Airplane Seating Plan diagram below illustrates how seat maps are always forward-facing, so the top of the map is in the front of the plane or cabin, and the bottom is the rear of the plane or cabin. Economic class seats, also called coach or standard seats, are the basic types of airline seats that most people think of when getting on a plane. On most international flights, they tend to be in three-seat configurations so that more people can fit on the airplane. It should be noted here that a single square usually represents each seat — three squares together (i.e., in economy) usually means three seats next to each other. You can create a similar-looking airplane seating plan using EdrawMax Online.