When purchasing a ticket, customers are often given a choice as to which seat they want to book, provided they do so early enough. While seats may seem fairly comparable on paper, and may share the same price point, there are many differences between them. Depending on their needs and preferences, passengers may have a much more enjoyable flight in some seats, rather than others, and on a long-haul flight, the benefits of getting a good match become more obvious over the course of the flight.

The Boeing 767 family of widebody airliners is quite popular among airlines, and as of last month, 1,336 have been built, according to Boeing. Of the several variations that exist, the Extended Range (ER) variants are valued for their range and flexibility, opening long-distance routes between hubs or secondary airports. This article investigates where the best seats might be for passengers flying on the larger of these ER variants, the 767-300ER, when they fly with United Airlines, one of the largest American operators.

Classes Aboard United’s 767-300ER

Photo: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock

The 767-300ER entered service with American Airlines in 1988, according to Boeing, and from its introduction, it would typically fly fairly long routes such as New York to Frankfurt. Today, it flies with two four-class configurations with United, the first featuring a total of 167 passenger seats, and the second with 203 passenger seats. The classes, from the front of the plane to the back, include:

Though United’s Polaris option is called a business class, it is most comparable to a first-class option. It is optimized for individual comfort, with ample legroom compared to the other classes. Due to the size of each suite, the seats are arranged in a 1-1-1 layout, with only one seat on either side of the two aisles of the plane and one in the middle. Located in its own section at the front of the plane.

The Premium Plus seats also have a section to themselves, and are arranged in a 2-2-2 layout behind the Polaris class. Located above the wings in either of United’s 767-300ER configurations, this section takes up the least length. The Economy Plus and Economy seats are located together in the rear section, with the Economy Plus seats typically making up the front-most rows. Both of these sections are arranged in a 2-3-2 layout.

Version 1 Configuration

Photo: United

Before the layout can be dug into, there are some definitions that should be clarified to help the understanding of measurements. According to United, standard seat pitch refers to the measure of legroom space between a point on one seat and the same point on the seat in front. Standard seat recline refers to the distance between a seat back in its fully upright and fully reclined positions. Seat width refers to the distance between the inner sides of a seat’s armrests.

As seen above, the Polaris Studios take up the majority of the plane’s length in this configuration, with fewer Economy seats, making these better for dealing with premium travel demand. Every section in this configuration has an exit location, and there are some specific measurement quirks with this configuration. For instance, most of the seats in the rearmost row 44 cannot recline due to bathroom and galley space being required behind them.

In this configuration, none of the Polaris aisle armrests are adjustable. However, the good news for Economy customers is that the seats in this configuration are slightly wider than usual, being the same width as the other classes, except for Polaris seats. Economy seats in this configuration, except for some in the back row, can also recline as far as Economy Plus seats, meaning that for Economy-only travelers, this is definitely the configuration to go for.

Version 2 Configuration

Photo: United

In both configurations of the 767-300ER, there are several bassinets for babies to sleep in, offered on a first-come, first-served basis. These bassinets are fixed in place opposite the front two rows of the Premium Plus and Economy Plus sections. For parents and families traveling with babies, these front-most seats are ideal, as they increase the likelihood of securing a bassinet and allow babies to be easily supervised.

This configuration has many more Economy seats, but fewer Polaris and Economy Plus seats, making it better for handling greater numbers in general. During the holiday season, this configuration is expected to be more valuable for the airline due to the increased number of Economy passengers. Some measurement quirks with this configuration mean that United Premium Plus passengers get an additional half-inch of seat width, and all even-numbered Polaris seats feature adjustable armrests.

Due to its location, the Premium Plus section does not get an exit in its section with this configuration, while the Economy section has exits at the front and rear. Due to it being an exit row, aisle seats on row 30 do not have adjustable armrests. Despite this, front-row seats outside the Polaris section have other advantages, as they tend to have a little extra leg and headroom.

Which Seats Do Passengers Prefer?

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Among passengers, the Polaris seats are fairly well regarded. In addition to the fast-track security and check-in lines and getting the option to board first, something that some airlines have stopped providing, customers also enjoy benefits like free checked bags, priority boarding, and access to Polaris lounges, which can help boost relaxation before a long-haul flight.

Customers should bear their own specific requirements in mind with regard to the idiosyncrasies of the 767-300ER configurations described above, especially those who get travel sickness, as some seats are better than others when turbulence strikes.

Being near the bulkheads is also popular among posters. For reference, bulkhead seats are located at the front of the rows, and are typically behind where bassinets are mounted.

While bulkhead seats are ideal for passengers who prioritize extra legroom, parents traveling with infants or those who prefer being close to the front, there are some downsides, as some airlines may not provide entertainment screens in front of bulkhead seats, those who need under-seat storage will find none in front, also these seats tend to be nearest to the lavatories, which may be a consideration.

The Best Seat May Vary

Photo: L.F | Shutterstock

While many types of customers have been covered so far, everyone is different, so the best seat may be different depending on each individual. For people who love planes, and are excited by seeing the flaps moving or feeling the engines spinning, window seats are recommended. People who love farming, geography or city-planning may also love seeing how things look from high up.

In an interview with Reader’s Digest, one Boeing engineer said the safest seats tend to be the middle and aisle seats of the last five rows.

“I always choose one of those, and yes, I do pay attention during the safety briefing and look for the nearest exits,” he remarked.

The seats with the highest fatality rates are reportedly the aisle seats in the middle-to-back 10 rows. For the paranoid or safety-conscious, these would be ones to avoid. Overall, it depends on the configuration and the passenger.

IATA Code

UA

ICAO Code

UAL