Ethiopian Airlines 737-800 Seat Selection Guide (2026)
✈️ Quick Verdict
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 — 154 seats, 16 Cloud Nine + 138 Economy
Layout: Cloud Nine 2-2, A B | J L (rows 1–4) · Economy 3-3, A B C | J K L (rows 11–31 and 33–34)
Version lottery: No. Ethiopian flies a single 737-800 configuration
Best seats — economy: row 18 — extra legroom, full recline, and 18A and 18L have two windows each. All six rated green
Best seats — Cloud Nine: row 1 — all four seats lead the cabin for legroom and all four are rated green
Seats to avoid: 13A — no window at all · row 16 — restricted recline, no legroom · rows 33 and 34 · row 11, the bulkhead
Row numbering: Cloud Nine 1–4, economy 11–34 with no row 32. No D, E, F, G or H seat on the aircraft
IFE: Overhead screens with looped content — no seatback screens · Wi-Fi: None recorded
The trap: row 17 pays the exit-row tax without the full benefit
Ethiopian’s 737-800 has its two exit door pairs at rows 17 and 18 — adjacent rows, both exits. That produces the same three-row pattern that catches people out on every aircraft laid out this way.
| Row | Legroom | Recline | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Standard | Restricted — the exit at row 17 needs a clear path | Worst value on the aircraft |
| 17 | Extra legroom | Restricted — the exit at row 18 is behind it | Legroom only |
| 18 | Extra legroom | Full | Best row in economy |
Row 18 is the row to book and it is not close. All six seats are rated green, they lead the cabin for legroom, they recline normally, and 18A and 18L have two windows each rather than the usual one.
Row 17 is a reasonable second choice if row 18 is gone — you keep the legroom and lose the recline. Row 16 is the one to actively avoid: ordinary legroom, restricted recline, and nothing on a booking map to tell you apart from row 15.
13A has no window
13A is recorded as having no window at this seat position — wall only — and is rated red. It sells as an ordinary window seat in the front third of the cabin, which is exactly where somebody choosing carefully would look.
Interestingly the aircraft is asymmetric here: 13L on the other side of the same row is fine. It is 13A alone.
12A and 12L are a milder version of the same problem — the window is set behind the seat, so you can see out by leaning back.
And then the odd-row pattern
From row 21 the misaligned windows fall into a strict alternation: 21A, 21L, 23A, 23L, 25A, 25L, 27A and 27L all have the window set behind the seat. The even rows in between — 22, 24, 26, 28 — line up properly.
If the view matters and you are seated in the back half of the cabin, pick an even-numbered row.
Cloud Nine: rows 1 to 4
Sixteen seats in a 2-2 over four rows, lettered A B | J L. There is no lie-flat product — these are wide recliners, which is the normal arrangement for a 737 on regional and medium-haul sectors.
Row 1 is the pick. All four seats lead the cabin for extra legroom at the bulkhead, and unusually for a bulkhead row, all four are rated green with nothing else against them — no galley noise, no storage warning. 1A carries the best window grade in the cabin and 1L has two windows.
Rows 2, 3 and 4 have nothing recorded against them either. There is no bad seat in Cloud Nine on this aircraft; row 1 simply has more room.
Economy: the rest of the cabin
Economy runs rows 11 to 31 and then 33 to 34. There is no row 32.
Row 11: the bulkhead trade
Row 11 is the first economy row. All six seats lead the cabin for legroom, and all six lose their underseat storage and take the tray table in the armrest, which makes the seat narrower. All six are rated amber. It is the standard bulkhead trade: room for your legs, nowhere for your bag, a slightly tighter seat.
The clean rows
Rows 14, 15, 19, 20 and the even rows from 22 to 30 have nothing recorded against them. If you want an unremarkable seat with no surprises, that is where to look.
The back: rows 33 and 34
Two lavatories sit behind row 34 and the rear galley behind them. All six seats in row 33 are rated red for lavatory adjacency. Row 34 is worse: red across all six, no recline because the wall is directly behind, and 34C and 34J additionally carry a galley note.
Entertainment: overhead screens only
This is worth setting expectations on. Ethiopian’s 737-800 has overhead screens showing looped audio-visual content — the older style of cabin entertainment, where everybody watches the same thing on a shared screen and there is no choosing and no pausing.
There are no seatback screens, and there is no Wi-Fi on the aircraft either. Bring your own downloads and a charged device.
If in-flight entertainment matters to you on an Ethiopian sector, the 737 MAX 8 and the widebodies are a different experience.
Quick picks by traveller
| You are | Book |
|---|---|
| Flying Cloud Nine | Row 1 — bulkhead legroom, all four seats rated green |
| In economy and tall | Row 18 — legroom and full recline |
| In economy and want a window | 18A or 18L — two windows each. Never 13A |
| A couple | An A/B or K/L pair in an even-numbered row from 22 to 30 |
| Want to get off fast | Rows 14 and 15 — forward, and clear of row 16’s recline problem |
| On a budget | Even-numbered rows 22 to 30 — free, unflagged, aligned windows |
| Avoiding the worst | Not rows 33 or 34, not 13A, and not row 16 |
Frequently asked questions
Which is the best seat on Ethiopian’s 737-800?
Row 1 in Cloud Nine — all four seats have bulkhead legroom and are rated green. In economy, row 18: extra legroom, full recline, and 18A and 18L have two windows each.
Which exit row should I book?
Row 18. Row 17 has the same extra legroom but takes a recline restriction from the exit behind it, and row 16 takes the restriction without any legroom at all.
Which seats have no window?
13A — recorded as wall only, and rated red. 12A, 12L and the odd-row window seats at 21, 23, 25 and 27 have the window set behind the seat instead, which means a restricted view rather than none.
Does Ethiopian’s 737-800 have seatback screens?
No. Entertainment is overhead screens with looped content, and there is no Wi-Fi recorded on the aircraft. Download what you want to watch before you fly.
Does Cloud Nine lie flat on the 737-800?
No. It is a sixteen-seat recliner cabin in a 2-2 layout over rows 1 to 4, with no lie-flat product recorded.
Where is row 32?
It is not used. Economy runs 11 to 31, then 33 and 34.
How many seats does Ethiopian’s 737-800 have?
154 — sixteen Cloud Nine and 138 economy, in a single configuration.