Advertorial feature in collaboration with Thomas Cook Airlines 

Which is your favourite seat for when you are flying?  I’ll be the first to put my hands up and say that I love the window seat.  I enjoy gazing out of the window at take off and watching the ground below drift further and further away.  It’s one of those moments that marks the beginning of the holiday.  It means I have successfully corralled 2 children and a husband onto a plane with enough supplies for a week or two and we have nothing but quality family time and new experiences ahead of us.

view of sunset from window seat on plane

Everyone is sitting comfortably in their seat and observing the seat belt sign, but in recent years I haven’t been able to get near the window for toffee, and I feel I’m missing out!  There has been lots of talk online recently about The Great Flight Debate, and Thomas Cook Airlines have been asking travellers and holiday makers like you and me to make a choice.  If you search #TCAWindowSeat on your favourite social media channel you can see there are some beautiful photos and strong views about the window VS aisle debate. It got me thinking about us parents who fly with kids and if we actually make it to our favourite seat.

With 61% of flyers loving the window seat, I know that there’s going to be some parents who love to be near the window.  I love to look out at the views and countries passing by below.  Of all the landscapes that impress me the most it’s the mountains.  Looking out of the window over places like the Alps just takes my breath away.  Mountains are one of those pieces of nature that just put everything into perspective and the very best views of mountains are definitely from the window seat of an aeroplane.

view of alps from airplane

Sunsets are another of those magical moments that I love to experience from the sky.  I always get a little bit excited when I get a flight time that will let me watch the sun go down.  The colours that fill the sky are for more interesting to watch than anything you can download onto your tablet or mobile phone.

view of boats from plane

The final part of the flight is also when you’ll find my nose glued to the window.  I love it when Thomas Cook Airlines pilots announce those updates telling you the route and often the local weather.  As soon as I hear his voice come over the tannoy earphones are popped out and I see if I can spot any local landmarks below.  It’s another symbolic moment in the flight when I know we are very nearly there.  I have avoided any major meltdowns from either the kids or the husband and our holiday will soon be underway. view of city from window seat on plane

If only I was actually sat in the window seat to thoroughly enjoy these moments.  Sadly, these days the kids have bagged the window seats and I’m left craning my neck to capture a glimpse of the views while we are up in the air.  The window seat is definitely the kids favourite seat too, and they are showing no signs of giving it up anytime soon.  I’ve tried to stake my claim, but they are small and stealth like and can be strapped into those prized window seats faster than you can say ‘make sure your seatbelt is securely fastened’.

These days I’m sat in the aisle next to my husband, which of course is a complete delight.  He’s a nervous flyer so he will always champion the aisle seat for Thomas Cook Airlines.  He wants to be as far away from the window as possible and spends most of the flight asleep if he possibly can.  This leaves me sandwiched between the kids and a sleeper grabbing window seat views where I can.

I take more flight photos than most as this is my best hope of seeing what is out of the window.  The Thomas Cook Airlines survey revealed that 71% of flyers take photos out of the plane window.  I bet they all get a better angle than me! I was more than a little jealous of my sister’s snaps from her recent flight to Bali via Singapore.  I want window seat photos like this in my life again, but short of reserving a seat at the other end of the plane I’ll be dishing out toys and snacks from the aisle seat for the foreseeable future.  Can you relate?

So it’s pretty clear that the window seat is a huge favourite in our family, with Daddy being completely outnumbered.  Fortunately for him, that means he will always get his favourite seat on the plane while I’m sadly pushed out of my prime position.  Whilst I may have been ejected from my favourite seat, I love that the kids want to sit near the window and enjoy the views.

We talk about taking off, the countries we pass over and the different landscapes we see.  We also love thinking about being inside the clouds when we are flying.  I can definitely see them booking the window seat and taking plenty of photos when it is there turn to arrange their own flights. Perhaps then I will get my favourite seat back.

So which is your favourite seat on a plane?  Do you reserve the window seat or are you happy to take a nap in the aisle like my husband?  When you are flying with kids, who gets their favourite seat?  Do the kids declare they want to sit near the window, then spend half the flight watching their tablet? This doesn’t frustrate me in the slightest of course!

