Well, savvy travellers know that this approach, while stress-free, is not ideal for seat optimization. Simply put, if you don’t figure out where to sit in your plane, you may find yourself in an unpleasant seat.

But how do you figure out where to sit? For those who have followed our slew of posts detailing plane routes, types, and best seats, you’ll notice that we regularly use SeatGuru.

SeatGuru is a travel website that is known primarily for its comprehensive database of plane types and seat maps. For us, it is literally one of the most useful aviation resources you can use. So, buckle up and let’s dive into why you should be using SeatGuru.

Why is SeatGuru Useful?

SeatGuru is a website that enables travelers to see their plane layouts and configurations before walking onto it. Best of all, SeatGuru is a free service!

It is extraordinarily useful for providing you with an idea of the features of your aircraft and dimensions of your seat. Let’s take a look at some of the features that SeatGuru offers.

Find Your Seat Map

One of the most important aspects of SeatGuru is the ability to find your seat map. There are two ways to do so:

Input your airline, flight number, and date or browse manually by airline and plane model.

Most travelers are going to be interested in the first option, as they are laser-focused on finding their exact seat map on a plane ticket they already purchased. To get started, you’ll want to visit the homepage.

Once you’re on the homepage, type in the airline, flight date, and flight number. After that, click Find.

You will need to check the aircraft type you are flying on, as there are many configurations of the same aircraft such as B 777 W or 777 3.  You can almost always find this info on your airline booking.

Seat Guru uses colour codes such as:

Good seats = green.

Be aware seats = yellow.

Be aware seats can indicate a number of things, from proximity to lavatories (noisier) to brightness from galley lights.

Bad seats = red.

You can find out more about any of the seats by hovering your mouse over the seat.

The level of detail SeatGuru places into each seat’s description is phenomenal. As a result, there are so many useful insights you can gain from looking at your seat map on SeatGuru. You might have inadvertently chosen a seat that isn’t ideal; looking up your seat map on SeatGuru empowers you with the information you’ll need to decide whether to change or keep your seat number.

Lastly, there’s an area on the right side of the page that contains traveler photos, information on in-flight amenities, and even an overview of the specific aircraft you’re looking at.

The Bottom Line

Most travelers are going to be interested in selecting the best seat for the ticket they bought. One of the best ways to use SeatGuru is to look up your flight, study the seat map, and choose the seat that best fits your needs. The seat descriptions themselves are extremely detailed, and they’re able to satisfy even the pickiest of travelers.