TUI 787-9 Seat Map & Best Seats (2026)
✈️ Quick Verdict
Configuration: 345 seats — 63 Premium Club in a 2-3-2 across rows 1 to 9, and 282 economy in a 3-3-3 across rows 12 to 46.
Version lottery: Against the 787-8, yes — and the smaller aircraft is better in economy. Same config on the 787-9s wet-leased to TUI fly Nordic.
Best seats: Premium Club — 3A and 3J. Economy — 32B, 32C, 32G and 32H, then 12A/12B/12H/12J.
Seats to avoid: Row 9 of Premium Club (every seat against a lavatory), 7A and 7J (no usable window in a paid cabin), 32A and 32J (an exit door curving into your legroom), and rows 43 to 46.
IFE: Panasonic eX3, gate to gate. Wi-Fi: None recorded on this type.
Premium Club is TUI's paid upgrade on long-haul leisure routes — the Caribbean, Florida, Mexico, Cape Verde. The pitch is a wider seat, more legroom, better food, a bigger baggage allowance. On the 787-9 you are buying into a 63-seat cabin, and it is the largest Premium Club cabin TUI operates.
It is also the one where the back third is worth noticeably less than the front. If you are asking whether Premium Club is worth it, the honest answer on this aircraft is: it depends entirely on which row you end up in, and the rows that are left when you book late are the ones you would not have chosen.
The trap: you can pay for Premium Club and sit next to the lavatory
Premium Club runs from row 1 to row 9. The lavatories serving it sit immediately behind row 9.
- Row 9 — every seat is immediately adjacent to a lavatory. 9A, 9C, 9D, 9F, 9G and 9J all take the door traffic; 9E adds galley noise and light on top. All seven are rated poor.
- Row 8 — not against the door, but in the queue for it, at 8A, 8C, 8D, 8F, 8G and 8J. Only 8E, the centre seat, escapes — which is a strange thing to have to say about a premium cabin.
- 7A and 7J — no usable window view. The window sits well behind the seat, so from 7A you are looking at fuselage. In a cabin sold partly on the experience of the flight, these are the two seats to avoid outright.
That is fifteen of the 63 Premium Club seats compromised in some way, all of them at the back. TUI does not price rows 7, 8 and 9 differently from rows 2 to 6. Choosing your seat at the time of booking is what separates the two.
Premium Club: rows 1 to 9, 2-3-2
Seven across, lettered A and C at the window on the left, D, E and F down the centre, G and J at the window on the right. There is no B or H in this cabin.
Best seats
- 3A and 3J — the only two seats in Premium Club with a properly aligned window, and far enough back to be clear of the forward galley. The best seats in the cabin.
- Row 1, any seat — bulkhead extra legroom across the full width. The trade is no underseat storage, so everything you want during the flight has to go in the seat pocket or overhead.
- 2A+2C or 2G+2J — the cleanest pair of seats for two people travelling together. Nothing flagged against them.
- 5A/5C and 5G/5J, 6A/6C and 6G/6J — mid-cabin, nothing flagged, well clear of both ends.
Choosing within the 2-3-2
The outboard pairs (A+C and G+J) are the ones to want. Two people get a private pair with no third passenger and one aisle to share. In the centre triple, D and F are aisle seats and E is a genuine middle seat with a passenger on either side — the weakest position in the cabin regardless of row. A family of three fits the centre triple neatly; a couple should never end up in it.
Windows
4A and 4J have a window set behind the seat. 7A and 7J have no usable window at all. 3A and 3J are the only pair where the window lines up properly. Everywhere else the alignment is average — usable, not framed.
Economy: rows 12 to 46, 3-3-3
Nine across as A/B/C, D/E/F, G/H/J. The pitch is uniform from row 13 all the way to row 44 — there is no hidden extra-legroom row in the middle of this cabin, and no row that is quietly better than its neighbours. Everything that matters happens at the two bulkheads and at the two lavatory blocks.
Row 12: the forward bulkhead
Extra legroom across the row, no underseat storage, and the tray table and screen live in the armrest, which narrows the usable seat width.
- 12A, 12B, 12H and 12J — the picks. Extra legroom without the galley.
- 12C and 12G — a partial bulkhead covers only about a fifth of the width ahead, so these two pick up genuine extra room to the side. Good aisle seats.
- 12D, 12E and 12F — same legroom, but the forward galley is immediately ahead. Noise and light through every meal service.
Row 32: the second bulkhead, and the second trap
Row 32 sits behind the mid-cabin doors and has extra legroom at all nine seats. On a seat map it looks like the best free economy row on the aircraft. Two-thirds of it is.
32A and 32J — the L3 door curves into 32A's legroom from about 16 inches ahead and the R3 door into 32J's from about 18 inches, so your legs extend at a diagonal rather than straight out. The window is also set behind the seat. Extra legroom on paper, an awkward angle in practice.
