United Airlines Embraer 170 Seat Selection Guide (2026)
✈️ Quick Verdict
Aircraft: Embraer 170 — 70 seats, 6 United First + 64 Economy
Layout: First 1-2, A | C D (rows 1–2) · Economy 2-2, A B | C D (rows 7–12 and 15–24)
Version lottery: No. United flies a single E170 configuration
Best seats — First: 2A — solo seat with its own aisle, clear of the galley
Best seats — economy: 7D — the only Economy Plus window seat with extra legroom and a properly aligned window · 8B, 8C, 9B, 9C, 10B, 10C for the extra pitch without the window problem
Seats to avoid: 10A, 10D, 11A, 11D, 12A, 12D — no usable window · row 24 — no recline, lavatory and galley
Economy Plus: 16 seats — rows 7, 8, 9 and 10, sold at 34-inch pitch against a 31-inch standard
IFE: Streaming to your own device, no seatback screens · Wi-Fi: Air-to-ground, per the cabin record — no system published at aircraft level
The trap: Economy Plus is where the bad windows are
United’s sixteen Economy Plus seats on the E170 are rows 7, 8, 9 and 10 — the front four rows of economy. Eight of those sixteen are window seats, and they are the reason this guide exists.
| Seat | What the seat map shows | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 7A, 7D | Extra legroom, window properly aligned | The two to book |
| 8A, 8D | Around 37 inches of pitch, but the window sits forward of the seat — lean ahead to see out | Amber |
| 9A, 9D | Same — extra pitch, window forward of the seat | Amber |
| 10A, 10D | Extra pitch, and no usable window: the glass sits well behind the seat | Red — avoid |
So of the eight Economy Plus window seats, two are properly aligned, four require you to lean forward to see anything, and two are effectively windowless. A booking map shows all eight as window seats in the paid extra-legroom block.
If you want a window and you are paying for Economy Plus, 7A and 7D are the seats. They are the bulkhead row, which brings its own compromise — see below — but they are the only two in the block where you get the legroom and the view together.
If the window does not matter, the aisle seats in the block are the better buy: 8B, 8C, 9B, 9C, 10B and 10C all carry the extra pitch with nothing recorded against them.
The windowless band continues past Economy Plus
The problem does not stop at row 10. 11A, 11D, 12A and 12D also have no usable window — all six seats from 10A to 12D are rated red for the same reason, the glass sitting well behind the seat position.
That is six windowless window seats in a row on each side of the aircraft, sold as ordinary window seats. Rows 11 and 12 are standard economy, so at least you are not paying extra for them, but if the view is why you chose A or D, the first properly aligned window seat behind the bulkhead is 16A and 16D. 15A and 15D are misaligned again.
United First: rows 1 and 2
Six seats in a 1-2 — a solo A seat on the left, a C/D pair on the right. 1A and 2A both have direct aisle access with nobody to climb over.
2A is the pick. Row 1 backs onto the forward galley: 1C and 1D both carry a galley note for noise and bright light during meal service, and 1C has a partial bulkhead across 60% of the seat frontage. 1D does have the best window rating in the cabin, so if the view outranks the noise for you, take it — otherwise row 2 is the quieter row.
Standard economy: rows 15 to 23
Economy runs 7 to 12 and then 15 to 24. There is no row 13 and no row 14.
Rows 16 to 22 are the clean part of the aircraft — nothing is flagged against any of them, and their window seats are properly aligned. If you are not paying for Economy Plus and you want a window, this is the block to choose from.
The cabin is 2-2, so there are no middle seats anywhere on the aircraft. A pair travelling together gets a pair of seats with nobody else in the row.
The back: rows 23 and 24
The rear galley and lavatory sit behind row 24, and they reach forward.
Row 24 is the worst row. None of the four seats reclines — the wall is directly behind — and all four carry a galley note. 24A and 24B are rated red, with the lavatory immediately adjacent; 24C and 24D are amber.
23B, 23C and 23D are amber for galley noise and light. 23A is the one seat in the last two rows with nothing recorded against it.
Quick picks by traveller
| You are | Book |
|---|---|
| Travelling alone, best seat on the aircraft | 2A in First — solo, own aisle, no galley |
| Paying for Economy Plus and want a window | 7A or 7D — the only aligned windows in the block |
| Paying for Economy Plus, window irrelevant | 8B, 8C, 9B or 9C — extra pitch, nothing flagged |
| A couple | 2C/2D in First, or any pair in rows 16 to 22 |
| Want a window and not paying extra | 16A, 16D through 22A, 22D — the aligned block |
| Tall, not paying extra | Anywhere in rows 16 to 22 |
| On a budget | Rows 17 to 22 — free and completely unflagged |
E170 or E175 — does it matter?
United flies far more Embraer 175s than E170s, and the two look near-identical from the gate. The E175 is the stretched version: same cross-section, same 2-2 seating, more rows. On United’s aircraft the E175 carries 70 or 76 seats depending on the sub-fleet, against 70 on the E170.
For seat selection the important difference is that the E170 is a short aircraft with a short economy cabin, so a larger proportion of it is compromised — the windowless band at rows 10 to 12 is six rows out of sixteen. Both aircraft share the 2-2 layout and the absence of middle seats, which is the main reason to prefer either over a mainline narrowbody on a short flight.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the best seat on United’s E170?
2A in United First. In economy, 7D — the extra-legroom bulkhead window with a properly aligned window, which is the only seat in the Economy Plus block that has both.
Which seats have no window?
10A, 10D, 11A, 11D, 12A and 12D. All six have no usable window — the glass sits well behind the seat. 8A, 8D, 9A, 9D, 15A and 15D are misaligned rather than blank: you can see out, but you have to lean.
Is Economy Plus worth it on this aircraft?
For legroom, yes — 34 inches against a 31-inch standard is a real difference on a regional jet. For a window, be careful: only 7A and 7D combine the extra pitch with a usable window. The aisle seats 8B, 8C, 9B, 9C, 10B and 10C are the safest buy in the block.
Where are rows 13 and 14?
They do not exist. Economy runs 7 to 12, then 15 to 24.
Are there middle seats?
No. Economy is 2-2 and First is 1-2, so every seat is a window or an aisle.
Is there Wi-Fi and entertainment?
Entertainment is streamed to your own device — there are no seatback screens. On Wi-Fi the source is thin: the cabin record names air-to-ground Wi-Fi, but no system is published at aircraft level, so treat connectivity as basic and bring downloads.
How many seats does United’s E170 have?
70 — six United First and 64 economy, sixteen of which are Economy Plus in rows 7 to 10.