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Does any airline sell exit row seats for international flights?

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Dan

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Jan 23, 2007, 11:15:43 PM1/23/07
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My wife & I would like to go to Paris this coming Fall from Seattle where we
live. The trouble is, I was in a car accident a number of years ago and
have back problems, this and the fact I am about 6'4" makes regular cattle
car coach seating VERY uncomfortable for me for any flight much over 2
hours. It's not a width issue (weight) it's a leg room issue. Pricing
business class seats on Orbitz, I see they are in the neighborhood of $3,200
and up per ticket, more than we can afford. So I'm wondering if any
international airlines will sell you exit row seats up-front (I see
Northwest will sell you an exit row seat for a domestic flight 24 hours
before the departure, if available, but I would need to know at the time of
purchase if such as seat is available). Econ class seats for this flight
are ~ $925. I would be willing to pay an extra $100, even $200 for the
extra room of an exit row. We really want to make this trip, but without
the extra leg room it would be torture for me, virtually undoable. Miles
are not an option; we have a total of about 80,000 miles with American,
which as far as I can tell are virtually worthless. Any suggestions
appreciated.

TIA

Dan

tedras777

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Jan 23, 2007, 11:43:32 PM1/23/07
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Hello Dan,
I empathize with you, so I found a site that will possible link you to
others sites that might help. Here it is...
http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/finance/business_travel/5_secrets_to_getting_the_best_seat_on_a_plane.mspx
Also their is another travel site where you can book all of your travel
needs. These rates are competitive to the bigger chain travel sites.
Check it out, you may find a better deal.www.mytnn.com/paid2travel

Frank F. Matthews

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Jan 23, 2007, 11:47:50 PM1/23/07
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Depending on the equipment there may ba seats with more room that are
not exit rows. Are you able to take care of the door in an exit row?

Dan

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Jan 23, 2007, 11:51:45 PM1/23/07
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"tedras777" <tedra...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1169613812.2...@l53g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

> Hello Dan,
> I empathize with you, so I found a site that will possible link you to
> others sites that might help. Here it is...
> http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/finance/business_travel/5_secrets_to_getting_the_best_seat_on_a_plane.mspx
> Also their is another travel site where you can book all of your travel
> needs. These rates are competitive to the bigger chain travel sites.
> Check it out, you may find a better deal.www.mytnn.com/paid2travel

Thanks Tedras, I'll take a look. I also visited a site I had used in the
past but had forgotten about, seatguru.com, which lists virtually all
airlines (or seems to) and the width/pitch (leg room) of their seats by
plane model/seat class. It seems some offer "premium economy", which offers
at a minimum a bit more leg room. This is a very informative site!

Dan


John H

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Jan 24, 2007, 12:39:08 AM1/24/07
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I have attempted to gain Exit row seats previously and they have advised me
that if you have
any disability or movement medical problem you will NOT be considerd as in
an emergency,
passengers in exit rows would be asked to assist others,
and if you cant then you could put others safety at risk.
Also that they would consider persons well over 6 ft 2inches or 1850 mm for
exit and
bulkhead seats before others, unless one has babies then they get priority
in bulkhead seats.
I therefore suggest you would not want to tell them about your leg situation
at all
If Virgin Atlantic or British Airway fly that route ?
Then they both have a Premium economy class for additonal cost and it gives
38 inches legroom
in lieu of (generally) 31 inches in cattle class.
John H
"Dan" <no...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:m-Kdnd4lHJjtQCvY...@comcast.com...

Mike O'Sullivan

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Jan 24, 2007, 2:24:48 AM1/24/07
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Dan wrote:
>
> Thanks Tedras, I'll take a look. I also visited a site I had used in the
> past but had forgotten about, seatguru.com, which lists virtually all
> airlines (or seems to) and the width/pitch (leg room) of their seats by
> plane model/seat class.

Not quite. First glance - No Easyjet, Ryanair.......

Living in Germany

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Jan 24, 2007, 3:25:39 AM1/24/07
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Just flew back/forth with United. They charge $99 for the emergency
exit or if you are a member of the United Plus frequent flyer club that
is a free upgrade in seating.

You might have to do the ordering over the phone so you can talk with a
person to the seating assignment. I did mine when I got the ticket
booth to get my boarding pass

Earl Evleth

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Jan 24, 2007, 3:36:17 AM1/24/07
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On 24/01/07 9:25, in article
1169627138.0...@m58g2000cwm.googlegroups.com, "Living in Germany"
<wdie...@rmi.net> wrote:

> Just flew back/forth with United. They charge $99 for the emergency
> exit or if you are a member of the United Plus frequent flyer club that
> is a free upgrade in seating.


