save money on the food from the pricy 1st class upgrade by getting the really expensive Burger King food in the terminal, but the stuff you have photographed in the past looks really a lot better than the BK or other stuff I’ve ever had. (except I’m a good cook!) However, I always pick my seat mates. (family of 5)
I’ve done this poor mans business class trick several times but a few times it almost backfired as the plane ended up being nearly full due to dumb passengers who got moved from other flights It also doesn’t seem to work too well on airlines like Singapore or Lufthansa who play tricks with online seat selection and block off large parts for manual assignment at checkin.
Scott – you mentioned TSE pre-check. Any chance on doing a post on TSE pre-check? I thought that it was a free service (and I was enrolled due to my frequent flier memberships). However, I haven’t gotten it at all lately, and I see now that there’s a fee to apply. What gives? Was I just one of the guinea pigs during the trial run? Realize it might be a bit off-topic, but any thoughts appreciated.
Just took the gamble from ORD-HKG-ORD. I actually had main cabin extra seats and moved to a middle seat in a row of 3 towards the back. I was lucky to get the whole row both ways. First, Business and MCE was booked solid.
YES! I hope you slept well.
Scott–don’t you think positioning your brother and yourself at either end of the row would have made it less likely for someone to try to assign the seats in the middle?
I think assigning middle seats can be better because it breaks up the number of contiguous seats, making it hard for an agent to assign a couple or group to your row.
[…] Last week I flew United economy for eight hours from Honolulu to Guam. I shared how I got my own row in economy for a long and comfortable nap. […]