Hainan Airlines 787-8 Seat Selection Guide (2026)
✈️ Quick Verdict
Aircraft: Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — 213 seats, 36 Business + 177 Economy, three aircraft
Layout: Business 2-2-2 lie-flat, A C | D G | H K, rows 11–18 · Economy 3-3-3, A B C | D E G | H J K, rows 31–51
Version lottery: No — one configuration across all three aircraft
The trap: 47A and 47K have no window at all — a blank wall, on the aircraft type sold on its oversized windows
Most legroom in Economy: 31H and 31K — 74cm (29in) at the bulkhead. Both sit beside a bassinet position, so 40B, 40C, 40H and 40J are the quiet alternative
Best in Business: 11D and 11G — front row, centre pair, direct aisle access on both sides
Business warning: in a 2-2-2, the A and K window seats climb over a neighbour to reach the aisle. Only D and G are clear
Seats to avoid: row 39 — all nine seats have limited recline against the lavatories · 40A and 40K — exit door curves into the legroom
IFE: Thales i8000, on demand · Wi-Fi: none fitted
Two seats on a Dreamliner with no window
The 787's headline feature is its windows — about 30% larger than a conventional cabin window, with the electrochromic dimming instead of a shade. It is the reason a lot of people pick the aircraft.
47A and 47K do not have one. Both sit at a window position with a blank wall beside them, where the fuselage structure interrupts the window line. You book a window seat, you pay for a window seat, and you get panelling.
Eight more are compromised rather than lost: 32A, 32K, 35A, 35K, 38A, 38K, 40A and 40K each have glass set behind the seat, so the view is available if you lean back. And 50A has a window sitting forward of the seat, which needs a lean the other way.
If the window is why you are choosing this aircraft, the clean window rows in economy are 33, 34, 36, 37, 41 to 46, and 48.
Business Class: which seat, and which half of the cabin
Hainan fits 36 lie-flat Zodiac Aura Lite seats in a 2-2-2 layout — A and C on the left, D and G in the centre, H and K on the right. The cabin is numbered rows 11, 12, 15, 16, 17 and 18; rows 13 and 14 do not exist.
The layout decides more than the row does. In a 2-2-2, only the centre pair reaches the aisle without climbing over anyone:
- D and G — direct aisle access, one on each side of the centre block. The solo traveller's seats.
- C and H — aisle seats in the window pairs, also unobstructed.
- A and K — the true window seats, and you step over your neighbour to get out. Fine if you are travelling as a pair; awkward on a long overnight beside a stranger.
The cabin is also split in two. Rows 11, 12 and 15 form a forward mini-cabin of 18 seats; rows 16, 17 and 18 form a second 18 behind a galley and lavatory break. The forward section is the quieter of the two — fewer people walking through it — and 11D and 11G are the pick of the aircraft: front row, centre pair, direct aisle access, nothing in front.
Two things to know at the edges. 15A, 15C, 15H and 15K sit with a lavatory behind and all four rate poorly for it — though in a 36-seat cabin with three lavatories that is a curtain-separated door and light traffic. And all six seats in row 18 back onto the economy bulkhead, where the bassinet positions are — so if there is an infant on board, row 18 is the Business row that hears it.
Economy: where the legroom is, and what it costs
Economy runs rows 31 to 51 in a 3-3-3 layout: A B C on the left, D E G in the centre, H J K on the right. Note the letter set — there is no F seat, and the centre block runs D, E, G.
Row 31 is the bulkhead row and all nine seats get extra legroom. But they are not equal. 31H, 31J and 31K have 74cm — about 29 inches — to the wall, which the record flags as extra-generous even by bulkhead standards. The left and centre seats in the same row get ordinary bulkhead legroom.
💡 Take 31H or 31K, not 31J. All three have the 29-inch bulkhead. 31J is a bassinet position — families with infants have priority and you may be asked to move. So are 31B and 31E. That leaves 31H (aisle) and 31K (window) as the two seats with the most legroom in economy that you cannot be moved out of.
Be clear about the trade, though: 31J sits between them, so 31H and 31K are directly beside a bassinet position and may pick up infant noise — which is why the cabin data flags them rather than rating them outright best. So do the rest of row 31, and 32B and 32J behind. If a quiet flight matters more than legroom, take 40B, 40C, 40H or 40J instead.
