nkRyanair Boeing 737-800 (738) Seat Map
Last verified October 10, 2026B738 / 738
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Cabin details
- IFE
Premium Economy
- SeatStandard recline
- Layoutstandard
- Pitch29-34
- Width17"
- Recline0"
- Materialsynthetic leather
- IFEstreaming
- Air ventssingle
- Tray tableseatback
Economy
- SeatStandard recline
- Layoutstandard
- Pitch29-29.5
- Width17"
- Recline0"
- Materialsynthetic leather
- IFEstreaming
- Air ventssingle
- Tray tableseatback
At a glance
Picking a seat on Ryanair's Boeing 737-800
Two things set this 737-800 apart from the usual 189-seat version of the type. Row 1 is only half a row — 1D, 1E and 1F don't exist, so the right-hand side starts at row 2 — and the front five rows are sold as a premium block even though the pitch there swings between 29 and 34 inches depending on which row you land in. Everything behind is a single 3-3 economy cabin running 6–12 and 14–33, at a flat 29–29.5 inches, with lavatories and galleys bracketing both ends.
I'm tall — where does the legroom actually live?
Rows 16 and 17, the overwing exits, are the honest answer. Every seat in both rows carries extra legroom, and 16D in particular earns praise for aisle access with no one behind reclining into you, since row 17 has the same stretch. The trade-offs are consistent across all twelve seats: nothing under the seat in front during takeoff and landing, and an armrest that may be missing or immovable.
The premium rows are more variable. 1B and 1C and the 2D/2E/2F bulkhead set all give you real knee space, and one of our firsthand flights paid for a front-row seat on a short Stansted hop and found it genuinely restful. 1A is the weak link in that block — legroom there is restricted despite the row, and the tray folds out of the armrest, which steals width from an already 17-inch seat. Rows 3, 4 and 5 are priced as premium but sit at standard pitch; you're buying the early exit, not the space.
Window people
11A is the famous one: a blank wall where the glass should be, caused by air-conditioning ducting behind the sidewall. Passengers who book it are reliably furious about it. Treat 12A with suspicion too — window alignment through that stretch is imperfect. Rows 14–21 sit over the wing, so expect metal instead of ground; 14A also draws complaints about feeling tighter than its neighbours across the aisle. For actual views, the unobstructed glass is forward at 6A–10A and 6F–10F, or well aft from row 22 back. Several of our flyers rate 29A, 30A and 31A as clean, pleasant window seats with acceptable space for average heights.
Light sleepers and anyone who hates traffic
Row 33 is the whole back wall: all six seats, 33A through 33F, sit against lavatories and galley with the associated noise, queueing and door-slamming, and they're rated poorly for exactly that. Row 1 has the same problem at the other end, with forward galley and lavatory traffic passing your knees. Rows 7 through 10 are the calmest stretch — ahead of the engines, away from both service zones, no exit-row foot traffic.
Couples, pairs, and the recline question
On a 3-3 layout there's no two-seat row, so a window-and-middle pair in rows 7–10 or 22–26 is the quietest way to sit together without a stranger wedged between you. On recline: don't plan around it. Firsthand reports from this cabin describe seats that are hard, thinly padded and effectively upright, with a warning against anything over two to three hours. Older aircraft in this fleet also lack seat pockets entirely, so plan where your phone and book are going before pushback.
Seats to skip outright
11A for the missing window; all of row 33 for the lavatory wall; 1A for restricted legroom in a row you're paying extra for; and rows 26–32 generally if disembarking speed matters, since the rear cabin empties last. Rows 6 and 7 are an underrated compromise — standard price, standard pitch, but first off behind the premium block and well clear of both galleys.
Traveler photos
Traveler reviews
- 5F★★★
It was alright
Limited reclineEasy exitGreat viewLimited legroom When I entered my 30A window seat, It was good, and the legroom is abit smaller if u have ur small cabin bag placed there, but even tho without the cabin bag, there is good legroom to stretch ur legs, talking about the windows now, u have double one by the seat with easy access to see, and one by another seat, and also there is a small vent from when the engine start up, the smell goes through the vents but then it's gone, I gave this seat 4 stars because it could have a little improvment on the legroom that could be abit more space.
Worst seat ever, has no window at first, and if u would be flying to a nice country, and you would want to look out the window but u can't BECAUSE THERE IS NO GODAMN WINDOWS!
Best seat
Easy access to the aisle. Seats behind also have extra leg room, so nobody is kicking the back of your seat
There is a 90% chance that the passenger to your right is going to start throwing up mid flight.
Mr Sco
Seat 28B. Waited with boundless excitement if it would be as crap as the other seats I’ve shoe horned myself into over the pst 15 yrs of travelling g. To say I was not wrong is one hell of an understatement.
