Where to sit on the Delta A350

Wondering what the best seats are on the new Delta A350 that recently entered service? I was on the first flight and scoped out the plane nose-to-tail to come up with a few suggestions on seats to choose and those to avoid.

Delta One (Business Class)

The new Delta One suites are pretty darn nice. It is hard to say there are any especially good or bad seats on the plane.

I’m rarely one to warn off first/last row seats due to galley/lav noise or light. I fly with ear plugs and an eye mask to handle those situations. Still, the last row of business class on Delta’s A350 sits against the Premium Select galley and that area can be busy. The offset of the seats is such that I’d avoid the last row if possible.

I’m also not a huge fan of the no overhead bins in the center section thing but the outboard bins are huge so I wouldn’t expect too many battles for space. It does mean the window seats are slightly less restful, however, as odds are greater a center pair passenger will be reaching for stuff in “your” bin at some point.

For couples traveling together the middle pair is the obvious choice of seats, assuming you want to see or talk to each other during the flight. The stagger on those seats is such that there are no pairs better or worse (i.e. closer together or further apart). Not much reason to favor any particular seats versus others.

Premium Select (Premium Economy Class)

The Premium Select cabin is Delta’s brand new Premium Economy product and it is pretty darn nice. The 2-4-2 layout is comparable to the other airlines flying a premium economy product on the A350-900 (Cathay & Singapore are also 2-4-2, Lufthansa & China Airlines are 2-3-2, Vietnam Airlines is 3-3-3) as is the pitch offered. Delta’s seat is solidly competitive in the global premium economy market which is great to see. Even better is that there really are no bad seats in the cabin.

The bulkhead gets plenty of foot room and the rest of the rows have the normal amount. The only minor differentiation I could come up with is that the odd numbered rows  in the cabin have only one window while the even numbered rows have two (or 1.75, probably). That’s a tiny difference but if you have a choice may as well take the best option available.

Main Cabin (Economy Class)

With seats 18″ wide and 9-abreast (plus kick-ass IFE screens and power in the seats) there aren’t many bad seat choices in the Delta A350 economy class cabin. But there are a handful of spectacular ones.

For the absolute most personal space the best choice is in the front two rows of the second economy cabin (rows 40 & 41). The exit row (40) does not have a window seat, just an aisle/middle pair, so if you don’t care about looking out the window those can be great. If you’re a window seat traveler (smart choice!) then go for 41A or 41J. No one in front of you means “direct aisle access” from a window seat in economy class, along with unlimited legroom. For all of these seats it also means you have to stow bags overhead. The bin above the G/H/J side of the cabin has safety gear in it so it is not available for passenger bags. For that reason I favor the A/B/C seats.

If you can score the preferred seats at the front of the first economy cabin then you’re probably in good shape. No extra room, really, but also not restricted.

The last row of the forward economy cabin backs up against lavs which isn’t great. But at least they have full recline still.

Finally, at the very back of the plane the crew rest bunk takes out the center overhead storage area. On the G/H/J side in the last couple rows the bins are taken by additional safety gear. Generally speaking those seats are all less than ideal.

Worth noting that the seats get two 110V plugs for every triplet. Plus USB in the IFE screen.