32D, 32E and 32F — immediately adjacent to a lavatory ahead. 32B, 32C, 32G and 32H are the four to take: the full bulkhead legroom, no door intrusion, and the lavatory near rather than at your elbow. 32C and 32G are the aisle seats of the four; 32B and 32H are middle seats, so take those only if you are travelling with someone in the aisle beside you. Nothing reclines into any of them.
The mid-cabin lavatory block
A second lavatory bank sits between rows 29 and 32. It compromises more rows than most people expect:
- Row 29 — only six seats, A to F. Every one is against a lavatory, and 29A has no window at all.
- Row 28 — 28B, 28C, 28G, 28H and 28J are against the door; 28A, 28D, 28E and 28F are in the queue.
- 27G, 27H and 27J — the right-hand triple of row 27 catches the same traffic. 27A to 27F are fine.
If you are choosing a free seat in the forward economy cabin, stop at row 26.
The tail
Rows 45 and 46 have only three seats each — D, E and F — as the fuselage narrows. They and rows 43 and 44 are all against the rear lavatories. 43A and 43J have no usable window; 44A and 44J have a misaligned one on top of the lavatory door. The last four rows are the worst block on the aircraft.
Windows in economy
35A/35J, 41A/41J and 44A/44J have a window set behind the seat. 43A and 43J have no usable window at all. Everywhere else in economy the alignment is average or better.
787-9 or 787-8? The economy answer may surprise you
TUI operates both Dreamliner variants on the same leisure network, and they are not scaled versions of one another.
| 787-9 (this aircraft) | 787-8, UK | |
|---|---|---|
| Total seats | 345 | 300 |
| Premium Club | 63 seats, rows 1–9 | 47 seats, rows 1–7 |
| Extra-pitch economy rows | None — uniform pitch throughout | Rows 11, 12 and 13 at about 35in |
| Compromised Premium rows | 8 and 9, plus 7A/7J | 6 and 7 |
| Best free economy seats | 32B/32C/32G/32H | Rows 11–12, outboard |
If you are flying Premium Club, the 787-9 gives you a larger cabin and a better chance of a good row. If you are flying economy, the 787-8 has three rows at roughly 35 inches that the 787-9 has no equivalent of anywhere in 282 seats.
Quick-pick summary
| If you are… | Take |
|---|---|
| In Premium Club, as a couple | 3A+3C or 3G+3J |
| In Premium Club, want legroom | Row 1, any seat |
| In Premium Club, family of three | 5D+5E+5F or 6D+6E+6F |
| In economy, want legroom | 32B, 32C, 32G or 32H |
| In economy, want to sleep | 12A or 12J — legroom, a wall to lean on, no lavatory |
| A family of three in economy | Any centre triple, rows 13–26 |
| Off the aircraft fastest | 12C or 12G |
| Choosing a free seat | Rows 13–26, or 33–42; never 27G–29F or 43–46 |
Comparable guides
- TUI 787-8 seat guide — the companion aircraft, with three rows of 35-inch economy.
- TUI 737-800 seat guide — the short-haul fleet, and a genuine left-versus-right legroom quirk.
- Virgin Atlantic 787-9 seat guide — the same aircraft on many of the same leisure routes.
- British Airways 787-9 seat guide — a four-cabin 787-9 for comparison.
- Norse Atlantic 787-9 seat guide — the closest thing to a like-for-like leisure long-haul comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Is TUI Premium Club worth it on the 787-9?
In rows 1 to 6, yes — a 2-3-2 cabin with real extra width and legroom against a 3-3-3 economy cabin with uniform pitch. In rows 8 and 9 the case is much weaker, because every seat is next to or queuing for a lavatory. If you are buying Premium Club, select a seat in the front two-thirds at the same time.
Which is the best seat in TUI Premium Club?
3A or 3J. They are the only Premium Club seats with a properly aligned window, and they sit clear of both the forward galley and the rear lavatories. Row 1 is the alternative if legroom matters more than window position.
What is the best economy seat on the TUI 787-9?
32B, 32C, 32G or 32H. All four have the mid-cabin bulkhead legroom without the exit-door intrusion that spoils 32A and 32J and without the lavatory that sits right in front of 32D, 32E and 32F. Nothing reclines into any of them either.
Are there window seats with no window?
Yes. 7A and 7J in Premium Club and 43A and 43J in economy have no usable window — it sits well behind the seat. 29A has no window at that position at all. A further six pairs have a window set behind the seat: 4A/4J, 35A/35J, 41A/41J and 44A/44J.
Does the TUI 787-9 have Wi-Fi?
No Wi-Fi is recorded on this aircraft type. The Panasonic eX3 entertainment system runs gate to gate at every seat, so there is plenty to watch, but plan on being offline.
Are the TUI fly Nordic 787-9s the same?
Yes. The 63 Premium Club and 282 economy configuration described here also applies to the 787-9s wet-leased to TUI fly Nordic, so the row numbers hold.