What is a bulkhead seat?
A bulkhead seat sits directly behind one of the dividing walls that separate cabins or sections of an aircraft. There is no seat in front of it, so nobody can recline into your space, but there is also no under seat storage and the legroom varies enormously by aircraft.
Bulkhead seat explained
Bulkheads exist for structural and practical reasons rather than passenger comfort. They separate classes of service, screen off galleys and lavatories, and on many aircraft they carry the mounting points for bassinets. That last detail is the one most travelers wish they had known: on long haul flights the bulkhead row in economy is frequently allocated to families with infants.
The trade offs are real in both directions. Nothing reclines into you, the view forward is open and you can usually get up without disturbing anyone. Against that, every piece of hand luggage has to go in the overhead bin for takeoff and landing, the tray table folds out of the armrest and therefore narrows the seat, and the entertainment screen is fixed to the wall rather than adjustable.
In business class the calculation changes completely. On a flat bed cabin the bulkhead row often has more space rather than less, and on some aircraft it holds the widest seats in the cabin. On others it sits directly against the galley, where the noise and light through a full night are worse than any legroom gain is worth.
The practical rule is that bulkhead is not a quality in itself, it is a position whose value depends entirely on the aircraft. Checking the specific seat map for your flight rather than booking the row on reputation is what separates a good choice from a long night beside a coffee machine.
More on bulkhead seat
Sometimes, but not reliably. It depends entirely on the aircraft and the cabin. Some bulkhead rows are the roomiest on the plane and others are noticeably tighter than a standard row.
There is no seat in front of you to put it under. Everything has to go in the overhead bin for takeoff and landing, which means anything you want during the flight needs taking out beforehand.
It varies by aircraft. On some the bulkhead row holds the widest seats in the cabin. On others it sits against the galley, where light and noise through a full night outweigh any extra space.
Because the bassinet mounting points are fitted to the bulkhead wall. On long haul flights those rows are frequently allocated to passengers travelling with infants for exactly that reason.
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