I Hate to Break It to Ya, Aisle-Seat-Lovers, but the Window Seat Is Actually the Best

When you're trapped in the confines of a stuffy airplane for a few hours, nothing beats having the luxury of wistfully looking out the window and taking in the views. If you're on a red-eye, sunrise is particularly breathtaking from thousands of feet above the ground, and anyone traveling later in the day can catch quite the killer sunset through the clouds. I personally prefer admiring said views while staring out the window longingly, headphones in, and pretending I'm in some sort of moody Avril Lavingne music video about running away from home, but maybe that's just me . . .

How does that one saying go? "With great power scenery comes great responsibility photos," right? Well, maybe not exactly, but that edited phrase certainly rings true for anyone sitting in the window seat. As basic as they may be, airplane window photos are pretty darn hard to resist double-tapping on the 'gram. Bonus points if your row is situated near one of the wings for maximal Instagram-worthiness.

Hello, convenient head rest! Sitting by the window means you have the edge of the aircraft to snuggle up against, which is especially helpful if you are traveling alone and don't have a nonstranger's shoulder to rest on. Anyone in the middle or aisle seat typically resorts to snoozing on the tray table or head-bobbing while napping upright, neither of which are nearly as comfortable.

You've probably been in the following scenario before: you're sitting in the aisle seat with your tray table down, scarfing down on snacks and listening to music, when your middle seat neighbor decides it's an ideal time to tap you and mouth, "Can I get up?" You then must stow away your snacks, slam your tray table up, and brush the crumbs off yourself before unbuckling your seat belt, standing up, and having to get up yet again once they return from their bathroom break. If you're a window seat traveler, you never deal with such crumby scenarios, as you only get out of your seat when you need to.

When you're chillin' in the window seat, you don't have to worry about bathroom visitors or flight attendants accidentally bumping into you on their way down the aisle. You're sandwiched between just one person and the edge of the plane, which statistically results in a decreased likelihood of unwanted human contact. Have fun with that knee bruise you earned from getting rammed by the beverage cart midflight, all you aisle-seat-lovers out there.

It's kind of an unspoken air travel rule, wouldn't you agree? Whoever has the window seat typically decides if and when the shade goes up or down. Sure, the middle and aisle seat passengers can have a say, but when was the last time you asked a window seater who was contently peering out the window to shut it, thus killing their joy? Likely never. Sitting by the window gives you the power to soak in that sunset or, if the sun's too blinding to handle, to close the cover and take a snooze.

The aforementioned control of the window shade also provides the ability to witness the aircraft's descent up until the precise moment those wheels slam the tarmac. Travelers situated by the aisle have to awkwardly crane their neck to look through the window and see how far the plane is from the ground — that is, if the window seater has the shade up. If that shade is pulled down, aisle seaters don't quite have an easy way of knowing when the plane will land, which personally gives me anxiety just thinking about it.