How about parachute rental?

I assume that a person might be interested in the extra leg room
provided by some seats in the cattle class section of the plane.
The seat width problem remains the same and so does the
seat recline angle.


Otherwise, if one wants such a seat to enhance one's survival
probability incase of having to exit the plane in an emergency
we can ask fellow posters if in fact they have every had
to use the emergency exit. I have had to and I don't
know anybody who has. The probability of experiencing
such a situation must be small, about the same as winning
the lottery on the good end of the scale of improbable
events. One has a 100% probability of eventually dying
but not in that fashion, it down around the 0.0000001%
level (or so)

The Reid

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Jan 24, 2007, 4:04:15 AM1/24/07
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On Tue, 23 Jan 2007 20:15:43 -0800, "Dan" <no...@hotmail.com> wrote:

>, this and the fact I am about 6'4" makes regular cattle
>car coach seating VERY uncomfortable for me for any flight much over 2
>hours.

that's why I've never been to the States.

I think they want fit, sensible people in those seats in case of
emergency, the only option is spending loads of money.
--
Mike Reid
UK walking, food, photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Spain walking, food, tourism "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk"
Beginners UK flight sim addons "http://www.lawn-mower-man.co.uk"

The Reid

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Jan 24, 2007, 4:08:01 AM1/24/07
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On Wed, 24 Jan 2007 09:04:15 +0000, The Reid <don...@fellwalk.co.uk>
wrote:

>I think they want fit, sensible people

just noticed I was implying you are not!! Sorry!

Neil Williams

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Jan 24, 2007, 4:36:54 AM1/24/07
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On Jan 24, 6:39 am, "John H" <johnH4...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> If Virgin Atlantic or British Airway fly that route ?
> Then they both have a Premium economy class for additonal cost and it gives
> 38 inches legroom
> in lieu of (generally) 31 inches in cattle class.

MX is that American's 777s have noticeably more space (perhaps due to
seatback design) than BA's 747s, so flying American may be a start. BA
747 economy is grim, and I would now avoid it at almost any cost.

Neil

azz...@olypen.com

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Jan 24, 2007, 9:58:37 AM1/24/07
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Dan wrote:
Miles
> are not an option; we have a total of about 80,000 miles with American,
> which as far as I can tell are virtually worthless. Any suggestions
> appreciated.
>

Well, I just used 80,000 AA miles to book a nonstop flight on BA from
Vancouver to London. A good option if you are in Seattle, and 9
non-stop hours are certainly better than 5+ to JFK then another 6 or 7
to Europe.

Mimi

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Jan 24, 2007, 12:59:43 PM1/24/07
to

<azz...@olypen.com> wrote in message news:45B7741D...@olypen.com...

Well, BA flies non-stop from Seattle to London Heathrow and has a economy
plus section on those flights. Those seats definitely have more room. But
they're popular and sell out quickly. I would avoid economy class like the
plague. We actually upgraded (with FF miles) from World Traveler Plus to
Business class for a trip from Seattle to Britain this spring.

Marianne


Dan

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Jan 24, 2007, 2:56:54 PM1/24/07
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"John H" <john...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:45b6f12b$1...@news.chariot.net.au...

>I have attempted to gain Exit row seats previously and they have advised me
>that if you have
> any disability or movement medical problem you will NOT be considerd as in
> an emergency,
> passengers in exit rows would be asked to assist others,
> and if you cant then you could put others safety at risk.
> Also that they would consider persons well over 6 ft 2inches or 1850 mm
> for exit and
> bulkhead seats before others, unless one has babies then they get priority
> in bulkhead seats.
> I therefore suggest you would not want to tell them about your leg
> situation at all
> If Virgin Atlantic or British Airway fly that route ?
> Then they both have a Premium economy class for additonal cost and it
> gives 38 inches legroom
> in lieu of (generally) 31 inches in cattle class.
> John H

Thanks for the reply. To clarify, I'm not disabled, just very uncomfortable
being cramped up during a long flight. I'm sure I'm as fit as many I've
seen in those rows, after they've passed the indepth single question
screeing process the flight attendants give them. Looking at the chart on
Seatguru.com for premium economy, pitch for these seats range from 42" on
Thai Airlines Airbus A340-5oo (345) to 37" for an Eva Airlines 747-400 Combi
(74E). By way of comarison, the highest business class pitch the site lists
is an amazing 79.5" for the "flat bed" seats on a Virgin 747, the lowest a
Qantas Airbus A330 with a mere 38", The lowest regular econ I find is 29"
for an American Saab commuter and for an ATA 737. So it would seem a
correctly chosen premium econ would be an appreciable improvement over
regular. I have looked at Virgin, they do seem an option, but will also
check BA, which others have suggested as well. Thanks for the tip!

