737 MAX 8 Best Seats Compared

Row 17 Main Cabin Extra exit — the value pick

Row 17 is a forward exit row at 38" legroom and reclines normally. Row 16 ahead is also exit and cannot recline back into you. the highest-scoring economy seat on AA's MAX 8 and consistently underpriced relative to its actual quality.

Row 16A and 16F — windows with no view

Row 16 is the forward exit row, but the A and F seats sit directly next to the exit door portal — there is no actual window glass at seat-eye level. Score 2/10 each. The trade-off is exit-row legroom, but if you booked "window" for the view, this isn't it.

Row 13F — windowless from an air-conditioning duct

Sold as a window seat, but the air-conditioning duct runs through the wall at this row. Score 2/10. Same defect appears on UA's row 11 and Southwest Elevate's row 11 — it's a Boeing 737 fuselage pattern that affects multiple operators at slightly different rows.

No seatback screens anywhere on the aircraft

American killed seatback IFE on its narrowbody fleet in 2017 and never reversed course. Streaming to your own device only. Bring a charged tablet or phone, plus a stand if you don't want to hold it for two hours.

Last row, middles — 32B/32E

Score 2/10. Last row, middle seat, 30" legroom, adjacent to the rear lavatory and galley. Avoid unless the only alternative is a 13F.

Row 21 Economy Plus exit — the best economy seat on the aircraft

21A, 21C, 21D, and 21F all score 9/10. 38" pitch, exit row with three inches of recline, and row 20 ahead is also exit (so it cannot recline back into you). Worth the Economy Plus price on a transcon.

Row 4 First Class — the recline penalty row

Row 4 is the last row of First Class. Recline is limited to about three inches (vs five elsewhere in First) because the seat backs into the mid-cabin divider wall separating First from Economy Plus. The seat is also next to the mid-cabin lavatory. Pick row 2 or 3 if you have a choice.

Row 11A and 11F — windows blocked by the AC duct

Same fuselage defect as American's 13F. The air-conditioning duct runs through the wall. The seats are sold as window seats but the view is solid plastic. Score 3/10 each.

Row 38 — the worst row on the aircraft

All five seats in row 38 (B, C, D, E, F — no window in this layout) score 1/10. Last row, limited recline, directly adjacent to the rear galley and both lavatories. Foot traffic is constant. Last to deplane.

Heart cabin: every single seat is non-reclining

Not a typo. All 175 seats on a Heart-layout MAX 8 ship with zero degrees of recline, including the "Extra Legroom" rows. This was Southwest's standard configuration through the open-boarding era. Long flights in row 30 are a punishment seat.

Heart row 16A/F — "no seat in front"

The best seat on the Heart aircraft, scoring 7/10. There is no row 15, so there is open floor space ahead of row 16. Even without recline, the legroom is exit-row-class. The Elevate retrofit changes the row layout — row 16 is no longer the standout.

Elevate row 11A/F — windowless window (same defect as UA/AA)

Score 2/10. Air-conditioning duct in the wall blocks the window glass. Same fuselage pattern that bites United at row 11 and American at row 13.

"Extra Legroom" on Heart is misleading

On the Heart layout, "Extra Legroom" ranges from 29" to 35" — the bulkhead seats are 29", which is less than standard 31" rows behind. The Elevate retrofit standardizes Extra Legroom at 34", but Heart customers booking the upgrade can still end up with less legroom than the row behind them.

Row 30 on both layouts — last row, score 1/10

Last row, near the rear galley and lavatories on both Heart and Elevate. Heart has zero recline aircraft-wide; Elevate has limited recline at this row specifically. Either way, avoid.

Every seat on the aircraft is non-reclining

All 190 seats. Same as Southwest's Heart cabin, but Allegiant has no plans to retrofit. The MAX 8-200 high-density variant is built for short flights with tight turns; the trade-off is no recline anywhere.

Row 4 — split cabin, easy to mis-book

On the seat map, row 4's middle seats (B and E) are sold as "Extra," but the window/aisle (A, C, D, F) are standard Main Cabin at 29" legroom. Same row, two different products, two different prices. Read the seat-fee fine print before paying for "Extra" on row 4.

"Exit Row" cabin (rows 26–27) is not Legroom+

Allegiant's seat map shows a four-seat "Exit Row" tier at rows 26B/26C/27B/27C. These are exit seats, but the row ahead is a standard non-exit row, so the legroom benefit is partly absorbed. The seats also have no A or F position. Score 2–3/10 — paying for "Exit Row" here is worse than picking a Legroom+ seat at row 16.

No Wi-Fi, no IFE, nothing on the aircraft

No seatback screens, no streaming, no Wi-Fi, no live TV. USB charging is the only amenity. Plan for the entire flight to be unplugged from anything that needs the internet.

Row 33 — the last row, middles score 1/10

Last row of the high-density layout. Adjacent to the aft lavatory. 33B, 33C, 33D, 33E all score 1/10. Avoid.