No Earplugs? Here’s Where To Find The Quietest Seat On A Plane

Flying can be a stressful experience.

There’s the airport queuing, the potential delays, the lack of legroom… All those factors might be a given, but there is one thing you can do to make your journey a little more pleasant.

If you’re the type who can’t relax when things get noisy, you may want to take the advice of this JetBlue pilot on board when choosing where to sit on your next flight. The pilot, who goes by Christian P, recommends choosing a seat in the upper half of the plane if you’re keen to block out the noise of the plane’s engine.

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“There’s less noise when you’re sitting forward on the wings,” he says. “In most planes, the engines are located under the wings. Sitting in the front of the wing is like being behind a speaker. All of the sounds of the engine and the disturbed air are projected away from you.”

When it comes to chatty passengers and the inevitable crying children, you may just need to invest in a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, but every little helps, eh?

Of course, finding a seat in located ahead of the wings isn’t always the cheapest option – on many long-haul planes these tend to be the Business Class or Economy Plus seats.

For a budget airline like Ryanair, you should aim for seats located in the first 14 rows of the plane – either by paying to select your seat or hoping for the best during online check-in.

As for the location of your seat in the row, a 2006 study by Istanbul University showed that passengers in aisle or middle seats were exposed to four decibels less noise than those at the windows.

So there you have it. Skimp on the view, sit further up the plane, and if all else fails, stick in your earplugs and hope for the best.

• flying
• long haul flights
• travel