Can’t face travelling economy anymore

[dualpee]

We are not wealthy so upgrading a flight is a big expense. I always justify not spending money on upgrading by saying things like “we all get there at the same time” and “£800-£1200 is enough for another trip abroad”

But as I have autism I really struggle with a lack of space. Sitting in the middle seat without easy aisle access really triggers me. Is anyone similar?

I feel guilty for ‘wasting’ money on comfort for a few hours, but it’s hard to enjoy yourself after being stressed for 10 hours.

We booked exit row seats on our London-Singapore flight.

But you can choose the aisle seat?... Seat allocation costs extra on most airlines (unless you have a loyalty tier bonus), but you absolutely can select seats.

Aisle. 👍

We booked extra legroom seats on a flight to Oman and ended up by the basinets with a very unhappy baby that cried all night.

Hideous!
( i do have compassion for the parents dealing with said crying baby)

Trains are an option for travel to most of France, the Netherlands and parts of Germany.

DH and I always book the front row of economy for long-haul. Usually circa £100pp each way, but means tall DH isn't cramped, and that we can get up and move / stretch without disturbing anyone, or having anyone disturb us.

@Twiglets1 no, it's just the size of the plane mean there are some rows with only two seats! So if you're travelling with someone else, this is ideal. No extra cost, either! Premium economy was going to set us back an additional £1k, eye watering!

We always book the emergency exit row if we can. Yes it costs a bit more but in terms of legroom I don't think you can beat it.

You have to book early though.

I have autism too and find economy difficult. I'm an av geek and absolutely love flying, and nerding out on planes, but a middle or window seat sends me into panic mode.
I couldn't afford biz or pe, so always pay to prebook an aisle seat. I then spend the run up stressing that someone will try and poach my seat to sit next to their child because they didn't pay, or someone larger will sit next to me and encroach on my space, but I fly often and so far this hasn't happened.
I find noise cancelling headphones essential, and I always take a thin flat pillow that I put between my thigh and the arm rest to kind of create a barrier between me and the next seat. Then I disappear into my ipad to watch a few episodes of air crash investigation 🙄

I recently booked American Airlines flight (via British Airways site) and delighted to find I was able to choose seats a month + before departure at no extra cost

Looking at splitting the flight - I flew to the US and paid premium economy home which was an extra £70pp - the way out it was about £300pp

Yes we did this flying to Boston. My two dd had the side 2 seats and I got centre block aisle seat. No one had to have the middle and no arguing. It was about the back 3 rows on the BA plane.