Ryanair Boeing 737-MAX8 (7M8) Seat Map

Picking Your Spot on Ryanair's 737 MAX 8-200

Seat 2A is the one to grab. It sits behind the row 1 pair with nothing directly in front of it, so you get genuine stretch-out space plus a window — a combination this 197-seat cabin otherwise never offers. Everything else on board is a negotiation between 28-inch pitch, fixed armrests and where the doors are.

The seats worth booking

Beyond 2A in economy, the mid-cabin exit rows 17 and 18 are the volume play: all twelve seats (17A–F, 18A–F) get exit-row legroom, and because the MAX 8-200's extra door pair sits right there, you're also first out when both doors are used for deplaning. If you want the cleanest version, take 17D/17E or 18D/18E — centre-section seats with no door-frame intrusion and no armrest compromise beyond what every seat here has.

Further back, 29A and 29F are the quiet connoisseur's pick in economy: exit-row legroom with effectively nothing in front of you, since 28A and 28F don't exist on this map. The trade is a misaligned window and fixed armrests. The adjacent 28B, 28C, 28D and 28E also carry exit-row legroom, again with fixed armrests.

Up front, 1B and 1C give exit-row space and a 30-second deplaning advantage, and 2D/2E/2F have real knee room at the bulkhead. The MAX 8-200 quirk worth knowing: row 1 is pushed right up against the forward door rather than a proper bulkhead, which looks odd but doesn't cost you legroom.

The seats to avoid

Row 35 is the worst block in economy, full stop — 35A and 35B sit against the lavatory, 35C and 35D get both lavatory and galley, and 35E/35F back onto the galley. Add the last-row fuselage taper, the permanent queue in the aisle and the fact that rear-cabin cleaning on quick turns is the most hit-and-miss part of this aircraft, and there's no version of row 35 that works.

In economy, 14A and 14F are the other hard no: both are windowless, pinned against blank sidewall panelling. That's doubly annoying on this jet because the Sky Interior's larger windows and sculpted panels are one of the genuinely nice things about the cabin, and in 14A/14F you see none of it.

Row 16 (16A through 16F) is the classic pre-exit-row trap — limited recline because the exit row behind can't be blocked, with none of the legroom benefit.

The wildcards

Rows 15 to 22 in economy sit over the wing, so window seats there trade scenery for metal. That includes 17A/17F and 18A/18F — if the view matters more than your knees, drop back to 23A or 24F for a clear look down. Noise isn't the penalty it used to be; the LEAP-1B engines make this the quietest 737 cabin Ryanair flies, and even seats level with the engine are closer to a hum than a roar.

The bulkhead trio 2D, 2E and 2F lose underseat storage, so everything goes overhead for taxi, take-off and landing — fine if you travel light, irritating if you want a book and headphones to hand. Same thought for 2A, 1B and 1C: fixed armrests and tray tables in the armrest mean slightly tighter usable width than the quoted 15.5–17 inches.

Row 16 deserves one defence: if the exit rows are sold out and you value being near the mid doors for a fast exit, 16D or 16E still beats anything in rows 30 to 34, where you get the same thin, lightly padded slimline seat with a longer walk off. There's no power, no wifi and no entertainment anywhere on this aircraft, so position is the only lever you have.