I shouldn’t be telling you about this site. The more people who know, the less my competitive advantage is in knowing. But information wants to be free, and at SeatGuru.com, some very valuable information is provided completely free.

SeatGuru.com tells you the subtle and not so subtle differences between the different seats on a couple hundred different aircraft across dozens of airlines. Being allowed to choose your seat on a flight doesn’t mean much if all you can tell from the map is window, aisle, middle, bulkhead, and exit row. SeatGuru has saved me untold angst from seats that don’t recline and window seats that don’t actually have a window, while enlightening me with an extra inch or two of legroom here and there.

Have a look at what SeatGuru said about my seat on last night’s flight:

This was spot-on. I was able to stretch my legs out – possibly even farther than if I had gotten upgraded to what passes for first class on a domestic flight – and they also got very very cold. And because of poor planning, I had to shell out $5 for a salad when I got the munchies mid-flight. The SeatGuru predicted all of this. I am impressed and indoctrinated.

Now when will the airlines get with it and license SeatGuru’s intel instead of using their own pokey seat-picking screens? Maybe people would even pay more for the Guru’s recommended seats…