A new travel trick could help you land the best seat on the plane but is not without accompanying risks.
The new trend, known as ‘check-in chicken’, sees people leave it until the last minute to check in so that they can bag themselves a more desirable seat.
The theory stems from the belief that some airlines allocate the worst seats on planes first in order to encourage passengers to pay for better ones.
However, this is an idea that has been refuted by numerous different low-cost airlines over the years.
One such believer in the trend is Chelsea Dickenson, who runs the website Cheap Holiday Expert.
She claims that some low-cost airlines ‘actively split up people who have booked together if they opt to ‘skip’ seat selection – as it will cost you money to have to subsequently pay for seats together.
‘In fact, not only will they split you up, but they will often put at least one of you in a ‘bad’ seat, which is often a middle seat or by the toilets at the back of the plane. Or, they’ll simply place you far away from each other.
‘For solo travellers, it’s likely you’ll get a middle seat in a less desirable location, such as not near the front.’
A new travel trick could help you land the best seat on the plane but is not without accompanying risks (File image)
Using this idea would, in theory, help you avoid selecting a less desirable seat – such as in the middle of the plane – when seats are automatically allocated.
Ms Dickenson continued: ‘I’ve been playing check-in chicken for years – even before I knew it had a fun name – and it’s got a pretty high success rate.
‘I’d say it’s worked for me about nine times so far. The key thing is to not leave it too last minute.
‘What I do is check the seat plan throughout the day before my flight, and when I’m happy with the seat selection left, that’s when I check in.’
However, there are other times on a flight when it may be a good idea to simply check in without paying for a seat at all.
For example, on a recent from Ireland to London, this author was allocated a random seat after electing not to pay the extra cost for one – and was given a seat with extra legroom as no other passengers wanted to sit by the emergency exit of the plane.
The tactic does come with an inherent element of risk though – as you may not be able to board your altogether if every passenger has checked in and chosen a seat for their journey.
The new trend, known as ‘check-in chicken’, sees people leave it until the last minute to check in so that they can bag themselves a more desirable seat (File image)
Another point to take into account is that you are unlikely to be able to bag a seat with friends or family.
The only way to guarantee this with certain airlines is to pay the price that comes with having multiple seats together.
Many planes overbook their flights – with Wizz Air and Ryanair having an average load factor of around 94 per cent – so this is not impossible.
if you go to the check-in desk at the airport you might still be able to get a seat on the plane if there are no-shows – which is often the case for many flights.
