Last updated on September 22nd, 2019 at 06:25 pm

Flying 14 hours sitting in economy sucks. Especially when you’re tall. But I’ll let you in on a little known secret on how you can score yourself more leg room. No this isn’t a trick for getting a free upgrade to first or business class seat your flight.

But if you’ve got yourself an economy ticket and want more leg room – then read on my friend.

For the past 3 years I’ve been flying Korean Air exclusively from New York with some layovers in South Korea and then on to Bangkok and vice versa. So I’ve been racking up some air miles. Plus I have a Korean Air credit card for earning additional miles.

Oh sweet sweet leg room…

As of writing I’ve got 80,000 miles stashed and all saved up for an upgrade. My 6 foot tall frame is aching to be cradled by Korean Air’s prestige class seats. Or even upgraded to Korean Air’s famous Kosmo Suites? A man can only dare to dream.

But until now – I’ve been requesting seats located near the exit row. Usually the aisle side. As you can see from my pic above, there’s plenty of leg room. And the person sitting next to you won’t have to wake you up if they have to head to the toilet.

Tell Me More… How Do I Get A Seat Near the Emergency Exit Row?

You can’t reserve these seats. Even if you’ve purchased your ticket online. Travel agents can’t help you here either.

The only way to get these coveted poor man’s first class seats is to request it at the airline’s check in counter.

The catch is if in case of an emergency, you have to man up and help with evacuation. I kid you not. Every person sitting directly in front of the emergency exit doors are handed a safety brochure when seated. It’s basically an illustrated pamphlet with instructions on how to open the doors in the event of an emergency.

With spacious leg room comes great responsibility…

While at the check in counter the agent has to be sure you are physically up to the task. Before printing out your boarding pass with your exit row seat assignment.

Not everyone knows that you have to request these exit row seats. People just assume the ticket agent randomly stick passengers where they please. For those that do know that’s not the case. And have to make sure they get to the check in counter and ask as soon as possible.

Because, depending on the size of the airplane these seats are very limited and the rule is first come first serve. Which means lining up near the check in counters as early as possible.

Luckily because I have over 50,000 Korean Air miles I qualify for their Morning Calm membership which means there is a separate and much shorter line for checking in. And even then I try to get on that line an hour before the counter opens for check in process.

Korean Air 380-800 exit row seat chart…

There’s catch though. These poor mans’ first class seats are always adjacent to where airlines seat passengers with infants. If you’re bothered by crying babies you best bring ear plugs or noise canceling head phones. Plus it’s also where a galley and bathrooms are located. Which means there could be a lot of commotion near you.

And of course since it’s still the economy section the seats are not wide as first class and are uncomfortable on long haul flights. But having all that leg space to stretch out is still better than nothing.

As of writing, certain airlines are starting to wise up. Some are starting to charge extra for emergency exit row seats. Which is really greedy. I think if you’re willing to take those seats, and help out in case of an emergency, does this mean the airlines have to start paying exit row passengers??

But even if the extra charge is nominal it’s probably still worth it. Especially if you’re tall and need extra leg space. So if you want these seats, make sure you speak with your favorite airline and ask about their policy on scoring those sweet sweet cheap seats with leg room.

One Big Tip for Getting Upgraded on a Flight

Here’s a little bonus tip for getting a chance for an upgrade. No matter which airline your prefer you should really sign up for a frequent flier membership. I know so many people that fly a lot yet don’t sign up for mileage programs.

Way back when I was flying strictly with Thai Airways I was upgraded to their premium economy class right before boarding from a flight from BKK to JFK. It was a packed flight and the ground crew had a group of passengers that wanted to sit together in economy.

There was a seat available in premium economy so I was upgraded so that another economy passenger could take my seat. I was a Royal Orchid Plus member with some miles built up on my account so the ground crew gave me the upgrade. It wasn’t an upgrade to their famous first class seats but hey I was happy.

So, moral of the story is airlines give upgrades to loyal flyers. If you don’t have their loyalty member card they won’t upgrade you in such a situation.

Sure, it’ll take time to build up those miles. But really if you’re going to fly a lot on a certain airline fill out a loyalty program. The benefits in the long run are worth the few minutes.