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Airline: US Airways
Aircraft: A321
Seat info: Row 5 – Seats 5A, 5B, 5C.
Class: Economy (Bulkhead row) – “Choice Seat”
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The Seat: It’s a rare but good day when you hear the boarding door close and there’s no one in the seat (or seats) next to you. That’s what happened aboard this flight while I occupied seat 5C on the aisle, a US Airways Choice Seat in the first row of economy aboard an Airbus A321. So I used my imagination to picture what it might be like to be stuck next to an armrest-hog, chatty, unhappy bodybuilder with bad breath and pneumonia.
Yeah okay, not an upgrade.
Legroom here is okay for a bulkhead seat but restricts good extension of your legs despite a cutout toward the bottom of the wall. Seat width throughout economy is greater than you’ll find aboard most single-aisle planes but there are better seats than these further back aboard this A321 that don’t have a tray-table eating up your extra room.
Tech/Connectivity: Zero power ports and lack of entertainment options like personal TV’s keep this seat from higher marks. If your batteries are fully charged though, GoGo in-flight wi-fi is (or will soon be) available on all of US Airways A320 family planes including their A319, A320 and A321 aircraft.
Service: Smiles always seem biggest when you’re seated up toward the front and I always like to get in-flight service off to a good start, so I did plenty of smiling back at the already happy flight attendants. The good cheer seemed to continue through about row 10 when I couldn’t hear the passenger/crew banter anymore. I’d like to take credit for everyone’s good mood but I’m sure it was just good service at work.
Food: You’ll find food available for purchase on longer flights in US Airways economy. Snacks and premium drinks are also available from the in-flight menu.
Summary: “Choice Seats” are made up of scattered exit row, bulkhead and others that provide extra legroom or a quick exit from the plane upon arrival. US Airways Choice Seats in row 5 can be good if there’s room to spread out but when you’re jammed onto a full flight and your space is restricted, this becomes a zero-value upgrade. On a plane with some pretty nice spots for extra-legroom, this is probably the least-best. See our video review of 10A, an exit row seat a few rows behind this row. It and it’s neighboring seats offer a good amount more legroom.
Rating: 2 “hops” (of 5).
Strategy: US Airways Choice Seats are available for purchase during and after the booking process at the airline’s website. You could also try embellishing a mild sports injury to utilize the upgrade power of a sympathetic gate agent before a less crowded flight.
Modhop Founder Jake Redman brings years of global exploration and travel tips to the podcast and our videos at Modhop. Jake also produces audio branding for several music channels on SiriusXM.
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