If you have ever found yourself hoping to sit in an empty row on a flight, one jet setter has shared her booking tip that can help you do just that.
Chelsea Badger shared her hack on social media, after she used it to snag three seats to relax in while on a plane with Qantas airline. Posting to her TikTok profile @chelsbadger, she revealed the quick step she took right before she boarded the aircraft.
"I recently got a whole row to myself on Qantas and this is how I did it," Chelsea told her 248,000 followers. To be in with a chance of an empty row, she said passengers should wait at their boarding gate for about ten minutes before passengers start to board.
She then said the next step involved logging onto the airline's official app, the Mirror reports. While demonstrating, Chelsea added: “Then open up the Qantas app and click the seat selector tool.
“If there’s a whole row free or even just a better seat, make a mental note of that seat number."
Finally, instead of trying to swap seats on the app, Chelsea recommends asking staff at the gate if they will do it for you.. However, this will only work if you're flight isn't fully booked, as there will be no extra seats to switch to.
“So easy and I can’t believe this works,” Chelsea added. “I’ve done this successfully a few times while flying with Qantas.”
Last year a Ryanair passenger revealed how he had been choosing his seats on flights with the airline for free - and it's a simple feature he's discovered on the airline's app. For anyone who has flown on the budget Irish airline, the experience of wading through the offered extras sections as you attempt to buy a ticket is a relatable one.
After choosing your destination and flight time you'll be offered the opportunities to rent a car, book a hotel room and treat yourself to a bit of holiday insurance. You'll also be asked whether you want to reserve a seat, which typically costs £15 or more, or allow a random generator to decide your fate.
Of course the latter option could see you located halfway down the cabin in the dreaded middle seat. However, TikTok user and avid traveller Rod Adcock claims to have discovered a third option.
"What I do is book a flight, go through all the random bits and then take the option of a free random allocated seat," he explained in a recent clip on TikTok. Do not pay. And then just before the flight go back onto the app, click manage in the top corner and then click change.
"Then it shows you a list of all the seats that are empty on the flight. Close the app, do not switch your seat, do not pay for nowt."
Rod says he then boards the flight and finds one of the unoccupied seats, ideally with extra legroom, and then he goes and sits in it. He claims that he's never been stopped by cabin crew or asked for proof that he has reserved the seat.
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