Blagging Extra Legroom
Not so long ago, you could get an airline upgrade by simply dressing smart and flirting with (or charming) the check-in staff. Sadly, not any longer. Airlines have fallen on tough times and as a result they have become pretty stingy when it comes to giving upgrades, so unless you're a loyalty card-holding frequent flyer, forget it. The only way you'll get to stretch out on a flight is to shell out a fortune for a business-class ticket, or follow our tips below.
Choose your airline carefully
Where you have got a choice of two or more airlines flying the same route for a similar fare, it's worth checking which one offers the most legroom as an extra inch or two could make all the difference to the comfort of the journey.
You can easily check the seat pitch (the distance between the back of one seat and the back of the seat in front) of most major airlines on the Seatguru website. First, you'll need to find out from the airlines which aircraft type they will use on the route you are planning to fly because seat pitch varies not only from airline to airline but from aircraft to aircraft.
British Airways is one of the least generous carriers when it comes to legroom, offering only a miserly 31 inches in economy on most of its long-haul aircraft. Air New Zealand is one of the most generous, offering a comfier 34 inches. If you're flying to Australia via Singapore, Singapore Airlines seems the most comfortable option with a seat pitch of 32 inches. Off to New York? Then look at American Airlines, which gives up to 33 inches on some aircraft.
Book a charter flight
Holiday airlines have a reputation for cramming so many passengers into a plane that it's surprising Jamie Oliver hasn't started a crusade to save them, but in fact some charters offer more legroom than scheduled flights, which often cost more.
On their longhaul services, mainly to the Caribbean, Mexico, Florida, Costa Rica, Brazil and the Indian Ocean, charter carriers First Choice Airways and Thomsonfly give passengers 33-inches of legroom, 2 inches more than British Airways. A return flight to Florida with Thomsonfly costs £729 during the summer peak, while a BA return flights costs £869.
Book an exit row seat
No need to enter a rugby scrum to get the roomiest seats on the plane as many airlines now sell the seats next to the emergency exits and the bulkheads at the front of the cabin, all of which offer extra legroom, for an additional fee.
Thomsonfly charges from £15 per passenger per flight for a seat with more legroom, which can be booked up to three months in advance. Monarch offers the spacious exit row or bulkhead seats for an extra £30 per person per return flight.
These seats are not available to people travelling with children or less able bodied passengers who may not be able to open the doors in an emergency.
Travel premium economy
Several airlines, including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airway give passengers the option of upgrading to a premium economy cabin on selected long-haul routes.
Typically, premium economy seats have a pitch of 38 inches, giving passengers up to 7 inches more legroom than in standard economy, though Thai Airways offers a far more generous pitch of 42 inches on its premium economy flights to Bangkok.
Premium economy generally costs about 85% more than standard economy which, though pricey, is about 65% cheaper than business-class. Book at the last minute for flights to the US, and you might get an upgrade to the premium cabin for only 10% to 35% more than the economy fare.
Charter airlines also offer premium cabins on long-haul routes, which are much cheaper. Upgrade to Premium class on Thomsonfly from an extra £129 return and you'll get a roomy 37 inches of leg room and a wider seat; First Choice offers 36 inches and a wider seat in its Premier class, while Monarch's premium cabin gives 34 inches and MyTravel gives 35.
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