Picture the scene. In honoured ‘airport dad’ fashion, you arrive 3 hours early. You have checked in online. You fly through security, for you are a god-tier travel guru. You have time for some breakfast, and maybe a drink at this ungodly hour of the morning. Your boarding group is called first, for you have paid for priority boarding. You skip joyfully towards your reserved window seat, ready to soak in the views for the next 4 hours. You arrive at your seat, only to find… no windows. Enter seat 11A on the Ryanair Boeing 737-800.
Seat 11A has been a harbinger of both hilarity and fury for Ryanair passengers over the years, leading to an almost endless stream of jokes, complaints and memes across social media. But why is this window seat so…windowless?
— Nuno Marques (@nunomar) September 12, 2022
Why does Ryanair seat 11A have no window?
Ryanair’s seat 11A is windowless thanks to the Boeing 737’s cabin air conditioning system. The air conditioning on modern commercial jets is provided by two ‘packs’ that regulate the airflow and temperature in the cabin. Aircraft typically have two of these packs located near the main landing gear. High temperature, high pressure air is taken (‘bled’) from the engines or auxiliary power unit to the packs, where it is cooled down and conditioned before being circulated into the cabin. The air travels from the packs to the passenger cabin via a series of ducts built into the sidewall of the aircraft. One of these ducts is located alongside seat 11A in the Ryanair 737-800 cabin.
As any frequent flier will know, not all cabins are created equal. Cabin specification is typically selected by the airline and as such, the seat row assigned next to the ducts can vary between airlines, and in some cases, even within the same airline.
Take the Boeing 737 MAX 8200 aircraft operated by Ryanair and Buzz. The higher density cabin layout has shifted the placement of the windowless seat one row back to 12A. This isn’t unique to Ryanair; other carriers operating the Boeing 737NG family experience the same issue. The windowless seat in an Alaska Airlines (AS/ASA) cabin resides anywhere between 9A-11A depending on the variant.
It’s useful to note that the placement of the ducts means that seats 12A, 12F, 14A, and 14F on any Ryanair aircraft will also have partially obscured windows due to the system.
Here are our recommendations if you’re looking to avoid a windowless seat on your next Ryanair flight.
- If your flight is operated by Ryanair (FR/RYR) avoid seat 11A and 12A
- If your flight is operated by Buzz (RR/RYS) avoid seat 12A
- If your flight is operated by Malta Air (MAY) avoid seat 12A
Whilst Malta Air and Buzz operate a large proportion of MAX aircraft, NG aircraft also operate under those brands, so this is a round about technique to avoid the windowless seat. If Ryanair specifies the aircraft type operating your flight, you can also identify which seats to avoid. Ryanair have also introduced warnings on restricted views in the seat selection stage of the booking process.
Never missing an opportunity to make light of a lightless situation, users on X, formerly twitter, have wasted no time in sharing their hilarious pictures, memes and suggestions on the woes of seat 11A. Take a look at @Seat11aRyanair for more.
Have you had a windowless experience on a Boeing 737 aircraft? What’s your seat of choice? Let us know in the comments.
Cover photo: Mehrad Watson, JetPhotos.
36 Responses
Same situation with some AA and CM flights on their B737 fleet. It’s very disconcerning to find the window you paid for does not exist. Airlines should warn passengers when choosing thwir windowless seats.
please check today Air india plane crash only one survivor ramesh his seat no was 11 A boing dreamliner aircraft ahemadabad to london
i believe you pay for a seat on a plane and not a window !
On Southwest 737 800, I prefer sitting between mid and tail sections. The engine sounds are not bad, and actually lull me to nap
Seems simple. All the airline has to do is programme the software to exclude these seats from those available in the system when the customer chooses a window seat?
My biggest mystery on Ryanair B737-800NG’s: why is the front seat row starboard side designated as an emergency exit row when there’s no emergency exit?
Same with the Dash 8. Flybe had a windowless seat. Most annoying
I had a windowless window seat recently on My Delta flight from Atlanta to Jacksonville. I believe it was a 757 ,so not just 737’s . Figured it was due to cramming seats together for more occupancy causing seats to not line up with windows, I was not happy 🤬
11A on 737 Max 8 from TuiFly without window as well.
On jetstar’s A321 aircraft the same but here’s the difference. It’s an emergency exit aisle comprising of a 2-2 configuration whereas all other rows are 3-3.
So there is no window but all the legroom you could need.
I had the same problem in a 737-800 of TUIfly. During the booking it was not possible to see, that seat 11A had no window.
