British Airways A320 Seat Map & Best Seats (2026)

British Airways operates 57 Airbus A320ceos. That is the single largest sub-fleet the airline has — larger than the A320neo fleet, larger than the A319 fleet, larger than any widebody type. If you fly BA short-haul from the UK, this is the aeroplane you are most likely to be sitting on.

It comes in three versions, and the difference between them is not cosmetic. On the eight Gatwick-based Euroflyer jets you can buy a 33-inch economy seat. On the 48 Heathrow jets, the only two extra-legroom rows on the aircraft sit inside the part of the cabin that Club Europe is allowed to swallow — so on a business-heavy departure they are simply not offered to you. Same airline, same route map, same aircraft type.

The version lottery: three layouts, 57 aircraft

All three versions share one physical cabin divided by a movable curtain. Club Europe sits at the front, the centre seat of each Club row is blocked and fitted with a console, and the curtain slides forward or aft with demand — standard European short-haul practice. What differs is how far back the curtain can reach, and what sits behind it.

	Heathrow (48 aircraft)	BA Euroflyer, Gatwick (8 aircraft)	G-MEDK (1 aircraft)
Total seats	180	177	180
Row 1	Six seats	1A and 1C only — a fixed console between them, nothing on the right-hand side	Six seats
Club Europe zone	Rows 1–12 (72 seats, 48 sold)	Rows 1–8 (45 seats, 30 sold)	Rows 1–12 (72 seats, 48 sold)
Exit rows	11 and 12 — inside the Club zone	12 and 13 — always in economy	11 and 12 — inside the Club zone
Best economy pitch you can reliably buy	28–29in	33–34in at rows 12 and 13	28–29in
Rows against the rear lavatory	30 only	29 and 30	30 only
Oddity worth knowing	30A and 30F have no window	1C is a solo throne; no bulkhead screens row 1 from the door	Row 6 has consoles instead of middle seats

The trap: the Heathrow jets hide their legroom behind the curtain

On the 48 Heathrow aircraft, rows 11 and 12 are the overwing exit rows and they measure roughly 34 inches against 28–29 inches for the rest of economy. They are the only rows on the aeroplane with meaningful extra space.

They are also rows 11 and 12 of a Club Europe zone that British Airways caps at twelve rows and 48 sold seats. When Club is sold deep — a Monday morning to Frankfurt, a Friday evening out of Zurich — the curtain lands behind row 12 and both exit rows become Club Europe seats. Euro Traveller then begins at row 13, at 28 inches, and 13A and 13F have a window set behind the seat, so the two nominal window seats in the first economy row are not really window seats.

The practical consequence: on a Heathrow A320 there is no reliable extra-legroom economy seat. If the seat map offers rows 11 or 12 in Euro Traveller, take one. If it does not, nothing on the aircraft is meaningfully roomier than anything else, and you should be choosing on window quality instead.

BA Euroflyer, Gatwick (8 aircraft, 177 seats)

This is the version to hope for, and the three missing seats are the giveaway: row 1 has only 1A and 1C, with a fixed console between them and nothing at all on the right-hand side.

Best seats

• 13A and 13F — roughly 33 inches, full recline, and no exit door behind to restrict the backrest. The best economy seats in the entire BA A320ceo fleet.
• 13B, 13C, 13D and 13E — same row, same pitch. Every seat in row 13 is well rated.
• 12C and 12D — extra legroom and full recline. The two aisle seats of row 12 escape the recline restriction that its window and middle seats carry.
• 1C — if you are in Club Europe, this is a genuine throne. Nobody sits beside you and nobody climbs over you, permanently, by configuration rather than by curtain position. It is the only seat of its kind on a BA A320. The trade-offs: the galley is immediately ahead, the tray table lives in the armrest, and there is no bulkhead screening row 1 from the forward door.
• 18A/18F and 21A/21F — standard pitch, but the window lines up properly with the seat, which most rows in the back half do not manage.

Seats to avoid

• Row 11 A, B, E and F — the false economy. Row 11 gets about 30 inches, only two more than standard, and the backrest is restricted because the exit behind needs a clear path. You pay a selection fee for two inches and a fixed seat back.
• Row 12 A, B, E and F — genuine extra legroom, but the same recline restriction. If you plan to sleep, row 13 is strictly better. If you want to stretch out awake, row 12 is fine.
• Rows 29 and 30 — both sit immediately against the rear lavatories. Two full rows are compromised here, where the Heathrow jets lose only one.
• 14A/14F, 17A/17F and 20A/20F — window set behind the seat; you have to lean back to see out.

Heathrow (48 aircraft, 180 seats)

Four-fifths of the fleet. A conventional 30-row 3-3 cabin with the Club Europe curtain able to travel as far as row 12.

Best seats

• 11A/11F and 12A/12F, whenever the seat map offers them in Euro Traveller — about 34 inches, the only real extra space on the aircraft.
• 22A/22F and 25A/25F — the two best-rated window pairs in standard economy, with the window correctly aligned to the seat. If the exit rows are gone, these are the picks.
• 5A/5F and 7A/7F — the best-rated windows inside the Club Europe zone. If you are travelling in Club and the curtain is set at five rows or more, ask for these.
• 1C — a partial bulkhead covers only about half the width ahead of this seat, leaving extra room on the right-hand side. Row 1 here is a full six-seat row, so 1C is not a throne, but it is the roomiest of the six.

