Volaris

Volaris is Mexico's ultra-low-cost carrier and one of the country's largest airlines by passengers flown. It runs a dense network across Mexico from bases in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Tijuana, and reaches into the United States and Central America, carrying a mix of leisure traffic, family visits and cross-border commuters. The model is bare fare plus extras: the ticket buys you a seat on the aircraft, and nearly everything else is an add-on.

The fleet is all Airbus single-aisle, and every aircraft flies a single economy cabin from the first row to the last. There is no business cabin to trade up to; what Volaris sells instead is position, with extra-legroom rows at the front and around the exits offered as paid options. That makes the seat map more useful here than at most airlines, because the difference between a decent flight and a cramped one is a row choice, not a cabin choice.

The published layouts cover the A320 in several densities, the A320neo, the A321 and the A321neo in two fits. All of them run a three-by-three economy cabin the length of the aircraft, with the same seat hardware throughout, so the layouts differ in how many rows are fitted rather than in what you sit on.

The differences worth knowing are density and engine generation. The same A320 can turn up with a handful more or fewer rows depending on the fit, and the A321neos run to the highest seat counts in the fleet. The neo-generation jets are noticeably quieter than the older A320s, which matters more than it sounds on a two- or three-hour sector.

This is an unapologetic ultra-low-cost cabin: slimline seats, buy-on-board catering, and a fare structure where seat selection, bags and boarding order are all extras. Go in expecting that and it is a fair deal; the aircraft are young and the cabins are kept tidy.

The extra-legroom rows are the same seat with more space in front of it rather than a different product, sold at a fee and bundled into the airline's VClub membership offers. Whether they earn their price comes down to the sector: on a short domestic hop the standard pitch is tolerable, while on a longer run to the United States the extra space is money well spent.

The front row has the most legroom on most fits, with the usual bulkhead trade-offs: the tray table lives in the armrest, which pinches the usable width slightly, and bags go overhead for take-off. The rows around the over-wing exits are the other space option on several fits, though on some aircraft the exit row itself gives up recline for the hatch, so the published layout is worth a look before paying. Forward rows board and clear faster, which counts when the aircraft is full and the turnaround is quick.

The rear rows sit by the galley and lavatories and draw the queue on a full flight, so they are the ones to skip when you have a choice. Because the same type flies in more than one density, checking the layout for your aircraft shows which rows carry the extra space and how tight the rest of the cabin runs.