BA CityFlyer Embraer 190 Seat Map & Best Seats (2026)

BA CityFlyer flies one aircraft type, from one airport, in one configuration. Twenty Embraer 190LRs, all 106 seats, all 2-2, all out of London City. That makes it one of the simplest seat maps British Airways operates — and it hides one of the least obvious problems.

Half the seats are window seats. Nine rows of them have no view.

On a 2-2 regional jet there is no middle seat, so every passenger is either at a window or on an aisle. That is the E190's main selling point over a 3-3 narrowbody, and it is why people pick the A and D columns.

Between rows 16 and 24, every one of those window seats is compromised. Four of them have no usable window at all — 18D, 22D, 23A and 23D — and the remainder sit behind their window, so you lean back to see out. Row 23 is the worst of it: both its window seats are blank wall.

If a window matters to you, the practical instruction is short: book row 12, 13, 14, 25 or 26, or accept an aisle. Rows 15 to 24 are an eighteen-seat stretch where the window column is not really a window column.

Row 11 has the legroom. Row 12 is the better seat.

Row 11 is the first row of Euro Traveller and it measures about 33 inches — four inches more than the cabin standard — because it sits immediately behind the last Club Europe row. It also sits directly in front of the overwing exit, so none of its four seats fully reclines. The exit path behind has to stay clear.

Row 12 is behind the exit. It gets the door's legroom, it reclines normally, and it is the last row in the forward half of the cabin with no window problem recorded against it. All four seats rate as the best in economy; row 11's four rate a step below.

This is the same trap as row 11 on Iberia's A320neo and rows 17 and 18 on Copa's 737 MAX 9, and it catches people the same way every time: the seat with the visible extra space on the booking map is the one that will not recline.

Club Europe: rows 1–10, and no middle seat to block

On BA's Airbus fleet, Club Europe is an economy seat with the middle left empty. On the E190 there is no middle seat, so Club Europe is simply the same 2-2 seat with more pitch — roughly four inches more than Euro Traveller. That makes CityFlyer's short-haul Business the most honest version BA sells: you are getting a genuinely wider-spaced cabin rather than a blocked seat.

The curtain between the two cabins moves with demand, so the row where Club Europe ends changes flight to flight.

• Best in Club Europe: row 2. It is the first full row of four, 2A and 2D have the best-aligned windows on the aircraft, and it is clear of the forward galley.
• Row 1 is two seats only — 1A and 1B. There is no 1C or 1D. Both take the tray table in the armrest, which narrows the seat, and both sit against the forward bulkhead. 1A does have a well-aligned window.
• Rows 3–10 are uniform and all rate well. Sit further forward for a faster exit at London City, further aft if you want distance from the galley.

The back of the cabin

Row 27 is the last row: no recline with the wall behind, and a lavatory and galley immediately aft. Row 26 backs onto the same galley at 26B, 26C and 26D. The compensation is that rows 25, 26 and 27 are the only rows in the aft cabin with no window problem recorded — if you want a view and cannot get row 13 or 14, row 25 is the answer.

Flying into London City

Two things about this operation shape the seat choice more than the map does.

There are no seatback screens, and no WiFi is recorded on the fleet — nothing is streamed to your own device either. On a CityFlyer sector that is usually fine; on the longer routes it is worth knowing before you board.

London City uses a steep approach, which the E190 is specifically certified for. It does not change which seat is better, but it does mean the aircraft is small, the cabin is single-aisle and low-ceilinged, and boarding is by airstairs — sitting forward genuinely saves time on arrival.

Quick picks by traveller

Frequently asked questions

What are the best seats on the BA CityFlyer Embraer 190?

12A and 12D. Row 12 sits behind the overwing exit, so it has the extra legroom, it reclines normally — which row 11 in front of it does not — and it carries no window problem, which most of the rows behind it do.

Which seats have no window?

18D, 22D, 23A and 23D have no usable window — blank fuselage. A further fifteen window seats between rows 15 and 24 have the window set behind the seat, so you have to lean back to see out. Rows 12, 13, 14, 25, 26 and 27 are the rows with no window problem recorded against them.

Is row 11 the exit row, and is it worth taking?

Row 11 sits in front of the exit and has about 33 inches of pitch, four more than standard, but none of its seats fully reclines. Row 12, behind the exit, has the legroom and reclines. Take row 12 if it is available.

Does Club Europe have a blocked middle seat on the E190?

No — there is no middle seat on this aircraft. Both cabins are 2-2. Club Europe on CityFlyer is the same seat as Euro Traveller with roughly four more inches of pitch, and the curtain between them moves with demand.

Does the BA CityFlyer E190 have WiFi?

No WiFi is recorded on the CityFlyer fleet, and there are no seatback screens or streaming to your own device. Download before you board.

Are all BA CityFlyer aircraft the same inside?

Yes. CityFlyer operates twenty Embraer 190s in a single 106-seat configuration, so there is no version lottery here — unusual for a British Airways guide, and the reason this map is worth learning once.

Why does row 1 only have two seats?

A monument on the right-hand side of the cabin takes the C and D positions, so row 1 is 1A and 1B only — there is no 1C or 1D. Both seats have the tray table in the armrest, which makes them slightly narrower than the rows behind.