Visit the window VS aisle debate on Thomas Cook Airlines and have your say. Tell them which is your favourite seat on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and more importantly if you always get it!  Tag #TCAWindowSeat and we’ll pop along and take a look at your fabulous (and in some cases envious) plane pictures.

Leave me a comment below and let me know which is your favourite seat, window VS aisle?

This is a sponsored post written in collaboration with Thomas Cook Airlines 

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29 COMMENTS

  1. I’m with your hubby on this and favour an aisle seat – but there was once a time when I liked the window seat – but like you, my kids always nab that! ha ha!

  2. I am absolutely terrified of flying and always shied away from the window seat but recently I have found looking out of the window really helps me!

  3. haha! Everyone wants the Window seat but sadly it just seems to be something you have to give up when you take the kids on holiday!

  4. It’s the hubby I have to fight for the window seat – he claims it helps relieve his fear of flying so if I want a calm OH I have to give it up. It’s soooooooo annoying! Window seats are much better for sleeping too, as you can wedge your pillow against the wall, BUT they’re a pain in the backside when you have to get up and go to the loo… #SwingsAndRoundabouts

  5. Window seat is just the best one, I always had them until I gave birth. Now i am always in the middle near the infant bassinet, so no chance I can even glimpse on what’s going on in the clouds 🙂

  6. I also love the window seat BUT.. like most mums I’m now in the middle! Ah well..at least I can pack loads of air-plane snacks ‘for the kids’ 😉

  7. I have no chance of the window seat if I’m with my husband or kids, they all want it. I do like the window seat, for the views, but I prefer the aisle seat on short haul, so that I can get off quickly when we land.

  8. I am a window seat lover but since my youngest has had her own seat I now have the aisle with the two kids near the window and my husband across the aisle. Not my favourite at all. when I travel solo I make sure I pay and get the window seat if I can.

  9. I would always choose the window seat where possible. I love being able to gaze out and see the clouds. But I am not fussy so would give it up for one of the kids.

  10. I’m a window seat lover as well. I got some great nighttime shots on my last journey back from Portugal.

    Thankfully my son wanted to sit with his Dad this time but I’d normally have to fight him for it x

  11. I think we would all choose the window seat if we had the option. It is just nice to look out, especially when you are taking off and can see fields and the sea.

  12. Like your husband, I’m an aisle seat-er. Last holiday was a nightmare for flying; I was 10 weeks preggo and full of morning sickness, stuck next to the window with a dude in front FULLY RECLINED (grrr).

  13. I love seating beside the window, but I prefer to et my kids experience it. I think every kid wishes to take this place especially on their first flight experience.

  14. I do like looking out the window on an aeroplane however, I prefer to sit in the aisle seat. That way I don’t feel trapped in and have to ask others to move to let me go to the toilet, particularly on a long flight and they have gone to sleep.

  15. I love the window seat too, it’s amazing to see all the incredible views and I love on the way home when we get the first glimpse of Ireland. My kids are older now but I’m pretty sure they would still be bagging the best seat! 🙂

  16. My 20yr old son iss 6’3″ and flies a LOT for work, 95% of it solo travel. so only pleasing himself. He nearly always chooses the window seat if he can, willing to sacrifice the space and the ability to leave his seat for the view. Aisle seats give him a bit more of the necessary leg room, obviously, but he is NOT a happy boy if he’s plopped into the middle seat!

  17. Goodbye window seat if you have kids Lol. Well everyone loves that space especially if this is your first-time ride on a plane.

  18. Ha! You’ve probably lost your window seat until they all fly off the nest! To be fair, I’m not a ‘window seat’ person because I was terrified of flying for years, so I always keep to wherever it’s easiest to escape from hahaha! §

  19. My boy has autism so I’m more than happy to give up my window seat to keep him happy & occupied. We really thought flying with him would be a nightmare due to his extreme sensory issues, anxiety & ADHD thrown in but he absolutely loves looking out the window. I’ve never know him to be quiet for so long, lol

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