Bulkhead Seats: Myths and Truths

Know the Facts Before You Book Your Next Flight

What is a bulkhead seat​?
A bulkhead is an interior wall inside the airplane.  For the sake of this conversation we are talking about the solid partition at the front of each passenger section that separates it from the area ahead of it.  A bulkhead seat is in the first row of each section that faces the bulkhead partition which means you don't have a seat (or other passenger) immediately in front of you.  Sounds ideal, but there are several considerations that many passengers overlook.

Benefits of No Seat in Front of You

• There's no seat in front of you for your knees to hit and there may be room to cross your legs
• Nobody in front of you to flop their seat back into your space
• You don't have to worry about bumping and bothering the neighbor in front of you
• Exceptions:  
  
  • Wide-body jets often have their bulkheads at the mid-cabin entrance doors so your legroom is abundant after boarding
  • Delta Airlines has removed many of their bulkhead partitions between First and Coach which means the front row of Coach has access to the back of the First Class seat in front of them (no wall)
    

Bulkhead Downsides

• ​No seat under-space in front of you
  • Your carry-on items must go in the overhead bin for takeoff and landing (you can't hold them in your lap or place them on the floor)
  • ​You may not be able stretch out your legs
• You may not have a tray table
• If you have a tray table it will be in your armrest so your seat may be narrower and your armrest will be immovable
• You may not have a seat pocket in front of you to store your stuff (book, phone, chargers, etc.)

Our Recommendations

• Use a airplane seat reference site like Seat Guru (seatguru.com) for terrific information about seat selection considerations (space, offset or missing windows, legroom restrictions, bothersome aspects like bathroom proximity, etc.)
• Ask people who fly often for their input