Comercial Airline GOL, in Brazil, has (or at least, had) a plane seat on row 8 with no window… I traveled once on that seat…as I remember, its a BOING. Its frustrating…
Virgin Airlines Australia has exactly the same windowless experience when flying in their 737-800. The funny thing is it’s also advertised as an extra legroom seat with an exit. Nope, just a blank wall. The plane is usually encountered on the Brisbane to Perth or Perth to Brisbane route VA0469 or VA0471
TUI
B737-800’s also have a windowless 11A
Not in a 737, but on a 757, specifically on Delta, Row 23. If i had known, I would not have booked that seat. Delta has like five different seating configurations on their ’57s, and it is all but impossible to figure out how your plane will be configured because the codes like “75G” or 75P” don’t match between the airline and the seat evaluation apps. Maddening!
Turkish Airlines 737’s have same problem with 7A seat. In addition some planes with 7A and 8A have missing windows.
Low seat number in related to business cabin.
I never coose 7A,8A seats in Turkish Airlines.
Never select a window seat except for shorts flights of 1 hour or less. Reason? Easy access to bathroom; thrombosis avoiding exercise is less limited – at minimum standing is an option at quiet times; early customer for the refreshment trolley.
Regards Chris (1,996 pax flights and counting).
Probably I had it in S7 Airlines… I didn’t remember the row, and I was rather tired because of second night flight, but I paid attention it was rather unusual. Though, as I remember, it was marked as no-window when you choose the place. Anyway, I’ll try to check it, as I plan to travel S7 again soon, and if it will be B737, I’ll pay more attention to it. But I think it can be good for night flights, as it is dark anyway outside and nothing to see. And you can lean on this hard wall better than on the window…
BA’s A319 and ceo A320’s have no windows on the last rows as they have deleted the toilets and put an extra seat row in. As there is no more catering they have put two toilets at the rear galley which is now half the size.
Got caught out with 8A on a Tarom 737 (YR-BGM) that didn’t have a window back in 2018
I’ve unknowingly selected the seat 10A (I’m pretty sure it was), on a Norwegian flight many years ago. This flight of course resultet in one of my worst flights ever! No window! Oh no!! 🙁
My favourite seat on the B738 is 25F, well behind the wing 🙂
Seat 1A is actually not that spacious, because the front part of the fuselage is narrower.
My first windowless window seat was 5K on an Air Canada B787-8. It was my own fault as I didn’t check the seat map when I booked the flight lol.
i was on a frontier flight (i think it was the owl livery, but i’m not sure). the attendant said, “row 40 please” and my doubt grew as i walked further and further down the aisle. i reach my seat. to my utter horror i see the windowless “window seat” in row 40 on the A321 and i was infuriated. our return flight was much better though, as we had a window seat with a window.
Not window related but I’ve noticed on a couple of recent BA flights on Airbus (A320 or A319?) that only every other row has air nozzles for ventilation. Both times I’ve been in the ‘non-ventilated’ row and have managed to direct the nozzle from the row in front towards me, but if the passenger in the next row had wanted it pointed at them I would have been hot and uncomfortable!
Does anyone have a chart for where the vents are on these planes?!
To avoid all the agro, why don’t carriers, especially at the cheap end of the market, turn to this to their advantage? Offer a set amount off the fare (either a fixed sum or a % of the fare paid) for anyone who will sit in these seats. There are many pax out there who do not care, and $20 off a fare would more than compensate for no view.
On Ryanair I always try to book seat 3F, right hand side window seat and always get the seat. It does cost €5, but the flight is cheap anyway.
Where is the quietest seat on a plane?
Probably in the cockpit?
Ryanair has over 500 Boeing 737s.
All the seats are basically the same.
They are close together and are okay for short flights. After an hour you get to feel the frame of the seat,
They are a flying bus, so you pay not many euros to get anywhere in Europe with Ryanair.
I choose Ryanair now when I want to go somewhere in Europe.
Just flew on a United 737-900 and on a Max 9 on the return flight. Both had a windowless 11A. I was incredibly annoyed as I had 11A on the 900 and deliberately picked it thinking I had a window. They really should tell you. I was 36F on the MAX so no worries there, other than waiting a half hour to deplane. Thankfully my layover was long.
After air india insident I’m only choosing 11A
This didn’t age well, who here after the crash?
Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner Incident showing important of the 11A Seat!
Funny hearing people talk like this when 2 years later we confirmed that 11A is the best seat
and 1 year later, seat 11A saved a life (again).
Before 27 years in 1998 Thai Airways flight TG261 incident and Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner Incident in 2025 how survived same 11A seat