This plane seating 'hack' has the internet split - here's how it works!
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If you’ve ever sat in a cramped plane seat with just inches between you and the passenger beside you on a long-haul flight, then you’ll know just how relieving a little extra leg-room can be.
It’s quite shiver inducing when the leg of someone you don’t know brushes up yours, right? (Bonus ick points if they’re wearing shorts and have hairy legs.)
That’s why we're intrigued by this new airline ‘hack’ that has the internet divided!
It all started when a woman named Hannah Sampson took to Twitter to ask a simple question.
‘People who fly as couples,’ she said. ‘Do you book the aisle and window (seats) and gamble on an empty middle seat?’
‘And people who fly solo: do you hate it when couples do this?’ she added.
The intent of the seemingly innocent hack was put into words by one woman who responded.
‘We’re a “couple” of flying fanatics who do this every time,’ she said. ‘Better chance of getting the row to ourselves.’
So in a nutshell, it appears some people are actually booking window and aisle seats in the hopes of no one wanting to book the seat in between (at least, in planes with three seats on window sides).
Some people were onboard with the idea, surprisingly enough!
‘You have to gamble like this. It’s the only way,’ a user agreed.
‘Yes, always on the off chance it leads to extra room,’ another added.
And a third said: ‘Always, since the last seats to get filled are the middle ones (towards the back). It’s the best chance of having more space and the passenger in the middle is always happy to switch to the window or the aisle.’
Others openly disagreed with the idea, partly because there’s never really certainty that the ‘gamble’, as one user put it, would pay off.
One user said: ‘Nah, aisle or window (seats) plus the window seat. Pretty much a guarantee these days that the middle seat will be filled.’
‘I feel like every flight is full now and that gamble is far riskier,’ another agreed.
And of course, some disliked the hack because of bad experiences with travelers who did the same.
‘(I) typically hate when people do this,’ a user confessed. ‘The few times I’ve been the middle person, the couple stayed in their respective seats but talked, argued, and passed things over me.’
‘If you’re going to stay in the seats you chose, you need to pretend like you don’t know each other.’
Lastly, others offered their own arrangements and explained why theirs worked best.
‘We book seats next to each other. It’s hard enough getting on the plane and getting settled in the tiny space provided without everyone renegotiating their seating deals at the last minute,’ one shared.
Another said: ‘We both sit on the aisle, in the same row, across from each other. We can converse, or not. It’s worked for 44 years.’
‘My wife and I always book the window and middle (seats). I always take the middle… while she gets the window. Happy wife, happy life,’ a third added.
Who knew there were things like this at play in flights!
Now, it’s a fair assumption to make that everyone has their personal seating preferences on flights — it’s just that middle seats are really unpopular.
In one Virgin Australia poll, only 0.6 per cent of respondents chose the middle seat as their seat of choice on a flight. As a result, they even launched a special raffle just to incentivise choosing the location!
However, when it comes to seating etiquette, it’s important to remember that not everyone can be accommodated.
While it might seem like a good idea to get the aisle seat and the window seat, leaving the middle seat free between you and a companion, it’s not an option that suits all.
Keep in mind that during busy periods, it’s likely all the seats will be filled, so even if two people take an aisle and a window seat, they might still end up with a stranger sitting between them.
To put it bluntly, it can be rude to impose on another passenger to switch their seat when it was what they saw was available and chose, so it’s best to be wary of this when playing the seating hack game as not all will trade places with a smile.
Speaking of travel etiquette, you might want to check out what one woman did on a plane that had her co-passengers nauseated, or what one former flight attendant says about the most annoying type of plane passenger.
We’d love to hear your thoughts — is this seating ‘hack’ something people should even be doing in the first place?
Let us know in the comments section below!
It’s quite shiver inducing when the leg of someone you don’t know brushes up yours, right? (Bonus ick points if they’re wearing shorts and have hairy legs.)
That’s why we're intrigued by this new airline ‘hack’ that has the internet divided!
It all started when a woman named Hannah Sampson took to Twitter to ask a simple question.
‘People who fly as couples,’ she said. ‘Do you book the aisle and window (seats) and gamble on an empty middle seat?’
‘And people who fly solo: do you hate it when couples do this?’ she added.
The intent of the seemingly innocent hack was put into words by one woman who responded.
‘We’re a “couple” of flying fanatics who do this every time,’ she said. ‘Better chance of getting the row to ourselves.’
YouTube comedy channel Dude Perfect poked fun at middle seats as ‘The Worst Seat Ever’ in one video. Screengrab Credit: YouTube/Dude Perfect
So in a nutshell, it appears some people are actually booking window and aisle seats in the hopes of no one wanting to book the seat in between (at least, in planes with three seats on window sides).
Some people were onboard with the idea, surprisingly enough!
‘You have to gamble like this. It’s the only way,’ a user agreed.
‘Yes, always on the off chance it leads to extra room,’ another added.
And a third said: ‘Always, since the last seats to get filled are the middle ones (towards the back). It’s the best chance of having more space and the passenger in the middle is always happy to switch to the window or the aisle.’
Others openly disagreed with the idea, partly because there’s never really certainty that the ‘gamble’, as one user put it, would pay off.
One user said: ‘Nah, aisle or window (seats) plus the window seat. Pretty much a guarantee these days that the middle seat will be filled.’
‘I feel like every flight is full now and that gamble is far riskier,’ another agreed.
And of course, some disliked the hack because of bad experiences with travelers who did the same.
‘(I) typically hate when people do this,’ a user confessed. ‘The few times I’ve been the middle person, the couple stayed in their respective seats but talked, argued, and passed things over me.’
‘If you’re going to stay in the seats you chose, you need to pretend like you don’t know each other.’
Getting ample legroom on a flight can be tricky, which is why some have devised strategies to get more space. Stock Image Credit: Pexels/Domenico Bandiera
Lastly, others offered their own arrangements and explained why theirs worked best.
‘We book seats next to each other. It’s hard enough getting on the plane and getting settled in the tiny space provided without everyone renegotiating their seating deals at the last minute,’ one shared.
Another said: ‘We both sit on the aisle, in the same row, across from each other. We can converse, or not. It’s worked for 44 years.’
‘My wife and I always book the window and middle (seats). I always take the middle… while she gets the window. Happy wife, happy life,’ a third added.
Who knew there were things like this at play in flights!
Now, it’s a fair assumption to make that everyone has their personal seating preferences on flights — it’s just that middle seats are really unpopular.
In one Virgin Australia poll, only 0.6 per cent of respondents chose the middle seat as their seat of choice on a flight. As a result, they even launched a special raffle just to incentivise choosing the location!
However, when it comes to seating etiquette, it’s important to remember that not everyone can be accommodated.
While it might seem like a good idea to get the aisle seat and the window seat, leaving the middle seat free between you and a companion, it’s not an option that suits all.
Keep in mind that during busy periods, it’s likely all the seats will be filled, so even if two people take an aisle and a window seat, they might still end up with a stranger sitting between them.
Speaking of travel etiquette, you might want to check out what one woman did on a plane that had her co-passengers nauseated, or what one former flight attendant says about the most annoying type of plane passenger.
We’d love to hear your thoughts — is this seating ‘hack’ something people should even be doing in the first place?
Let us know in the comments section below!
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