QantasLink A320 Seat Selection Guide (2026)
✈️ Quick Verdict
Aircraft: Airbus A320 — two configurations, both all-economy
Config: 180 seats on both. Rows 1–30, 3-3, one cabin, one seat type. No fleet count is published for either type
Version lottery: Yes — and it is invisible at booking. Same seat count, same row numbers, same letters, different cabins
The one-look test: there isn’t one. That is the finding, not a gap in this guide — so book the seats that are right on both
Best seats — either cabin: all of row 13. Six green seats on both, extra legroom on both, and it reclines
Next best: 12C and 12D — the same extra legroom, and the two seats in row 12 that keep their recline
Seats to avoid — either cabin: rows 29 and 30, hard against the rear lavatories, and row 30 does not recline
Where they differ: on Type 1, 29A and 29B are ordinary seats and 30A has no window. On Type 2 the whole of row 29 is compromised and nothing is missing a window
IFE: no seatback screens — content streams to your own device · Wi-Fi: none on either cabin · Power: not documented for this cabin
Same 180 seats, same thirty rows, two different aeroplanes
QantasLink flies the Airbus A320 in two configurations. Both are all-economy. Both seat 180 people in rows 1 to 30, six across, in a single cabin with one seat type. The two types are both configured at 180 seats and laid out differently inside, and the split is recorded as a known one rather than something this guide inferred.
That is a version lottery with no tell. A seat count distinguishes nothing. A row number distinguishes nothing. A seat letter distinguishes nothing. Every number a booking screen can show you is identical across the two, and the cabins behind those numbers are not.
No fleet count is published for either type, so this guide does not offer you odds. What it offers instead is the shape of the risk: which seats are right whichever aircraft turns up, and which seats are a coin toss.
Row 13 is the answer on both aircraft
Row 13 is the one row that is unambiguously good on both configurations. Every seat in it rates best on both. On the Type 1 cabin it measures about 34 inches against a cabin standard nearer 30; on the Type 2 cabin it carries extra legroom alongside row 12. Either way it is the roomiest row in the aircraft that also reclines normally.
That last clause is the whole point. Rows 11 and 12 sit against the two overwing exits, and on both cabins 11A, 11B, 11E, 11F, 12A, 12B, 12E and 12F may not fully recline — the exit behind them needs a clear path. Row 11 pays that price and collects nothing: no extra legroom at all. Row 12 at least gets the legroom, and its two aisle seats, 12C and 12D, keep their recline as well, which makes them the best seats in the aircraft after row 13.
This is the recurring trap on exit-row aircraft, and QantasLink’s A320 runs it twice: the first exit row is the wrong one, and the seat that looks generous on a booking map has a fixed back.
The back three rows are where the two cabins part company
Rows 29 and 30 back onto the rear lavatory bank on both aircraft, and row 30 does not recline on either. The difference is how far forward the damage reaches.
| Type 1 | Type 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Row 28 | Lavatory traffic on 28C, 28D, 28E and 28F. 28A and 28B are clean | All six seats sit in the queuing traffic |
| Row 29 | 29A and 29B are ordinary seats. 29C to 29F are lavatory-adjacent | All six seats lavatory-adjacent and rated avoid |
| Row 30 | All six avoid — no recline, lavatory behind, galley behind. 30A has no window | All six avoid — no recline, lavatory behind, galley behind |
| Seats rated avoid | 10 | 12 |
| Seats with no window | 30A | None |
If you are assigned a seat in the back six rows and you do not know which aircraft you are on, 29A and 29B are the gamble worth taking: ordinary seats on one cabin, lavatory seats on the other. Everything from 29C back is bad on both.
The window seats are not the same window seats
Both cabins misalign some windows — the window sits behind the seat, so you lean back to see out — and the rows affected have almost nothing in common:
| Cabin | Windows out of line at | No window at all |
|---|---|---|
| Type 1 | 2F, 5A, 7F, 14F, 16A, 17F, 23A | 30A |
| Type 2 | 4A, 4F, 25A, 25F, 28A, 28F | None |
There is no overlap at all. Book 5A because it is a window seat and you get a wall on one aircraft and a normal view on the other; book 4A and the same is true in reverse. For a passenger choosing a window seat on the strength of the letter alone, this is the version lottery in its purest form.
