How to score empty seats next to you on a plane

portrait of blond hair woman listening music at headphones and smiling.photo taken in airplane, lifestyle concept.

If you want some peace and quiet the next time you fly, try these travel dates.

December is obviously off the cards, but some months (and airlines) stand out more than others for consistently boasting flights that take off at a lower capacity.

Quality service, an on-time flight and having an empty seat on either side of you on the plane can really alter your travel experience.

While there’s no perfect answer as to how to secure a row to yourself, that is, aside from purchasing three seats, finder.com.au‘s recent research have found the optimal times to fly, when airlines depart at their emptiest and optimal airlines to fly with that consistently don’t run anywhere near full capacity.

The best months to fly

The best months to fly for quiet planes are during low-peak seasons, particularly on the shoulder months of the Christmas holidays.

Overall, October was the winner with flights running at only 72 per cent capacity on Australian departures throughout 2016. This was closely followed by February and May, both flying at 74 per cent capacity.

All three are particularly good months for a roomy flight to Europe and North America with seat utilisation to these nations no greater than 73 per cent (for flights to North America in October).

Not surprisingly December proved to be the worst month to travel to secure some additional plane room, flying at 88 per cent capacity. This was not-so-closely followed by June at 82 per cent capacity and September at 81 per cent capacity.

On average, flights departed Australia 78 per cent full throughout the year.

finderplanes

Honing in on Qantas’ seat utilisation in particular, the percentages read much the same with December being the least likely to find yourself with a row to yourself and October being the most.

Which airline to fly with?

To increase your chances of finding an empty seat beside you on the plane, you not only have to fly during less popular periods, you also have to fly less popular airlines. You only need to look at Qantas, who flew at an average of 79.9 per cent capacity over the last four years to be assured of this.

Of the 50 airlines researched, Air Niugini was the emptiest averaging 54.1 per cent full over the past four years. This Papua New Guinea airline flies from Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne, Sydney and Townsville to Asian destinations including Bali, Hong Kong, Port Moresby, Singapore and Tokyo, making it an attractive option for anyone wishing to stretch out on the plane – even during more popular months.

Other airlines running at a similarly low flight capacity include Cebu Pacific Air and Philippines Airlines (59.5 per cent and 60.1 per cent respectively). Both fly to various Asian destinations via the Philippines.

For those looking to travel elsewhere, Royal Brunei Airlines had the lowest seat utilisation for flights further afield at 69.1% capacity. Its international routes depart from Melbourne to destinations including London and Dubai.

The next emptiest airlines were Thai Airways International (70 per cent) and Malaysia Airlines (71.8 per cent). Both own departures from Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney (Malaysia Airlines also flies out of Adelaide) and can take you to Europe, the Middle East, Africa and America.

Check out the top 10 fullest flights out of Australia:

Rank	Airline	Seat utilisation % (four year average)*
1	All Nippon Airways	91.3
2	American Airlines	87.7
3	Delta Air Lines	87.3
4	Cathay Pacific Airways	86.5
5	British Airways	85.6
6	Etihad Airways	85.3
7	Japan Airlines	84.3
8	Aerolineas Argentinas	83.9
9	Air Canada	82.6
10	Qatar Airways	82.4

Stephanie Yip is Travel Expert at comparison site, finder.com.au

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

Latest comments

John McDonald says:
June 8, 2017 at 2:02 pm
Qatar & other arab airlines will have plenty of empty seats from now on.
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John McDonald says:
June 8, 2017 at 2:01 pm
nothing to do with load factors or month of travel, it’s all to do with your agent, knowing where to sit you & computers can’t do that.
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