How to choose a suitable airplane seat?

Hi, everybody. I am a freelance photographer. I have worked for more than ten years and have been on countless planes to shoot. As a Libra, I am actually a little obsessive-compulsive about many details of travel. There is no way, we are perfectionists. .

When traveling, I usually take the initiative to act as a planner in advance, that is, it is good to control many details in advance! Even this kind of flight seat selection, how to shoot such small details during the flight, will use countless experiences to arrange any details in all the trips in advance ~

This picture comes from the network and is for reference only.

This picture comes from the network and is for reference only.

The types I analyze here are all ordinary economy classes chosen for our poor tourists. The following answers are only for ordinary economy class.

First, know in advance the type of economy class seat on the flight+ride feeling.

1. The premise of choosing the right position: first judge whether the engine room is single-channel or double-channel.

Having said that, it is actually easy to understand, because many wide-body civil airliners have different cabin configurations. Just like we buy a car with a low middle and a top, the seat part of each plane can also be regarded as a cost control in operation.

When we buy a plane ticket, we should first consider whether to choose a big plane or a small plane. Technical terms become mainframe and heavy aircraft, narrow-body aircraft and wide-body aircraft or single-channel or double-channel aircraft.

To put it more bluntly, if you look at an airplane, it has only one aisle and seats on both sides, which is a narrow-body airplane. If there are two aisles, it is a wide-body airplane. Generally, long-distance flights are wide-body aircraft. From the overall comfort, it is obvious that wide-body aircraft has more space and more spacious space, which is the best choice when choosing to travel and fly.

Comparison of appearance between wide-body aircraft and narrow-body aircraft

For example, if we want to fly from Beijing to Seoul, there are many types of corresponding airlines to choose from. Air China's aircraft are almost all narrow-body aircraft, while those of South Korea or Asiana Airlines are all wide-body aircraft. If the cost factors such as fares are excluded, the wide-body machine will definitely be more comfortable.

2. Find out the seat difference and cockpit distribution difference between the two planes in advance.

If you can only choose narrow-body planes (Boeing 737 series, Airbus A320 series), there are only six seats to choose from in ordinary economy class, with an aisle in the middle.

The cabin of a narrow-body plane, this is Boeing 737MAX8.

Cabin of wide-body aircraft, this is Airbus A330.

If you can choose a wide-body plane to travel, the window position on both sides (usually A or J) and the aisle position on both sides are the most comfortable.

Having said that, it is actually easy to understand, because many wide-body civil airliners have different cabin configurations. Just like we buy a car with a low middle and a top, the seat part of each plane can also be regarded as a cost control in operation.

Boeing 777-300ER wide-body passenger cabin

Having said that, it is actually easy to understand, because many wide-body civil airliners have different cabin configurations. Just like we buy a car with a low middle and a top, the seat part of each plane can also be regarded as a cost control in operation.

For example, the same Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, relatively luxurious airlines (such as ANA, Korean Air and American Airlines) have relatively loose seating arrangements, that is, the overall number of seats is relatively small, and the space for each passenger is naturally large, so it will be relatively comfortable. But these airlines may have higher fares and the things they buy will never be sold. . . .

As for the relatively cheap airlines, or Boeing 777-300ER passenger planes specially configured for passenger-intensive routes, their economy class density is amazing (for example, these planes of Air China, these planes of Air France and these planes of Air Canada), you can see them as soon as you sit in economy class. . God, this is a small auditorium in the air. Very dense. If it is economy class, long-distance flights will be very tiring, but such flights are generally cheaper, so poor passengers are the first choice.

3. It's very important to predict in advance when I suggest to choose a seat.

For narrow-body machines, I usually only consider aisles and windows. You know, sitting between three seats will be very uncomfortable. The window position can be more conducive to taking pictures, and the passing position is very convenient for going to the last WC or having an activity temporarily. If I can only choose from these two positions, I will definitely consider the window, because after all, the flight time of narrow-body aircraft is relatively short, and the enjoyment of seeing the scenery is greater than the little sense of oppression brought by crowded positions. But I'm heavier and bloated. If it's a narrow-body machine, I'll feel a little crowded anywhere. . . .

For wide-body machines, if possible, never choose the middle five or six positions. Being caught in the middle will break down particularly. Basically, I can only sleep, and I have to disturb my neighbors when I go out for activities. However, the wide-body machine itself is relatively large, and there are new problems in structure.

In fact, many wide-body passenger planes have different seats in each row. The specific reason is that the seat configuration in the cabin is different from that explained in the previous paragraph. If nothing else, consider this row by the window! Some wide-body passenger planes are equipped with 2-4-2 seats (Boeing 767, a few old Boeing 777 and some Boeing 787 Airbus A330). As can be seen from some of the pictures above, the window position for two people in a row is particularly cool, which is especially suitable for couples to choose when flying together. If you are single, you may or may not have an affair with these two positions. . .

