Travel vlogger shares 'genius' hack to avoid dreaded middle seat on airplane without paying extra (WATCH)
By Shweta Kumari | First Published Nov 27, 2024, 7:30 AM ISTAn avid flyer has revealed a genius hack that he claimed 'has a 100 percent perfect record,' which allows people to avoid the dreaded middle seat free of charge.
The middle seat on a flight offers minimal personal space, no window view, limited aisle access, and a battle for armrest dominance. To offer a solution, a man has now shared a clever trick to sidestep this dreaded spot entirely, without spending an extra penny.
Jordan Tually, a travel influencer with a knack for budget-friendly hacks, recently revealed his “100 per cent foolproof” method to secure a window or aisle seat without any extra cost. His strategy, detailed in an Instagram video, involves tricks for airline booking systems, holding middle seats hostage—leaving only the more desirable spots for selection.
Latest Videos
"Did you know with budget airlines, if you click random seat allocation, they will intentionally put you in the middle seat in the hopes that you pay money to get out of it?" Tually tells in the video.
Demonstrating the process during a booking with Ryanair for a flight from Bologna, Italy, to Barcelona, Spain, Tually avoided the airline’s $9 seat selection fee. Instead, he devised a workaround. He first examined the flight's seating map, identifying 10 middle seats available. He then “pretended” to purchase 10 tickets, filling the passenger details with gibberish names to bypass the system. When prompted to select seats, he deliberately chose all middle seats before proceeding.
By doing this, the website temporarily held those middle seats for 10–15 minutes, rendering them unavailable to other customers. "And that's when you book yours," Tually explained, urging travelers to open a new browser tab and purchase their actual ticket.
"When you go to check in with your ticket, you can see that there's no more middle seats," Tually said, detailing how the random seat allocation would then favor window or aisle options.
He advised performing this hack closer to the check-in window when fewer seats remain, emphasizing that it works best on a computer.
Internet reacts
The response to Tually's trick has been a mix of admiration and criticism.
A user wrote, "Hahaha dude pay the 9$ it’s worth it. Don’t be so cheap", while another commented, "Great idea, idfk why everyone is so pissed."
Another user commented, "Ticket price hikes because of demand. You will end up getting more expensive ticket."
A third user wrote, "Aaaaand then your ticket just got 10x more expensive."
subscribe to Asianet Newsable WhatsApp channel by clicking here. For more reliable and latest news
subscribe to Asianet Newsable Telegram channel by clicking here.