Have you ever been on a plane, and seen a nice clear empty row that you’d like to take up. A perfectly innocent and harmless thing to do right? Well… it may not be as harmless as you think.

A 21-year-old American flight attendant, Serenity, has taken to TikTok to warn others why they should never switch seats without informing a crew member. Her video has amassed over 97K views and 3000 likes in the short span of a week.

“Here’s a quick little fun fact about planes and why you shouldn’t change your seats without asking a flight attendant..” she says.

Serenity captioned her video with: ‘I was surprised to learn about this during training.” Image Credit: @serenityhaley1​

“Before take-off, we always do what’s called a ‘weight and balance’ just to make sure the weight is good on the plane and the balance is ok for take-off. So when you change your seats, you’re actually changing the balance of the plane. So always make sure you ask just in case.”

Now that’s all fine and well. So how come moving around the cabin after take-off, to head to the loo and such, isn't an issue? Well, there's an answer for that too.

This new found information sparked a massive debate online, with half of the viewers refusing to believe Serenity’s claim, while the other half agreed wholeheartedly.

“I worked regional and people did this. It always throws off the weight and balance. Then they’d think I was lying about it. It happens on big planes too with light loads.” a user wrote.

“If one person changing their seat affects the balance of an aircraft then there’s something wrong.” another argued.

“A single person may not be so much trouble, but if multiple people do it adds up, particularly problematic on small aircraft.” a third added.

Before Serenity’s video was published, multiple pilots had already touched on the issue further proving the validity of her claim.

Darren Patterson told BBC: “The smaller the aeroplane, the more dramatic effect any shift in weight can have. On a large, wide-bodied aeroplane, a single person can move 10 rows of seats and the effect on the balance is negligible…”

"Have that same person move just a few rows on a regional plane or turboprop and the effects are far more dramatic; possibly even exceeding the limits of the envelope. All aeroplanes operate in an envelope of stability. To continuously stay in this envelope, from take-off to touchdown, all weight and its location have to be accounted for." He continued.

Another pilot spoke up about the issue on a Quora thread explaining: “When flights are not full, you will often see whole sections of seats being unoccupied or blocked. This is for weight and balance, just like on smaller planes…”

“It is vital for a safe take-off as the pilots need to set the correct trim, but it becomes less important during the flight. If you are on a fairly empty long haul flight, please stay in your seat for take-off, and feel free to grab a whole row to yourself after the seatbelt sign has been switched off.” He said.

Curious to see Serenity’s full video on TikTok? Watch it below!

​

Credit: @serenityhaley1​

 

[Ricci]

Desperately trying to remember airplane flight!! I know I've done it but it was sooo long ago.

 

[AndreaD]

Reminds me of a trip from Melbourne to Perth, a few years ago. I was going to be charged excess for my 6 kgs over the allowed 32 kgs. When I objected was told every kilo extra makes a difference, so commented that the passenger ahead of me would have weighed at least 90 kgs, while my weight was 52 kgs. Was he paying more than me, and had our seats been organised by weight, as I had no recollection of being asked for size when I had bought the ticket!

 

[Lizzy]

Flight attendant reveals why changing seats on a plane can have HORRIFYING consequences​

Have you ever been on a plane, and seen a nice clear empty row that you’d like to take up. A perfectly innocent and harmless thing to do right? Well… it may not be as harmless as you think.

A 21-year-old American flight attendant, Serenity, has taken to TikTok to warn others why they should never switch seats without informing a crew member. Her video has amassed over 97K views and 3000 likes in the short span of a week.

“Here’s a quick little fun fact about planes and why you shouldn’t change your seats without asking a flight attendant..” she says.

Serenity captioned her video with: ‘I was surprised to learn about this during training.” Image Credit: @serenityhaley1​

“Before take-off, we always do what’s called a ‘weight and balance’ just to make sure the weight is good on the plane and the balance is ok for take-off. So when you change your seats, you’re actually changing the balance of the plane. So always make sure you ask just in case.”

Now that’s all fine and well. So how come moving around the cabin after take-off, to head to the loo and such, isn't an issue? Well, there's an answer for that too.

This new found information sparked a massive debate online, with half of the viewers refusing to believe Serenity’s claim, while the other half agreed wholeheartedly.

“I worked regional and people did this. It always throws off the weight and balance. Then they’d think I was lying about it. It happens on big planes too with light loads.” a user wrote.

“If one person changing their seat affects the balance of an aircraft then there’s something wrong.” another argued.

“A single person may not be so much trouble, but if multiple people do it adds up, particularly problematic on small aircraft.” a third added.

Before Serenity’s video was published, multiple pilots had already touched on the issue further proving the validity of her claim.

Darren Patterson told BBC: “The smaller the aeroplane, the more dramatic effect any shift in weight can have. On a large, wide-bodied aeroplane, a single person can move 10 rows of seats and the effect on the balance is negligible…”

"Have that same person move just a few rows on a regional plane or turboprop and the effects are far more dramatic; possibly even exceeding the limits of the envelope. All aeroplanes operate in an envelope of stability. To continuously stay in this envelope, from take-off to touchdown, all weight and its location have to be accounted for." He continued.

Another pilot spoke up about the issue on a Quora thread explaining: “When flights are not full, you will often see whole sections of seats being unoccupied or blocked. This is for weight and balance, just like on smaller planes…”

“It is vital for a safe take-off as the pilots need to set the correct trim, but it becomes less important during the flight. If you are on a fairly empty long haul flight, please stay in your seat for take-off, and feel free to grab a whole row to yourself after the seatbelt sign has been switched off.” He said.

Curious to see Serenity’s full video on TikTok? Watch it below!

Credit: @serenityhaley1​

Not much different in a boat, the smaller the more of a problem, Note: I said boat not a ship.