A couple shared a booking trick that can secure an entire row on a plane. The method involves booking both the aisle and window seats in a row, leaving the middle seat empty, in the hope no one takes it.
The Trick
In a TikTok video, Lucy-Emma revealed that she and her partner each booked the window seat and the aisle seat in the same row, deliberately leaving the middle seat vacant. They hoped no one would claim that spot, effectively bagging an extra seat without spending extra cash. It worked. After all passengers boarded, the middle seat remained unoccupied, allowing her to rest an injured foot on it and use the tray table for her laptop.
She said: "We decided to do the thing where you book the aisle and the window seat and hope that no one sits here [in the middle seat]. Especially because I dislocated my toe this morning, and I want somewhere to put my feet up."
Reactions and Limitations
Many viewers were surprised, saying they did not know this was an option. However, others admitted they would deliberately book the middle seat to spoil the hack. One commented: "And I'm the a**hole who sits in the middle seat and refuses an offer to swap seats. S*** goes both ways." Another wrote: "I'm that person who purposely books the middle seat just to miff people off."
The method is not foolproof. On fully booked flights, the booking system may automatically assign passengers to empty seats. One viewer noted: "Doesn't this only work if the flight isn't full? If the flight is full, the booking system will automatically put someone there who hasn't booked a seat."
To guarantee extra space, the only reliable option is to book the middle seat yourself, sometimes offered at a reduced rate by airlines.
