Where you can fly the best lie-flat seats domestically in October

There's something thrilling about flying in a lie-flat business-class seat for a short domestic flight.

Typically, these top-notch cabins are reserved exclusively for long-haul international flights. After all, in most domestic markets, airlines don't see the demand for flying a wide-body plane that seats more than 300 people, like the Boeing 777.

Yet every so often, you'll find these twin-aisle jets flying on domestic routes. For one, they've long been a staple on premium transcontinental hops from the New York area to Los Angeles and San Francisco. But U.S. carriers often use wide-bodies on even shorter flights during downtime between international flights (or for extra cargo capacity).

And now with most long-haul flying suspended due to COVID, these jets have even more downtime than before. Although carriers like American and Delta are retiring a slew of wide-body planes, there are still plenty of domestic routes operated by internationally-configured planes.

Stay up-to-date on airline and aviation news by signing up for our brand-new aviation newsletter.

Aside from the thrill, flying on a wide-body plane is a great social distancing strategy. In the business- or first-class cabin, American, Delta and United all offer fully-flat beds. Most seats are in a pod-configuration with direct aisle access – far from other neighbors.

Additionally, many of these planes feature a premium economy cabin. However, the airlines don't typically sell the premium economy cabin as a separate fare option for domestic flights. Instead, you can purchase one of these seats for the same cost as an extra-legroom coach seat. (Top-tier elites usually can assign them for free.)

Related: The best premium cabins for onboard social distancing

Not a bad deal considering that the premium economy seat is essentially the same as a standard domestic first-class recliner.

Daily Newsletter

Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter

Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts

Email address

Sign up

By signing up, you will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.

The coach experience on a wide-body is generally above-average. With many flights operating well below capacity, there's a high likelihood that you'll have an empty seat nearby. Plus, airlines outfit their wide-body planes with the best onboard entertainment options — expect seat-back screens loaded with movies, TV shows and more. (Just note that some wide-body economy-class cabins are actually densified compared to the narrow-body equivalent, like United's ten-abreast coach configuration.)

So, I bet you're wondering how to score this long-haul experience on a domestic flight. Well, thanks to October 2020 schedule data from Cirium, you'll find the answer below.

We've listed the routes that are currently scheduled to be operated by wide-body planes by U.S. carriers. Note that you should always double-check the aircraft type before booking — and in the days leading up to departure, too. Airlines are notorious for making last-minute equipment swaps, especially right now because of all the pandemic-related schedule uncertainty.

This analysis only includes flights operated by twin-aisle planes. Delta and United both operate internationally-configured versions of the Boeing 757. (American retired theirs earlier in the pandemic.) This single-aisle airliner sports lie-flats in biz, but the seats aren't the carriers' flagship products.

How to tell if your flight is operated by a wide-body plane

Due to frequently changing demand, airline schedules have been in flux right up until the day of departure. As such, there's no way to guarantee that your flight will be operated by a wide-body plane until you actually board.

But the steps below will allow you to determine if your flight is scheduled to be operated by a wide-body:

1. Find your desired route in the below charts and note the flight number.
2. Use Google Flights, the airline website or another flight search tool to look up the route and flight on your desired date of travel.
3. Check the plane type and seat map before booking.
4. If you see the plane type listed below (as well as two aisles on the seat map), then your desired flight is scheduled to be operated by a wide-body plane.

Note that not every flight listed below will be operated by a wide-body plane on a daily basis. Some are daily, but many others are once-weekly or only on certain days of the week. Be sure to double-check the above steps before booking.

Related: Guide to finding the plane you’re flying on

Domestic flights operated by wide-body planes

American

Delta

Hawaiian

United