About SeatMap.app

Airline maps are useful, but they rarely tell the whole story. A seat can look fine in a grid and still mean limited recline, no window, extra noise, or a long wait to get off the plane. Frequent flyers learn this over years. Everyone else finds out at 30,000 feet.

SeatMap.app was built to close that gap. A map can draw on airline material, independent references, structured extraction, and editorial checks. The recorded evidence differs by configuration, so the map's confidence label matters. We add practical notes such as legroom, recline, window alignment, galley noise, fast-exit rows, and quiet zones where the information has been assessed.

A verification record and a confidence label describe different things. The record can name a check and its editor. Cross-referenced means at least two distinct, non-human source names are on file and the map has a human review stamp. Single source is the default otherwise. The current rule does not award Verified. Before a map publishes, its seat total is checked against the range we hold for that aircraft type, and a count outside it is refused. We don't hold a range for every type yet, and the range is wide enough that it catches a dropped cabin rather than a stray row, so treat it as a floor rather than a promise. Read the full process in how our seat maps are made.

Who makes it

SeatMap.app is run by John McKean, its founder and editor. He is not an airline insider. He is a frequent flyer with more than 800,000 km behind him and a systems engineer who spent 20 years keeping complex technical data accurate. The verification record on a map tells you who checked it, when that record exists. Seat ratings state the reason behind the verdict instead of asking you to trust a blanket promise.

Who uses it

Frequent flyers use SeatMap to compare cabin refits and pick rows for long-haul. Everyone else uses it to avoid seat 31A next to the lav. Both audiences get the same maps and confidence labels for free.

How we cover the world

We started with Australian carriers because that is where the deepest documentation lives and where we know the most. Qantas, Virgin Australia, Jetstar and QantasLink are where our coverage runs deepest. From there the fleet grew to hundreds of configurations across 202 airlines: the major internationals (Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Qatar Airways), the major US airlines from American to Southwest, plus a long tail of European and Asian carriers most seat sites never bother with.

What it costs

Every seat map is free to view, and you do not need an account to see the good seats. SeatMap Pro is the one paid tier, at US$6.99 a month: it raises how many flights you can watch for provider-reported scheduled aircraft updates. The maps and the verdicts stay free either way.

How to reach us

Found a seat note that is wrong, or an aircraft you want us to add? There is a “Request Configuration” link on every seat map page, or you can reach us on the contact page. We prioritise requests by how many people ask.