Air Canada Boeing 787-8 Seat Selection Guide (2026)
✈️ Quick Verdict
Aircraft: Boeing 787-8 — 255 seats, 20 Signature + 21 Premium Economy + 214 Economy · twelve aircraft
Layout: Signature 1-2-1 Collins Super Diamond, A D G K, rows 1–5 · Premium Economy 2-3-2, rows 12–14 · Economy 3-3-3, rows 18–42
Version lottery: No — one documented 787-8 configuration across all twelve aircraft
Best seats — Signature: 2A, 2K, 3A, 3K — window-facing solo pods, clear of the row 1 bassinet · avoid 5A and 5K, which have no window
Best seats — Premium Economy: row 13 — the only PE row with nothing flagged against any seat
Best seats — economy: rows 19–23 and 25–27 at the window · avoid 24A and 24K
Seats to avoid: 12A, 12C, 12H, 12K (PE bulkhead against lavatories) · rows 29, 30, 40, 41, 42 · 31A, 31K, 31D, 31E, 31G
Aisle access: 100% in Signature (all 20 are solo pods) · 57% in Premium Economy · 46% in economy
IFE: Panasonic eX3, on demand · Wi-Fi: Intelsat 2Ku satellite, fleetwide
The trap: the extra-legroom seats are the compromised ones
On most widebodies the seats worth paying for are obvious and the seats to avoid are at the back. Air Canada’s 787-8 inverts that. Its three extra-legroom zones — the Premium Economy bulkhead at row 12, the economy bulkhead at row 18, and the mid-cabin bulkhead at row 31 — are the rows carrying the most warnings on the aircraft.
Row 31: extra legroom, a door and a lavatory
Row 31 is the first row of the rear economy cabin, and it has genuine extra legroom because there is no seat in front of it. What the booking map does not show is what is in front of it instead.
| Seats | What is actually there | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 31A, 31K | Exit door L3 curves into the legroom starting 35cm ahead, so legs extend at a diagonal. The window is also set behind the seat | Avoid |
| 31D, 31E, 31G | Immediately against a lavatory door — noise, odours, queuing. 31E is also a bassinet position | Avoid |
| 31B, 31C, 31H, 31J | The genuine extra-legroom seats. 31C and 31H pick up some lavatory traffic | The only ones worth taking |
There is a compensation on 31A and 31K: because the door curves in, no seat reclines into you. If you are tall and travelling alone, that is a real trade to consider. For everyone else, four of row 31’s nine seats are worth having and five are not.
Premium Economy row 12: four red seats in a 21-seat cabin
Row 12 is the Premium Economy bulkhead. It has the extra legroom and no underseat storage that a bulkhead always has. It also sits directly behind the forward lavatories, and 12A, 12C, 12H and 12K are rated red as a result — immediately adjacent to a lavatory door. 12D and 12G face a mostly-full bulkhead covering about 95% of the frontage, so the practical legroom gain there is small, and both pick up lavatory traffic; 12E is a bassinet position, meaning families with infants have priority and you may be asked to move.
In a cabin of only 21 seats, that leaves row 13 as the only clean Premium Economy row. Row 14 is the last row and every seat in it has a limited recline, with a wall, galley or lavatory directly behind.
If you are paying for Premium Economy on this aircraft, book row 13 and take an ordinary seat over a bulkhead seat with a lavatory attached.
Signature Class: 20 solo pods, and all of them work
Signature Class is 20 Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seats in a 1-2-1 layout across rows 1 to 5, lettered A, D, G and K. Every one of the twenty has direct aisle access with nobody to climb over — 100%, which is the best figure available on any layout. What separates the pods is what is outside them, and in two cases the answer is nothing.
There is still a best and a worst.
| Row | Notes | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leads the cabin. 1A sits beside a bassinet position and 1D is one — families with infants have priority there | Fine unless infant noise matters |
| 2, 3 | Nothing flagged. A and K face the windows and are rated best-grade for the view | Best rows in the cabin |
| 4 | Clean. A and K face the windows | Equal to 2 and 3 |
| 5 | Last row. 5A and 5K have no window beside the pod at all; 5D and 5G sit against the galley | Avoid 5A and 5K |
The A and K pods face the windows; the D and G pods face inward toward the centre of the cabin. For a solo traveller who wants to look out, take A or K in rows 2, 3 or 4. For two people travelling together, the D and G pair in the centre is the only way to sit beside each other — every other seat is a genuine solo.
Economy: the good stretch and the two bad ends
Economy is a 3-3-3 in A B C | D E G | H J K across rows 18 to 42. The cabin is split by a mid-cabin lavatory bank and the L3/R3 doors around rows 29 to 31, which is where most of the problems are.