Do the job.
29A on the MAX8209
really bad
seat 29A is next to emergency exit. There is no window, no seat in front of you therefore no drop down table to use. Plenty of leg room but carry on bag as to be stowed in cabin.
Smallest seat pitch I have ever encountered.
Seats on the other side of the plane (DEF) seem to have a slightly larger pitch. Even for Ryanair this is unusually small. I’m only 5”9 and I am literally wedged in, as is the person in the seat behind who has already apologised for having his knees jammed against the back of my seat.
ALL SEATS ARE TOO HARD AND TOO UPRIGHT !! especially for flights over 3 hours.
seats to hard not enought padding and too upright very bad no confort
Good
Bologna to Eindhoven. Clean and nice view, but a little tight for 180cm.
Charges you for everything, feels so stressed
The rows in the middle of the plane are the worst as you will be the last to disembark, but they will still charge you if you are a family and can't split you.
I like it
Its just about the price
Quality and price it is a really good airline, there are a lot of things that could be better, but if they were, the price wouldn't be the same.
Rabbish
Bad I could hear the pilot singing never gonna give you up
No window
If you need to see out to not feel sick stay away from I send 90% of my flight feeling sick as I had no point of reference to the outside
No window
There is no window is if you need to see out to not feel sick stay away I thought I was going to vomit for 90% of the flight as I had no reference to the outside
Ryanair seating. 16E
Extra legroom for which you pay for. Drawbacks are. Row 2 Are first out. Row 16 are last out from front door. Again, row 2 are first watered and fed From the trolley services. So you could Be the last in the Car hire queue, and May not have your choice of Food and drink left by the time the trolley arrives.
Better than some but not the best, this exit row seat has extra legroom; no underseat stowage during takeoff and landing; may be missing an armrest.
Video reviews
What travel bloggers say
- Warns that nothing onboard is free — you pay for food and even water — and that the seats don't recline
- Describes inflight announcements every few minutes, right down to lottery-ticket sales, and passengers applauding on landing
- Recommends boarding with noise-cancelling headphones, your own snacks, water bought after security, a neck pillow and a scarf or blanket
- Breaks down the fee traps: £/€55 for failing to check in online, £/€20 to print a boarding pass at the airport, and £/€115–160 for a name correction after 48 hours
- Notes priority boarding starts at £/€6 but is capped at 95 passengers per flight, so queuing early still matters, and flags that non-EU travellers must get boarding passes stamped at the visa/document desk or be denied boarding
- Found the standard 3x3 cabin "crammed like sardines" and paid £15 per person for a front-row seat, which bought enough extra legroom to rest comfortably on an early Stansted–Dublin hop
- Says the £15 was worth it because it also included priority boarding, and suggests business flex if priced well for fast-track security plus a front-row seat
- Describes crew working the aisles "peddling products in true shopping mall style" for the entire flight
- Hit a chaotic combined bag-drop and visa-check queue as a US passport holder, but got redirected to the business class desk and cleared security in under 10 minutes
- Rates the airline as consistent and good value at fares around £9.99 one-way, provided you pay a little extra to make the experience palatable
- Expected kneecap-crushing legroom on the 52-minute Stansted–Dublin run and was instead quite comfortable in 6A, the first row of standard economy behind the paid premium rows
- Called the aircraft shockingly clean and well maintained — "as spotless as Air Force One" — and was genuinely surprised to find full-size tray tables
- Flags the seats as extremely narrow and extremely hard, with a warning against flights longer than two hours
- Buy-on-board is prepackaged, long-shelf-life cafeteria food with nothing free including water, and you pay a lot for very little; he skipped it without regret
- Boarding was sketchy: the gate was posted just 10 minutes beforehand and priority passengers were left standing on the tarmac in the hot sun for 15 minutes
- Scored the Cork–Luton flight 3.5: legroom and seat width acceptable at 5'8", though the older non-slimline seats feel tight and the padding wasn't great, with a warning for anyone over six feet
- Documents the quirks of this older cabin — no seat pockets at all, air nozzles that are free only because they can't be monetised, aged windows he couldn't see out of at night, and the famous windowless row 11 the booking engine likes to sell
- Advertised €11.99 and €10.99 meal deals weren't loaded onboard at all; only Kit Kats, pretzels and drinks were available, and he judged the pricing expensive anyway
- Crew exist to sell — magazines after takeoff, scratch cards before descent — but he found everyone genuinely friendly
- Admired the operation: 187 passengers boarded and the aircraft turned in about 25 minutes, though passengers were held in a stairwell and walkway and non-priority flyers stood in cold rain