With films like Under The Tuscan Sun and Call Me By Your Name romanticizing Italy in the summer, it’s no wonder the season is the country’s busiest. But with the country seeing unprecedented numbers of visitors—last year they received an estimated 68 million visitors, three million more than before the pandemic in 2019—it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find the magic of Italy amidst the crowds. Since the early days of Tuscany’s tourism economy in the 1980s, the region has remained a summer destination that largely shuts down to visitors during the winter months. But with the growing number of visitors in the summer, hotels in the region have gradually been expanding their seasons to open earlier and close later, providing visitors an opportunity to see Tuscany when it’s not flooded with tourists.
8 reasons why you should always sit in an aisle seat on planes
22.02.2024 - 16:11 / thepointsguy.com / Taylor Swift / Henry Harteveldt
Window or aisle? It's an age-old frequent flyer debate that's as divisive as walking into a room and declaring that "Toy Story 3" is mediocre (I'll die on this hill) or that Beyonce is, in fact, way better than Taylor Swift (Queen Bey for the win).
No matter where you are or who you ask, people will have an opinion on the matter. According to a recent survey conducted by the team at Going, the public at large favors window seats, with 53% deeming it their first choice. Aisle, meanwhile, took 46% of the vote, and just 1% of people voted for the middle seat.
I'm here to tell you that 53% of people are wrong.
It's a big claim, but I'll say this now, and I'll say it proudly: The aisle seat is the best seat on the plane, and if it's not your first choice every time you fly, my friend, you're doing it all wrong.
Here's why I think you need to be pushing for the aisle seat whenever you fly.
It's 2024, and space in the economy cabin is a commodity.
Since 1978, seat pitch has shrunk from 36 inches to around 30 or 31 inches in U.S. carriers' economy cabins, according to the president of Atmosphere Research Group, Henry Harteveldt, who spoke with TPG's Sean Cudahy.
It's such an issue that in 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration reached out to the general public to ask how they were feeling about it.
Unless you're among the frequent flyer elite who only fly in business or first class, odds are you'll at some point cram into an ever-shrinking economy seat. In these desperate times, I say you should take any win you can, and by sitting in the aisle seat, you claw back a smidgen of extra space.
Granted, it won't give you the same amount of stretch room common in the 1970s, but it will allow you to unroll your legs a tiny bit farther by dangling them into the aisle, even if only briefly. You can even wave your arms around if you're so inclined or, at the very least, make use of the extra elbow room when you eat.
Sure, it may only be a brief moment before a flight attendant's trolley smashes into your shin, but carpe diem. In these cramped times, we must live dangerously, and we must stretch (respectfully).
Related: Sorry, aisle-seat fans: The window seat is the best in the air
I don't know about you, but as a man galloping through his 30s at hyperspeed, my bladder is not what it was. I wasn't going to share this, but hey, you're already judging me.
Flying long haul while stuffed into a window seat with several other passengers blocking my route to the lavatory is one of my worst nightmares.
Thankfully, with an aisle seat, I don't need to worry about any of this. I'm free to visit the restroom as often as I need without any fuss. I can even spot when queues are starting to form and get in there first by keeping
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