Just pay attention in advance, but in case of a temporary change of plane.

At present, there are more flexible configurations to change the seating order. 3-3-3 configuration is the standard configuration choice of the latest generation of wide-body passenger aircraft (Airbus A350, some new Boeing 777-300ER and some Boeing 787). In this case, the comfort of the middle passengers will be improved, but the row by the window will become three people. In this case, the choice of location must consider the middleman, so in this case, it is ok to choose a window or an aisle.

The last thing to say is the high-density wide-body aircraft we mentioned before. Basically, their seating order in economy class is 3-4-3 (Boeing 747-8, some new Boeing 777-300ER), which means there are four people in the row between the two aisles. Needless to say, I'm sure these seats will be relatively uncomfortable

Second, how to quickly lock the best window position for taking pictures in advance? !

1. Four ways to get the window position

From my personal aesthetic point of view, I won't take photos in the aisle position, because I think this position should be more suitable for activities or rest, and it is not appropriate to be afraid that the stewardess will infringe on the right to portrait! Then, how to choose the remaining window seats? In fact, I really need to grab it! Because the location near the window on each plane is indeed limited, the following are four common situations:

Use the airline APP to choose a seat 24-48 hours in advance: this is the most ideal way and the most convenient. Since the well-known airline APP has been blocked by the four major domestic airlines, we can only use the airline's own APP to choose the location. For example, Air China's APP has the function of check-in in advance. Remember to choose in advance when you open the check-in machine for the first time. You must grab the window position.

Arrive at the airport 2-3 hours in advance, wait for the check-in counter to open, and be the first to queue up for check-in: this is the oldest and most primitive method. If you don't have a corresponding airline APP, or the check-in work of the other party is not handled by our company (for example, the check-in work of China Eastern Airlines Japan is handled by JAL staff), then you can only rely on this method. You will see that in many airports abroad, many of our compatriots in China have long queued at the check-in counter. In fact, it means to check in early, choose a good location and be practical. Just tell the check-in that I need a window seat. If you arrive early enough, the average check-in staff won't embarrass you. Their service attitude is very good.

After boarding the plane, some kind people may change your seat by the window. It's true, it did happen, I met it at least three times! Generally speaking, parents with their babies will change in order to be better with their children, or couples will change in order to sit together. They will give you their good seat by the window. You must thank them for giving you the opportunity to see the scenery.

When the plane takes off, if there are many seats in the back row, even a quarter of the cabin will be empty. Don't worry, maybe you can find a chance to change it. However, during the take-off and launch of the plane and the subsequent climb, don't worry and follow the flight attendant's arrangement, because if you change your position, it will cause related stowage problems and seriously affect flight safety. When the plane reaches the cruising altitude and stabilizes, there may be a chance to change it. The window seat is still yours. Don't worry.

2. How to select the front and rear viewing angles after locking the window position:

There are also about window seats on the plane. You should consider the direction of the plane after taking off and choose a suitable window seat, which is directly related to the scenery to be recorded. For friends who don't have a good sense of direction, this question may be a bit abstract, and it is also the most complicated stage in my personal opinion. Basically, it needs a brain to understand. There are too many factors involved here. The direction and height of flight, especially the change of light, must be remembered!

For example, we thought before shooting: We will fly back to Beijing Capital Airport from Xiaoshan Airport in Hangzhou, and the general direction of the plane will fly from south to north, so if we want to shoot the sunset, we must lock the window on the left, because the sun sets in the west. If you choose the window on the right, you can't see it at all, and you can only see a little silhouette at most. No matter how the plane spirals up, the general direction can never be wrong, just remember this!

For another example, when I fly to Tokyo, I wonder if it is possible to see Mount Fuji, the symbol of Japan, from the air. Later, I checked the relevant voyages, and it was indeed photographed. So I rehearsed it in detail: if you plan to see Mount Fuji from the air and your landing airport is Haneda or Haneda Airport in Tokyo, then the plane will turn 90 degrees south of Mount Fuji. At this time, if you sit on the left side of the window, 80% of you can see the majestic Mount Fuji. If you choose to sit on the right, you may see it, too, but they meet much less time than on the left. This is a small chance to gamble. . . Facts have proved that no matter how the plane spirals down, the general direction will never be wrong.

