The best seats on QantasLink's Dash 8 Q400, Q300 & Q200

By John Walton, May 19 2011

We're taking our regular look at the best seats to pick on your flight. But this week we're moving away from the massive Airbus A380 and Boeing 747 aircraft that Qantas uses on its longest routes to the smallest planes in the fleet: Bombardier/de Havilland Dash-8 Q400, Q300 and Q200.

Qantas' regional subsidiary brand QantasLink flies Dash-8s all around its eastern Australia operations, and especially into and around Queensland. There are three types of Dash-8 that Qantas currently uses.

The largest -- the Q400 -- holds 74 passengers. The medium sized Q300 seats 50 people, while smallest Q200 seats 36 passengers. They're all four-across planes, with two seats (A & B) to the left of the aisle, and two (C & D) to the right.

The best seats on these small planes are inevitably in the front row, where there's space to stretch out your legs. The rest of the seats are fairly squashed -- although the flights are generally short enough that it's not too much of an issue.

But each of the planes is outfitted slightly differently, and the front row isn't always row 1. Here's a guide to the seats to pick on each plane.

Q400

The Q400 is the largest Dash-8 available, with 74 seats across 19 rows.

The best seats on the plane

1B: the best seat on the plane for tall people, it's an aisle seat on the left hand side at the very front.

1A: a window on the left hand side, the legroom for this seat is reduced slightly because the air-stairs fold into the cabin right in front of you. But it's still a better pick than others in the cabin.

2C 2D: since there's no 1C or 1D, these are the front seats on the left hand side and have extra room.

The worst seats on the plane

Row 19: At the very back of the cabin, these passengers get reduced recline and slightly less legroom than other seats.

Q300

The Q300 is the medium sized aircraft of the three, with 50 seats across 13 rows.

The best seats on the plane

2B: the best seat on the plane for tall people, it's an aisle seat on the left hand side at the very front. Don't be dissuaded by it being row 2: there's a row 1 facing backwards on the other side of the cabin.

2A: a window on the left hand side, the legroom for this seat is reduced slightly because the air-stairs fold into the cabin right in front of you. But it's still a better pick than others in the cabin.

1C 1D: on the right hand side of the cabin, these front row seats facing backwards have slightly more space than other seats in the cabin, although if you like to stretch your legs out then go for seats further back in the cabin or you'll be playing footsie with the people opposite.

2C 2D: facing 1C and 1D, these seats feel like they have more space, but again, if you like to stretch your legs out then go for seats further back in the cabin.

The worst seats on the plane

Row 13: At the very back of the cabin, these passengers get reduced recline and slightly less legroom than other seats.

Q200

The Q200 is the smallest of the Dash-8s, with only nine rows.

The best seats on the plane

1B: the best seat on the plane if you're tall. Tt's an aisle seat on the left hand side where you can really stretch out your legs.

1C 1D: on the right hand side of the cabin, this front row bulkhead has more room than other seats.

The worst seats on the plane

Row 9: At the very back of the cabin, these passengers get reduced recline and slightly less legroom than other seats.

Read on for more Best Seats guides:

John Walton

Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.