Seats near the galley, seats near the toilets, seats at the back, we’ve heard it all before. These are the seats you want to avoid on a plane, and to be fair, they’re not the greatest. But there’s a seat far worse on the Boeing 777.

That seat isn’t really a seat at all — it’s a row, and that row is …..The second row behind any bulkhead row in economy class.

Why?

Most 777s are used for long-haul flights and thankfully, those flights usually come with seatback screens. The trade-off? An entertainment box fitted under the seats in front of you right where your feet would normally go. Generally speaking its just one box and its not a huge deal, unless, you’re in the row behind the bulkhead seats.

In the case of a bulkhead or emergency exit row, there’s no “seat in front” to house that entertainment box. So guess where it ends up? In the foot space of the row behind meaning the second row in the economy cabin behind a bulk head will usually have TWO entertainment boxes in it - one that belongs to that row and one that belongs to the row in front.

If you’re in the window seat, it might get even worse for you. It’s not just the extra entertainment box that causes issues, it’s also where the box sits, combined with how the seat is fixed into the aircraft floor. In some cases, the window seat ends up with the narrowest space of all, thanks to both the box and the seat fittings.

The reason comes down to design: the Boeing 777 was originally built for a 9-abreast layout (3-3-3 seating). Adding a 10th seat has quite literally squeezed space everywhere — and nowhere is that more obvious than the second row behind the bulkhead.

The images above clearly demonstrate the differences between the seats one row behind the bulkhead seats versus those that are two rows behind.

Moral of the story? When it comes to the Boeing 777, it’s not the toilet seats or galley rows you need to fear — it’s the sneaky second row behind the bulkhead. Go two rows back and thank us later.