From my shooting point of view, whether it is a narrow-body plane or a wide-body plane, the rules for choosing the best shooting seat are: I usually choose an economy class position near the first 3-4 rows of the plane or an economy class position near the last 5 rows of the plane. These two spots are particularly golden and have a good location, so you can choose perfect angle. Here's an example:

First of all, in the first five rows of economy class, you can take an oblique picture of the scenery behind including the wings and the ground. The wings only appear at a 45-degree angle, so the composition will be very comfortable. After all, there is a diagonal line to illustrate the state of flight and the iconic scenery of flying, which is a relatively common shooting method. (This picture was taken with a mobile phone before landing at Fukuoka Airport, and the quality is somewhat poor. Please forgive me. )

Secondly, economy class has more room to play within the five rows at the rear of the plane, because this is the perfect angle in the cabin except the cockpit. Very vast, almost no obstacles. Because there are almost no obstacles in front of your camera except the wing tip, you can show it from many angles. If it is a medium focal length composition, it is basically to shoot the whole wing. If you shoot from a telephoto lens at this time, you can almost sweep the scenery out of the window in many directions. Relatively speaking, this position is much easier than the first 3-4 rows in economy class. Many of my records were completed in this position, so I will start to review carefully!

Third, bask in the scenery I took outside the cabin.

Let me say a few words first: Compared with many friends, I may travel less, but I really like to record the beautiful scenery from the perspective of the plane window. Whether I can shoot successfully is actually a question of technology+luck. Speaking of luck, the high probability depends on the cleanliness of the glass of the plane you are flying. Generally speaking, the aircraft glass with relatively new aircraft age is generally clean and has no scratches. And the weather. The quality of shooting scenery has a lot to do with the weather. If the weather is not transparent enough when shooting, it is really difficult to take good-looking photos.

Generally speaking, the shooting angle of the hut is probably the most touching, and it is also the content that many friends are shooting. Because the sky at sunrise and sunset, because the conditions of color temperature change are relatively complete, the color performance will be richer and more artistic. It's like I'm flying in the sun, full of power. Friends who have seen the sunrise on the plane must have a lot of experience. When the world in front of us rushed out of the clouds and saw the first ray of sunshine in the sky, the excitement was hard to describe in words. Let's take a concrete look:

Location: On the way back to Beijing from Bangkok, the economy class of Airbus AB6 is in the fifth row behind the window.

Shooting scene: shooting the sunrise in the early morning of winter.

Shooting skills: Not only did the shapes of the clouds match well at that time, but the height of the sun rising from the clouds was just right, just on the golden line of the picture. The whole line is from cold to warm, and the whole picture is full of colors, highlighting the atmosphere and artistic conception at that time, making people see at a glance that this is a beautiful sunrise.

Venue: Airbus A330 on the way from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur? Window in the middle of economy class

Shooting scene: shooting the sunrise in the early morning of winter.

Shooting skills: the sunrise shot from this angle may not be as magnificent as before, but because the light just hits the outline of the wing, it also has a sense of sunrise atmosphere. In addition, this photo must be in RAW format, which is convenient for later adjustment of details.

Location: Boeing 737, which just took off from Dalian to Beijing, has a window behind the economy class.

Shooting scene: Returning in the autumn dusk to shoot the sunset.

Shooting skills: Even if you sit on the left side of the window in advance, you can see the whole sunset process in downtown Dalian at sunset. Whether it is wings full of sunshine and texture, or overlooking the whole Dalian city in the sunset, the effect can be satisfactory. It was just that the glass of the plane was not very clean at that time, so it still affected the shooting effect to some extent.

Location: Airbus A3 19, which just took off from Hangzhou to Beijing, has a window behind the economy class.

Shooting scene: Returning in the autumn dusk to shoot the sunset.

Shooting skills: the plane takes off at sunset, and after climbing to a stable cruising altitude, it just shoots the sunset from the right side to the west that has been selected before taking off. At this time, the sky gradually changed color, and there were several scratches composed of scattered clouds, which should also be recorded in RAW format, and later adjusted to enrich the overall tone.

When the plane takes off or descends over the city, it will be a very good opportunity to shoot. At this time, because the height is rising or falling, many elements including urban scenery can be photographed. A good time to shoot, you have to take the shooting equipment from the take-off stage (descent stage). If the camera is too conspicuous, you can take the mobile phone. You can use your mobile phone during flight now, but you'd better be careful during take-off and landing. ).

Location: From Chiang Mai to Bangkok, Airbus AB6 has just taken off, and the economy class is behind the window.

Shooting scene: Try to shoot a dynamic night view of the city.

Shooting skills: the whole picture has a sense of atmosphere. Although it may seem empty because of the trembling when the plane takes off, it just highlights the true meaning of travel, that is, to explore without hesitation. In addition, the "starlight effect" on this character's wings is very prominent, because the appropriate aperture value is selected.

