The mystery of Qantas seat 47H
Why does the passenger in 47H watch so many in-flight movies?
So here's a random Qantas fact: on its Perth-London flight, the passenger in seat 47H watches more in-flight entertainment than anyone else.
As flight addicts know, the QF9/QF10 service is Qantas's longest single flight, clocking up 17 hours and 20 minutes on the Perth-London leg. It's a slightly shorter 16 hours and 45 minutes on the return journey.
Obviously, you're going to want to watch quite a few hours of movies and shows. But what is it about seat 47H that means that, on average, the passenger in that seat consumes more entertainment than anyone else, according to Qantas's own in-flight data for 2019 flights?
47H is in Economy, one of the 166 bargain seats on the flight. It makes sense that someone in Economy will watch more than one of the 28 Premium Economy or 42 Business passengers. After all, they won't sleep as much.
QF9 and QF10 both operate using the Boeing Dreamliner 787-9. Here's the relevant section of the seating plan:
We can notice a few things. 47H is an aisle seat, which means your fellow passengers are likely to interrupt you to stretch their legs or hit the loo. It's near the doors and the galley and one of the available sets of bassinets, so it isn't the quietest area of the plane.
So all of that means you're likely to be awake more and hence watch more. But that would be equally true of seat 47C, and largely true of 48H and 48C too. So the mystery remains. I asked Qantas if it had any theories, but none were forthcoming.
Incidentally, the truly desirable Economy seats on QF9 and QF10 are 40D, 40E and 40F. Those are exit rows without a bassinet in front of them. So you'll stretch out easily, but you'll have to pay a premium for them.
Angus Kidman's Findings column looks at new developments and research that help you save money, make wise decisions and enjoy your life more. It appears regularly on Finder.
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