Most travelers believe that getting the best seat on the plane without having to pay for it is impossible. But there is one TikTok travel hack that claims otherwise.
Dubbed “check-in chicken,” the hack looks to exploit the automatic seat assignment used by airlines. According to TikTok user @cheapholidayexpert, who demonstrated the hack in a recent viral video, the idea is to wait as much as possible before checking in for your flight.
Airlines always look to fill out the “bad” seats, including those in the back and middle of the plane, when automatically assigning seats to passengers. But once there are no more of these seats left, they have to start assigning better seats.
The hack worked perfectly for @cheapholidayexpert, who managed to score extra legroom seats with no extra charge by waiting to check in 5.5 hours before the flight.
Was this too last minute?! 😰 🛫 Send this to someone who loves to leave checking in a little too late… 🙈 🐔 WHAT IS CHECK IN CHICKEN? 🐔 Check in Chicken is when you leave your online check in for Wizz Air and Ryanair late in the hope that you get allocated a better seat. 💺 WHY DO YOU GET A BETTER SEAT IF YOU L EAVE CHECK IN LATE? 💺 Wizz Air and Ryanair both do three things: 1. They charge for seats 2. They actively split up people travelling together 3. They often place people in ‘bad seats’ – i.e. middle seats and those away from the exits All of this means that as time ticks on, often the seats that are left available are the ‘good seats’ – i.e. upfront and extra legroom 🤔 DOES IT ACTUALLY WORK? 🤔 Yep! I actually can’t remember the last time I didn’t get an extra legroom seat because of doing this!! ⚠️ BUT WHAT’S THE RISK? ⚠️ The small risk – as you have seen in this video – is that you leave check in too late and there’s no seats left. This is because airlines can overbook planes due to the chance that a small percentage of passengers won’t show up for the flight. Now, technically the airline shouldn’t automatically boot off those that were last to check in – they’re supposed to ask if anyone is willing to give up their seat first (they get another flight plus compensation so some may well go for it) but often they just stick it on those who have left check in chicken a little too late… 😭 HOW BIG IS THE RISK?! 😭 Wizz Air and Ryanair both have a fairly high average load factor – around 94% – and so planes are often close to full. However, it is true that some passengers don’t show up and there are still plenty of flights that aren’t completely full. Overall, they wouldn’t overbook if they were losing money on the situation – which they would be if it happened often since they’d need to rebook your flight, put you up in accommodation if needed and give you compensation. 💁♀️ MY TOP TIP 💁♀️ Don’t leave Check in Chicken until the last moment – you need to be checking the seating plan throughout the day and check in when only good seats are left! 📣 LET ME KNOW… Would you do this?! And has anyone ever been on an overbooked plane?! #wizzair#checkin#overbookedflight
While it is definitely worth trying out this hack, we have to warn you that it comes with its fair share of risks. First of all, the hack will only work with flights that are properly packed. Otherwise, if there is any seat in the back or middle of the plane left, you will get it.
On top of that, there is a risk that all the seats will vanish if you wait for too long. The airlines frequently overbook flights, hoping not all passengers will show up. If they do, those who don’t check in on time will miss out and have to take another flight.