Venue: Boeing 737 from Weihai to Beijing is about to land. The back of economy class is near the window.

Scene: The sky is clear in early summer.

Shooting skills: the visibility in the afternoon is excellent. I sat by the window on the right side of the cabin and photographed many places of interest in Tongzhou District of Beijing with the help of transparent glass. The Tongzhou Canal Park in the photo is very clear and unique. In addition, this picture is very clear, and the light environment at that time is also very relevant.

Venue: Airbus A330 from Shanghai to Beijing is about to land. The back of economy class is near the window.

Scene: The sky is clear in early autumn.

Shooting skills: At that time, I saw the rows of rice fields on the ground very neat and felt comfortable in composition, so I took some pictures, mainly to highlight the sense of lines. In addition, because the plane was turning at that time, the overall tone was a little dark because of the light problem, which was a pity, but I was still very satisfied.

If your plane takes off on a cloudy day with low clouds, the effect may be surprisingly good. Because the layers of the sky and the ground will be more colorful, but it will be a challenge to the photographer's basic exposure skills. My suggestion is that if you are not completely sure, you can try HDR mode, take more photos, and finally synthesize them by computer. ?

Location: From Dali to Kunming, Boeing 737 has just taken off, and the rear of economy class is near the window.

Scene: The sky is clear in early autumn.

Shooting skills: This picture not only shows the layering of clouds, but also shows the whole Dali New Town in an unobstructed view. Why can you take such a photo? ! I have observed the position of the plane after take-off in advance. If I stay on the left, I can only see the mountains and see nothing. And select the rear window on the right side of the azimuth. Before the plane takes off and turns, you can see the whole Dali New Town in the air, including Erhai Lake. ?

Location: Airbus A330, which just took off from Beijing to Shanghai, has a window at the back of economy class.

Scene: It's going to rain in midsummer.

Shooting skills: the clouds were very low at that time. In order to highlight the layering of clouds, I pressed the shutter immediately after leaving the ground and took as many different photos as possible on the exposure value. This is also predicted in advance, because if you are on the right, it is Shunyi under the dark clouds, and the scenery and vision are definitely not as wide as the left.

Location: During the cruise from Beijing to Shanghai, the rear seat of Airbus A330 economy class is near the window.

Scene: It rains in midsummer.

Shooting skills: During the cruise, our altitude should be around10000m! Have you heard that song by Dick and Cowboy? ! Stay off the ground, nearly 30 thousand feet away! That's what it means! At this time, your shooting height is already higher than ordinary clouds. If it is day and summer, it is raining on the ground. If you look carefully, you can see spectacular cumulonimbus clouds. This photo was taken on a large cumulonimbus cloud. The shape of the cloud is very special, with many pieces, showing the changeable side of the sky.

However, if the plane is at cruising altitude, the ground visibility at the same altitude is good. In fact, many beautiful pictures can be taken with telephoto lens, which is seriously ignored during the flight. This composition must be a telephoto lens, larger than 70-200MM.

Location: During the cruise from Beijing to Tokyo, the tail of Boeing 787 economy class is near the window.

Shooting scene: visibility is extremely high in severe winter.

Shooting skills: these were all taken along the trajectory of the plane at that time, and the first two should be somewhere in South Korea. The latter is suspected to be Shikoku Island, Japan. With the help of brand-new glass and excellent visibility of the plane at that time, the color of the picture in RAW format was adjusted, and curves were drawn to enhance the details.

Location: Boeing 787 was on the flight from Beijing to Tokyo, near the window behind the economy class.

Shooting scene: visibility is extremely high in severe winter.

Shooting skills: The last photo was taken while flying over Mount Fuji. I recorded it at that time because I did my homework in advance and chose the position on the left. The visibility that day was really good, so good that you can shoot with a wide-angle lens or a telephoto lens. This angle of view is not comparable to shooting Mount Fuji on the plane. Spot metering can be considered in metering mode to ensure that the high light is more accurate than the low light.

In fact, there are still many friends who must have many good photos, especially those who can take pictures of the starry sky through the porthole of the plane. I sincerely admire that I have not reached that skill, and I still need to work hard.

Perhaps in the eyes of many people, flying during travel is a very common thing, just a tool. . However, it ignores the beautiful scenery seen during the flight. These moments should really be recorded as the highlights of our trip. The journey is always worth remembering, and the result may not be so important.

My job is not a professional stewardess, nor a professional airline insider. After all, my knowledge of civil aviation flights is very limited, and some places may be inaccurate. Professional corrections are especially welcome here.

Infinite beauty is at an altitude of 10,000 meters, just waiting for you to continue exploring!