It’s a fact of life – nobody wants the middle seat, although somebody has to take it. On today’s typically overcrowded planes, one of your main concerns when flying is the seat you will be occupying, and how comfortable it will be. Most of the airlines can book tickets and assign seats almost a year in advance.

When it comes to window or aisle seats, it’s really a matter of personal choice, as both have their advantages. On an overnight flight or a longer flight, it’s easier to sleep in the window seat. You can lean against the wall and you won’t be disturbed by the person next to you getting out of their seat. At the same time, you may have to disturb them – or climb over them - if you are in the window seat and need to get out.

If you have the aisle seat, you can stretch your legs out into the aisle itself although you should be careful of the drinks cart! Claustrophobic passengers or nervous flyers may feel more comfortable in an aisle or window seat – again, it’s largely a matter of personal preference.

One strategy that two people traveling together can try is to ask for the window and the aisle if the aircraft is the type that has three seats across in a row. As nobody actually wants the middle seat, you may be lucky and have an empty seat between you.

Airline reservations agents tend to assign seats at the front first, so this strategy tends to be more successful if you take seats at the back of the plane – on a wide bodied aircraft, you may even be lucky enough to get a row of five seats to yourself.

Apart from the all-important window or aisle question, there are some other things to consider when requesting a seat. You may want to have a view outside, so a seat clear of the wing is important. You may want to have a good view of one of the movie screens or sit next to a power port if you want to use your laptop in flight.

Some seats on the plane are highly sought after – the exit row seats, in the row or rows where the emergency exit door is. These seats have extra legroom although you can usually only get them if you are an elite flyer with the airline, or are traveling on a full fare ticket. You also have to be over 15 years of age.

Bulkhead seats – the seats at the front of the plane with the bulkhead or wall in front - are also desirable. You don’t have anyone with a seat in front of you to lean their seat back into your knees, and some aircraft offer bassinets for babies, which can only be used if seated in the bulkhead row. And if all else fails – and especially if you are the person stuck in the middle seat – always ask to change your seat on the day of departure when you check in. Airlines routinely overbook flights to account for the "no-show" factor and there are always some seats held back specifically to be assigned at check in. Hopefully it will be someone else in that dreaded middle seat – and not you.