The one row where a preference is safe: row 1. On the Type 2 cabin, 1C and 1F sit behind a partial bulkhead that covers only about 55 per cent of the space ahead, which leaves genuine foot room to one side. On the Type 1 cabin the same position is walled off at about 90 per cent, for no practical benefit. Row 1 has no underseat storage and a tray table in the armrest on both, so it is a trade either way.
Cabin features, side by side
| Type 1 | Type 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Seats | 180 | 180 |
| Rows | 1–30 | 1–30 |
| Layout | 3-3, A B C | D E F | 3-3, A B C | D E F |
| Overwing exits | After rows 11 and 12 | After rows 11 and 12 |
| Extra-legroom rows | Row 12, and row 13 at about 34in | Rows 12 and 13 |
| Best row | Row 13 (all six green) | Row 13 (all six green) |
| Seats rated best | 17 | 14 |
| Seats rated avoid | 10 | 12 |
| Entertainment | Streaming to your own device | Streaming to your own device |
| Wi-Fi | None | None |
Quick-pick summary
| Travelling as | Book | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Legroom first | 13A or 13F | The roomiest row that still reclines, on both cabins |
| Solo, aisle | 12C or 12D | Exit-row legroom and full recline, unlike 12A/12B/12E/12F |
| Couple | 13A and 13B | Green on both cabins, with the third seat the only gamble |
| Family of three | Row 13, A–C or D–F | The whole row is green on both configurations |
| Off first | Rows 2–5, aisle | Forward cabin, past the row-1 bulkhead compromises |
| Cheapest acceptable | Rows 14–27, aisle seats | Ordinary seats on both cabins; the window letters are the gamble |
| Avoid | Rows 29–30 — and 28C–28F | Lavatory bank; row 30 has no recline on either aircraft |
How to tell which version you are on
Honestly: before you board, you cannot. There is no seat count, row range, letter scheme or cabin marker that separates them, which is why this guide leads with the seats that are right on both.
Once you are in the cabin, two checks settle it in seconds:
- Look at 30A. If it has no window at all, you are on the Type 1 cabin.
- Look at the floor ahead of 1C and 1F. Genuine foot room past a half-height bulkhead is the Type 2 cabin; a near-full wall is Type 1.
Neither helps you at the moment of choosing, which is the point worth taking away: on this aircraft, the safe strategy is to pick a seat that is good on both rather than to guess.
Comparable guides
QantasLink Embraer 190 Seat Map & Best Seats (2026) — two cabins again, and this time the bulkhead row has no window
Qantas 737-800 Seat Map & Best Seats (2026) — the mainline domestic workhorse, with its own two-cabin split
Qantas A220-300 Seat Map & Best Seats (2026)
Air France A320 Seat Map & Best Seats (2026) — two A320 cabins four seats apart, where the exit rows move between them
Frequently asked questions
Which QantasLink A320 has more legroom?
Neither, in any way you can book. Both are 180 seats in rows 1 to 30 with the same 3-3 layout, and row 13 is the roomiest row on both. The differences are in which specific seats are compromised, not in overall pitch.
What is the best seat on a QantasLink A320?
13A or 13F for a window, 13C or 13D for an aisle. Row 13 rates best across all six seats on both configurations — extra legroom, and unlike row 12 it reclines normally.
Why can I not recline in row 11 or row 12?
Both rows sit ahead of an overwing exit, and the seats beside the exits — A, B, E and F — must leave a clear path. Row 11 loses recline without gaining any legroom, which makes it the worst of the two. Row 12 at least gains the legroom, and 12C and 12D keep their recline because they are not beside a door.
Does the QantasLink A320 have Wi-Fi or seatback screens?
No to both. Neither configuration has seatback entertainment; content streams to your own device, and no Wi-Fi is recorded on either cabin.
How many A320s does QantasLink operate?
No count is published for either configuration, so this guide does not quote one. Where a fleet total exists elsewhere it will not tell you which of the two cabins you are booked on, which is the number that actually matters here.
Are rows 29 and 30 really that bad?
Yes, on both aircraft. Row 30 does not recline at all, has a lavatory immediately behind and a galley alongside, and every seat in it is rated avoid on both configurations. Row 29 is rated avoid across all six seats on the Type 2 cabin and from 29C back on the Type 1.