Kenya Airways 737-800 Seat Selection Guide (2026)

Row 17 is worse than an ordinary seat

Most exit-row traps cost you a recline and give back legroom. Kenya Airways' 737-800 has one that costs you both.

Row 17 sits immediately ahead of the overwing exit, and to keep the exit path clear the row is pulled forward. The result is about 29 inches of pitch — three inches less than the cabin standard — and, because the exit is behind it, a restricted recline on all six seats.

You get less room than an ordinary seat and less recline than an ordinary seat, at an ordinary fare. On a booking map it is indistinguishable from row 16.

Rows 18 and 19: the good legroom, and where it actually is

Behind the exit, two rows carry extra space, and they are not equivalent.

Row 19 is the prize — roughly 38 inches, six more than the cabin standard, and unlike 17 and 18 it reclines normally. The only qualification is the windows: 19A and 19J have glass set behind the seat, so the view needs a lean. That still leaves four excellent seats in the row.

Row 18 is the compromise. It is the exit row proper, so the legroom is real, but the recline is restricted and its two window seats have no window aligned to them at all. 18B, 18C, 18G and 18H are decent; 18A and 18J are not what they appear.

The lettering, and the missing row

Two things about this seat map catch people out before they even choose.

There is no D, E or F seat. Kenya Airways letters both cabins A B C | G H J. Business is A and C on the left, G and J on the right. Economy adds B and H as the middle seats. If you are looking for the F window, it is J here.

And there is no row 13. Economy runs 11, 12, then straight to 14. It is a common superstition-driven omission, and it means the row numbers behind it do not line up with a seat count — row 19, the best row, is the eighth row of economy, not the ninth.

Business Class: 16 seats in four rows

A 2-2 recliner cabin across rows 1 to 4, lettered A C | G J. Half the cabin has direct aisle access — the C and G seats — and the A and J window passengers step past a neighbour to reach it.

Row 1 leads the cabin, with extra room ahead at the bulkhead on 1A, 1C, 1G and 1J. That is the row to take, and 1A and 1J are the picks if you want the window with it. Row 4 sits at the back of the cabin against the economy divider.

Business rows here are spaced noticeably further apart than the economy rows behind — the four rows span more than twice the distance six economy rows do — which is what you would expect from a proper regional Business recliner rather than a blocked-middle arrangement.

The window seats that are not window seats

Five seats on this aircraft have no window aligned to the seat position: 14A, 15A, 15J, 18A and 18J. There is glass in each row, but not beside you — 15A, 15J, 18A and 18J look forward to it and 14A looks back.

Six more have a window set behind the seat, so the view is available with a lean: 12A, 12J, 19A, 19J, 29A and 29J.

That is eleven of the aircraft's window seats compromised in some way, out of a cabin that only has about forty. If the view is why you are booking a window, the clean stretch is rows 20 to 28 and 30 to 31.

Row 11 and the back of the aircraft

Row 11 is the front economy row and it does carry genuine extra legroom — unlike the equivalent row on several other African and Middle Eastern 737-800s, this one is a real bulkhead prize. The trade is standard: no underseat storage, and the tray table and video screen live in the armrest, which narrows the seat you sit in. 11C and 11G each get a little extra from a partial bulkhead beside them.

At the back, row 33 is the row to avoid. It is only three seats wide — 33A, 33B and 33C — it sits immediately against the rear lavatories, and all three seats have a limited recline because the lavatory wall is directly behind. Row 32 catches the queue without the recline problem.

Two lavatories serve 129 economy seats, so the rear queue is real but not extreme. Rows 20 to 31 are the clear stretch.

Quick-Pick Summary

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best seat on Kenya Airways' 737-800?

19B, 19C, 19G or 19H — about 38 inches of pitch, six more than the cabin standard, with a full recline and a clean window line. 19A and 19J have the same legroom but a window set behind the seat.

Why is row 17 the worst row?

Because it loses on both counts. Sitting immediately ahead of the overwing exit squeezes it to about 29 inches — three inches less than a standard seat in this cabin — and the exit behind it restricts the recline. Most exit-row traps trade one for the other; this one takes both.

Which seats have no window?

Five seats have no window aligned to them: 14A, 15A, 15J, 18A and 18J. Six more — 12A, 12J, 19A, 19J, 29A and 29J — have glass set behind the seat that you can see out of by leaning back.

Why is there no row 13?

Kenya Airways skips it. Economy runs row 11, row 12, then row 14. It is a superstition-driven omission common across the industry, and it means row numbers do not match position counts on this aircraft.

Does the 737-800 have seatback screens?

Yes — a Panasonic eX1 system with audio-visual content on demand at every seat, in both cabins.

Is row 11 worth booking?

Yes, unusually for a 737 front row — it carries genuine bulkhead legroom rather than the squeezed version several other carriers fit. The trade is no underseat storage and the tray table and screen folded into the armrest, which narrows the seat slightly.

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