Seats to avoid

• 30A and 30F — no window at this position at all, just wall. They are sold as window seats and are the worst two on the aircraft. 30A is immediately adjacent to the lavatory as well; 30F backs onto the galley instead.
• The rest of row 30 — 30B, 30C and 30D are all hard against the lavatory; 30C, 30D, 30E and 30F also back onto the galley.
• 29C, 29D, 29E and 29F — galley noise and light for the whole flight.
• 13A/13F, 21A/21F and 24A/24F — window set behind the seat. 13A and 13F are the sting, because row 13 is frequently the first row of Euro Traveller and looks like a smart early pick.
• 1D, 1E and 1F — forward galley immediately ahead, and the tray table in the armrest narrows the usable seat width.

G-MEDK: the one-off

A single airframe, inherited when BA bought British Midland International in 2012. It carries 180 seats in the same 30-row shape as the Heathrow jets, with the same exit rows at 11 and 12 and the same compromised row 30.

One thing sets it apart. In row 6, positions 6B and 6E are not seats — they are fixed consoles, drawn exactly the way the console between 1A and 1C is drawn on the Gatwick jets. That gives 6C and 6D direct aisle access with nobody to climb over, and gives 6A and 6F a table rather than a passenger alongside. If you find yourself in Club Europe on G-MEDK with the curtain set at six rows or more, row 6 is the row to ask for. It is the only row of its kind in the fleet, on the only aircraft of its kind in the fleet.

Cabin features, all three versions

Feature	Detail
Cabin layout	3-3, seats A/B/C and D/E/F, 30 rows
Club Europe	Same seat as economy with the centre position blocked and fitted with a console; curtain position varies by flight
Standard economy pitch	About 28–29in
Club Europe zone pitch	About 30in
Exit row pitch	About 33–34in
Seatback screens	None on any version
Wi-Fi	Inmarsat EAN across the whole A320ceo fleet, streaming-capable
Lavatories	Forward, ahead of row 1; rear, immediately behind row 30 — and behind row 29 as well on the Gatwick jets

Quick-pick summary

If you are…	Gatwick (177 seats)	Heathrow / G-MEDK (180 seats)
Tall, want legroom	Row 13, any seat	Row 11 or 12 if offered; otherwise nothing helps
Want to sleep	13A or 13F — space and full recline	22A/22F or 25A/25F
Travelling as a pair	18A+18B or 21A+21B	22A+22B or 25A+25B
Want the view	6A/6F, 8A/8F, 18A/18F, 21A/21F	5A/5F, 7A/7F, 22A/22F, 25A/25F
Off the aircraft fastest	1C, then 2C or 2D	1C, then 2C or 2D
Paying as little as possible	Rows 22–27, any seat	Rows 15–20, any seat
Travelling in Club Europe	1C (throne), then 6A/6F or 8A/8F	5A/5F or 7A/7F — and row 6 on G-MEDK

How to tell which version you are on

1. Count the seats in row 1. Two seats, 1A and 1C, with nothing on the right-hand side: a Gatwick Euroflyer aircraft, 177 seats. Six seats: Heathrow or G-MEDK.
2. Check the departure airport. Euroflyer is the Gatwick short-haul operation and its aircraft stay there. The 180-seat jets fly from Heathrow.
3. Look at where the wide gaps sit on the seat map. Extra space at rows 12 and 13 means Gatwick. Extra space at rows 11 and 12 means Heathrow or G-MEDK.
4. For the one-off, look at row 6. If 6B and 6E are drawn as tables rather than seats, you are on G-MEDK. The registration on your booking or on a flight tracker will confirm it.
5. Do not rely on the aircraft type code. All three are sold as "Airbus A320" and the booking flow does not distinguish them.

Comparable guides

• British Airways A320neo seat guide — 37 aircraft, also 180 seats, a different cabin.
• British Airways A319 seat guide — the smaller sibling, in 143 and 144-seat versions.
• British Airways A321neo seat guide — two batches, and one of them has no AC power at all.
• easyJet A320 seat guide — the direct competitor on most of the same routes.
• Vueling A320 seat guide — another 180-seat A320, laid out differently again.

Frequently asked questions

Which BA A320 seat has the most legroom?

Row 13 on the Gatwick Euroflyer aircraft, at roughly 33 inches with full recline. On the Heathrow aircraft it is rows 11 and 12 at about 34 inches, but those rows sit inside the Club Europe zone and are not always sold as economy.

Why does the seat map show fewer Club Europe rows than on my last flight?

Because the curtain moves. British Airways sizes Club Europe to demand on every departure, up to twelve rows on the Heathrow jets and eight on the Gatwick jets. The seats do not change; the curtain does, and with it the number of rows sold as Club.

Is Club Europe on the A320 a different seat?

No. It is the same seat as Euro Traveller with the centre position blocked and fitted with a console. What you are buying is the empty seat beside you, an inch or two of extra pitch in the forward rows, and the service — not a different chair.

Are there window seats with no window?

Yes. On the Heathrow jets and on G-MEDK, 30A and 30F have no window at that position at all. Separately, 13A/13F, 21A/21F and 24A/24F have a window set behind the seat, so you have to lean back to see out. On the Gatwick jets the misaligned pairs are 14A/14F, 17A/17F and 20A/20F.

Does the BA A320 have seatback screens?

No, on none of the three versions. Inmarsat EAN Wi-Fi is fitted across the whole A320ceo fleet and is fast enough to stream, so plan to use your own device and bring it charged.

Should I pay for the exit row on a Heathrow A320?

If the map offers row 11 or 12 in Euro Traveller, yes — it is the only real extra space on the aircraft. If it does not, do not pay a premium for row 13 just to sit near the front: row 13 is standard pitch and both its window seats have a misaligned window.