All of row 31 loses underseat storage and carries the tray table and screen in the armrest, which narrows the seat slightly. That is the standard bulkhead trade.
The exit row, and why 40A and 40K are not the prize
Row 40 is the mid-cabin exit row and all nine seats get extra legroom. Three different problems are distributed across it:
- 40A and 40K — exit doors L3 and R3 curve into part of the legroom, starting about 30cm (12in) ahead, so your legs extend at a diagonal. Both also have a misaligned window. They are the two worst seats in the row despite being the ones people reach for.
- 40D, 40E and 40G — a lavatory sits immediately ahead, with the door traffic that implies.
- 40B, 40C, 40H and 40J — the clean four. Extra legroom, no door intrusion, no lavatory directly in front.
Nothing reclines into any of row 40, and none of the row has underseat storage.
The rows to avoid
Row 39 is the worst row in economy. All nine seats have a limited recline — the mid-cabin lavatory bank and the exit bulkhead sit directly behind — and every seat in the row is immediately adjacent to a lavatory door. You take the noise, the queue and the odour, and you cannot lean away from any of it. Row 38 is next to the same block, with 38A and 38K also carrying a misaligned window.
At the back the cabin tapers and the rows get shorter: row 49 loses its B and J seats (seven across), row 50 is five seats — A, C, D, E, G — and row 51 is three, D, E and G. Lavatories sit alongside, and 49H, 49K, 50G, 51E and 51G are immediately adjacent to a door.
The one upside back there: because the rows are short, 49A, 49K and 50A have no seat beside them — an empty space and the underseat storage in it. 49A is the pick of the three: 49K sits hard against a lavatory door, and 50A has no window aligned to the seat. All three trade quiet for elbow room.
Quick-Pick Summary
| Travelling as | Take | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Solo, Business | 11D or 11G | Front row, direct aisle access, quieter forward mini-cabin |
| Couple, Business | 11A + 11C or 11H + 11K | Window pair — the climb-over only matters between strangers |
| Legroom, Economy | 31H or 31K | 29in to the wall, and neither is a bassinet position |
| Legroom, second choice | 40B, 40C, 40H, 40J | Exit row without the door intrusion or the lavatory ahead |
| Window seat | Rows 41–46, A or K | Clean glass — never 47A or 47K, which have none |
| Solo, space on a budget | 49A | Short tail rows leave an empty seat beside you — 49K is lavatory-adjacent and 50A has no aligned window |
| Family with an infant | 31B, 31E or 31J | The three bassinet positions, all at the bulkhead |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Hainan 787-8 seats have no window?
47A and 47K. Both are window positions against a blank wall. A further eight — 32A, 32K, 35A, 35K, 38A, 38K, 40A and 40K — have a window set behind the seat, and 50A has one set forward of it.
Is Hainan's 787-8 Business Class lie-flat?
Yes — all 36 seats are lie-flat Zodiac Aura Lite in a 2-2-2 layout. The catch is aisle access: only the D and G centre seats reach the aisle without stepping past a neighbour, so if you are travelling alone, book those rather than a window.
What is the best economy seat?
31H or 31K — about 29 inches to the bulkhead wall, well beyond a normal bulkhead, and neither is a bassinet seat you can be moved out of. The catch is that 31J between them is one, so both sit beside a bassinet position. If you would rather not risk infant noise, 40B, 40C, 40H and 40J are the clean exit-row seats.
Why is row 39 so bad?
All nine seats have a limited recline because the mid-cabin lavatories and the exit bulkhead sit directly behind, and every seat in the row is immediately adjacent to a lavatory door. It is the one row on the aircraft where both problems land on the same seat.
Does Hainan's 787-8 have Wi-Fi?
No — the cabin record states no Wi-Fi is fitted on this aircraft. Entertainment is a Thales i8000 system with on-demand content at every seat.
How many 787-8s does Hainan operate?
Three, in a single 213-seat configuration. Hainan's larger Dreamliner fleet is the 787-9, which comes in several different layouts — see our 787-9 guide for those.