Ryanair passengers heading off for a bit of sun are being told there may be a way to improve where they sit - without paying the airline's seat fee. It's a gamble rather than a guarantee, but it could save travellers up to £38 a person if it works.
Seat-picking costs on Ryanair
Seat-picking on Ryanair can be a pricey add-on, with charges changing by route, date and when you buy. The airline's own pricing table shows it can be just a few pounds if booked early, but can climb to £38 per seat if you book at the airport desk.
If you don't want to pay, you can take the free 'random' seat option and let the system decide once online check-in opens (up to 24 hours before departure). The downside is you're handing over control - and many people reckon the algorithm isn't exactly generous.
The dummy booking workaround
According to reports, the system tends to assign middle seats to passengers first, while holding back window and aisle seats. That can leave some travellers wedged between strangers with the least room to move, reports the Mirror.
ITV This Morning money-saving expert Jordon Cox has shared a workaround that he claims can nudge your odds in the right direction. In his version, you check what seats are still available a few hours before the flight, then use a separate "dummy" booking to temporarily hold the seats you don't want.
He said: "On the day that you're checking in (I recommend about five to six hours before your flight), go into seat selection and see what seats are still available. A lot of these will be middle seats."
"Go to a separate tab and make a new booking for the flight you're on. Put in some bogus names, then select each person a 'seat' in the places you DON'T want to sit. Because you've selected all those seats, and they're in 'someone else's' basket - for a short time, you can't be sat there."
"That's your cue to go back to your actual booking, and check-in with 'random' seat selection. You'll be placed in one of the remaining seats - hopefully the only ones left are the aisle and the window."
Timing and extra legroom chances
Some online forums also claim that timing matters, with some travellers saying the sweet spot is to check in relatively late. By then, early check-ins may already have been slotted into fixed blocks, shrinking the pool and sometimes leaving better leftovers.
There's also a slim chance of being placed into an extra-legroom seat for free - but only if the plane's nearly full and options run out. The theory is that certain rows can't be left entirely empty for operational and safety reasons, so they may be released into the free allocation at the last moment.
Even if you cannot bag premium seats near the front, there are some lesser-known seats with perks that money cannot buy. For example, on Ryanair, passengers might find a little extra legroom when choosing seats D, E, or F in rows 3 to 15.
