Airlines are already charging for preferred seats. Some only give good seats to those with status.  When you initially look at a flight’s seating chart,  you cannot tell which seats are actually available until you log in or book.

Many women end up with that hated middle seat; make the best of it. Do not be shy about doing the following:

Request to share the armrest and keep requesting each time your seat mate takes it.

Ask for a lower Ipod volume.

Put your shoes on, and get those bare feet away from me.

Do not sleep on my shoulder. Wake the person up even if 25 times.

Silence the beep from video games, ask parents if this is a child.

Use a kleenex if  coughing.


Now sign up for every ff program you book a flight on. Ask at check in for  emergency seats (only English speakers may sit here; sometimes they are available last minute). Look around for empty seats just before the plane departs. Grab one. If someone says it is their seat, ask to see the Boarding Pass and check it carefully.

Do not lie about health or leg issues for a better seat. It is just not morally right.

Travel tips from The Women’s Travel Group, with tours to Iran, China, India, Mexico, Brazil and many more.