Dan


azz...@olypen.com

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Jan 24, 2007, 4:15:32 PM1/24/07
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Mimi wrote:
> <azz...@olypen.com> wrote in message news:45B7741D...@olypen.com...

>>


>>Well, I just used 80,000 AA miles to book a nonstop flight on BA from
>>Vancouver to London. A good option if you are in Seattle, and 9 non-stop
>>hours are certainly better than 5+ to JFK then another 6 or 7 to Europe.
>>
>
>
> Well, BA flies non-stop from Seattle to London Heathrow and has a economy
> plus section on those flights. Those seats definitely have more room. But
> they're popular and sell out quickly. I would avoid economy class like the
> plague. We actually upgraded (with FF miles) from World Traveler Plus to
> Business class for a trip from Seattle to Britain this spring.
>

Yes, I wanted to get the non-stop BA flight from Seattle to Heathrow,
but I found I couldn't use my AA FF miles for that:
they told me that if I flew from the US I would have to use AA, but
flying from Canada I could use their partner airlines.

azz...@olypen.com

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Jan 24, 2007, 4:17:20 PM1/24/07
to

Dan wrote:

> Thanks for the reply. To clarify, I'm not disabled, just very uncomfortable
> being cramped up during a long flight. I'm sure I'm as fit as many I've
> seen in those rows, after they've passed the indepth single question
> screeing process the flight attendants give them. Looking at the chart on
> Seatguru.com for premium economy, pitch for these seats range from 42" on
> Thai Airlines Airbus A340-5oo (345) to 37" for an Eva Airlines 747-400 Combi
> (74E).

You could also get partway there (SEA to JFK or Logan) on Jet Blue.
Their seats are a bit roomier.


Message has been deleted

Mary Pegg

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Jan 24, 2007, 7:33:09 PM1/24/07
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Mike O'Sullivan wrote:

What use would it be? There's no reserved seating, and they're
*all* uncomfortable.

The Reid

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Jan 25, 2007, 2:58:53 AM1/25/07
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On Thu, 25 Jan 2007 00:33:09 GMT, Mary Pegg
<nos...@widetrouser.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:

>> Not quite. First glance - No Easyjet, Ryanair.......
>
>What use would it be? There's no reserved seating, and they're
>*all* uncomfortable.

and don't fly the Atlantic, which is what is wanted, I think.

Dan Stephenson

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Jan 25, 2007, 8:18:17 PM1/25/07
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With American you can pick your seat on-line. You can even see
available seats before you buy on-line. Then you can pick the seat you
want. To get a "good" coach seat simple requires you buy earlier
enough. I bought my tickets to Istanbul 6 mos in advance, and got
right-side two-side bulkhead aisle seats, going and returning on the
trans-Atlantic leg between Dallas and Frankfurt. So it isn't a miles
thing with AAdvantage, it only concerns how far in advance you
purchase. So if you are going in the Fall you should have no problems.

Dan


--
Dan Stephenson
Photos, movies, panos from the Europe, USA, plus N.Z.:
http://homepage.mac.com/stepheda

(remove nospam from email address to reply via email)

Ulf Kutzner

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Jan 26, 2007, 9:22:48 AM1/26/07
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The Reid schrieb:

>>> Not quite. First glance - No Easyjet, Ryanair.......
>> What use would it be? There's no reserved seating, and they're
>> *all* uncomfortable.
>
> and don't fly the Atlantic, which is what is wanted, I think.

Well, Ryanair want to buy Aer Lingus...

Regards, ULF

Ulf Kutzner

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Jan 26, 2007, 9:24:25 AM1/26/07
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The Reid schrieb:

> On Wed, 24 Jan 2007 09:04:15 +0000, The Reid <don...@fellwalk.co.uk>
> wrote:
>
>> I think they want fit, sensible people
>
> just noticed I was implying you are not!! Sorry!

He might not be very fit.

Regards, ULF

Cochon Capitaliste

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Jan 26, 2007, 9:37:48 AM1/26/07
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Evleth drivel answers no questions

Gregory Morrow

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Jan 26, 2007, 12:29:20 PM1/26/07
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Cochon Capitaliste wrote:

> Evleth drivel answers no questions


Piggosh, your comments are swinish to say the least...

--
Best
Greg

Mary Pegg

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Jan 28, 2007, 2:26:09 PM1/28/07
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The Reid wrote:

> emergency, the only option is spending loads of money.

A friend of mine is *very* tall. About seven foot.
He always gets upgraded to business or first. He
simply doesn't fit into cattle-class seats.

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