The forward economy cabin: rows 18 to 28
Row 18 is the bulkhead. Extra legroom, but no underseat storage and the tray table and screen fold out of the armrest, narrowing the seat. 18E is a bassinet position.
Rows 19 to 27 are the best block of economy on the aircraft. Almost nothing is flagged. The exceptions are 19E, which sits beside a bassinet position, and 24A and 24K, which have a window set behind the seat. Take a window in rows 20 to 23 or 25 to 27 and you have an unremarkable seat, which on a 214-seat economy cabin is exactly what you want.
Row 28 starts the deterioration: 28C, 28D, 28E, 28G and 28H pick up lavatory queuing traffic, and 28A and 28K have a window set behind the seat.
The mid-cabin problem: rows 29, 30 and 31
This is the worst stretch on the aircraft. Row 29 has seven seats rated red — 29B through 29J sit immediately against a lavatory door. Only 29A and 29K escape, and they still catch the queue.
Row 30 has no centre block at all — only A, B, C and H, J, K, because the mid-cabin lavatories occupy the middle. All six seats are red: a limited recline with a lavatory directly behind, plus the lavatory door beside them.
Row 31 is covered above. The accessible lavatory sits mid-cabin, immediately ahead of row 31.
The rear cabin: rows 32 to 42
Rows 32 to 39 are ordinary, with only 35A, 35K, 39A and 39K flagged for a window set behind the seat. Then the back three rows go wrong at once.
Row 40: 40A, 40B, 40C, 40H, 40J and 40K sit against the rear lavatory doors; 40D and 40G catch the traffic.
Row 41: lettered A C D E G H K — a narrower row. 41A, 41C, 41H and 41K are solo positions with no seat beside them, and 41A and 41K get the extra side space and the underseat storage next to them. All of it is against a lavatory door, and all of it is rated red. It is a genuinely interesting seat attached to a genuinely bad location.
Row 42 is the last row: three centre seats only, D, E and G, all red, all against the lavatories.
Quick picks by traveller type
| You are | Book | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Solo in Signature | 2A, 2K, 3A, 3K or 4A, 4K | Window-facing solo pod, clear of the bassinet and the galley |
| A couple in Signature | 2D/2G or 3D/3G | The only paired seats in a 1-2-1 cabin |
| Paying for Premium Economy | Row 13 | The only PE row with nothing flagged against any seat |
| Legroom in economy | 31B, 31C, 31H or 31J | The four row 31 seats without a door or a lavatory |
| A quiet economy seat | Rows 20–23 or 25–27, window | The cleanest block on the aircraft |
| Travelling as three | Rows 20–27, D E G | Centre block, clear of both lavatory zones |
| Avoid | Rows 29, 30, 40, 41, 42 | Lavatory doors and limited recline throughout |
Entertainment, Wi-Fi and lavatories
The 787-8 carries the Panasonic eX3 system with content on demand at every seat in all three cabins, and Intelsat 2Ku satellite Wi-Fi fleetwide at speeds that support streaming.
Lavatory provision is the quiet story on this aircraft. Signature has three lavatories for 20 passengers. Economy has four for 214 — about 54 passengers each — plus one accessible lavatory mid-cabin, ahead of row 31. Premium Economy has no lavatories of its own and shares with economy. That is why the rows around 29, 30, 31, 40, 41 and 42 carry so many warnings: on this aircraft nearly every lavatory has a row of seats pressed against it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best seat on Air Canada’s 787-8?
2A or 2K in Signature Class — a window-facing solo pod with direct aisle access and nothing flagged against it. In economy, a window seat in rows 20 to 23.
Is row 31 worth booking for the extra legroom?
Only 31B, 31C, 31H and 31J. The L3 exit door curves into the legroom at 31A and 31K, and 31D, 31E and 31G sit against a lavatory door. Row 31 does have one advantage at the window: because of the door, nothing reclines into you.
Which is the best Premium Economy row?
Row 13. Row 12 is the bulkhead but four of its seven seats sit against lavatory doors, and every seat in row 14 has a limited recline.
Does every Signature Class seat have aisle access?
Yes. All 20 are solo Collins Super Diamond pods in a 1-2-1 layout, and all 20 have direct aisle access with nobody to climb over.
Which economy seats should I avoid?
Rows 29 and 30 in the middle of the cabin, and rows 40, 41 and 42 at the back — all sit against lavatory doors, and rows 30 and 42 have limited or no recline. Also 24A, 24K, 35A, 35K, 39A and 39K, which have a window set behind the seat.
How many 787-8s does Air Canada fly?
Twelve, all in this single 255-seat configuration. Air Canada also flies the 787-9 and is introducing the 787-10, both with different cabins.