This is actually the best place to sit on a plane, according to cabin crew
It's the age old travel question everyone has an opinion on: where do you sit on a plane?
Some travellers swear by the last few rows in economy, others insist they'd always pick an aisle seat over the window, and some even go for have a specific seat number.
Vivien Therese Santiago has been a Philippine Airlines cabin crew member since 1986, so she's taken a lot of flights, and she tells 9Travel there actually is a right answer.
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Vivien Therese Santiago (top left) has been a cabin crew member with Philippine Airlines since 1986. Supplied
"The front section is generally better," Vivien, now a Cabin Services Manager, reveals.
"It's less bumpy, and I learned from a pilot that the aircraft's centre of gravity - or fulcrum - is located toward the front, making it a smoother ride."
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The fulcrum is the balance point on a plane, with weight pretty evenly distributed on both sides.
Due to the distribution of passengers, fuel and baggage on a commercial aircraft, the fulcrum tends to be towards the front section.
In plain English, it's a more stable and balanced section of the plane and passengers there tend not to feel quite as much turbulence as those at the rear.
How do you choose between an aisle or window seat? That all depends on how long you'll be in the air. Getty Images/iStockphoto
So, now that you know you should pick a spot near the front of the plane, how do you choose between an aisle or window seat?
Vivien says that all depends on how long you'll be in the air.
"For long-haul flights, I prefer the aisle seat for easy access and mobility," she tells us. "On shorter flights, I enjoy the window seat for the view and a bit of quiet."
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Do you prefer the window or the aisle seat? iStock
It make sense; you're much more likely to need to stand up to use the bathroom or stretch your legs on a long-haul flight, making the aisle the obvious choice.
There, you won't have to ask other passengers to move or (god forbid) climb over them while they're sleeping to get out of the row.
But that's not as much of an issue on short flights, where you'll probably only need the bathroom once, if at all.
So if the trip is under three hours – the official length of a short-haul trip, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) – snag that window seat.
But if it's a long-haul journey – like Philippine Airlines' direct flights between Sydney and Manila, which last about 8.5 hours and have been running for 60 years this month – opt for the aisle.
