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Flight attendant shares hacks to avoid extra airport costs
ZMG - Buzz60 / VideoElephant
When it comes to travelling, people are always looking for convenient tips and tricks to make the process a little easier and less stressful.
So, it's no surprise people turn to TikTok to seek out helpful advice such as the viral "pillow hack" for packing, or the ingenious iPhone flight hack that could save the day next time you travel.
The latest trend that has been making the rounds is the "check-in chicken" but it does pose some risks and potential added stress to your travels.
What is the ‘Check-in chicken’ airport trend?
It basically involves you waiting around to book a seat until check-ins are almost closed, with the hope that by the time you check in at the last minute the more preferable seats are still available.
(And by more preferable, we're talking those that have extra legroom, or an exit row, and definitely not a middle seat).
According to TikToker @cheapholidayexpert, airlines tend to "palm off" the middle seats along with the seats at the back of the plane first in the hopes that passengers will then pay to change their seats.
@cheapholidayexpert 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
However she added it's important to check in a few hours before the flight, otherwise, you run the risk of not getting a seat since airlines can sometimes overbook flights as typically 5 per cent of customers who not show up for their flight.
To the TikToker's surprise when she looked at the seating plan for her flight there were only two seats left to choose from - it was a close shave there but they did manage to get seats with extra legroom.
While it may have its benefits, the hack certainly comes with some risk - so is it worth the stress?
People in the comments section shared their thoughts.
One person said: "Not worth it getting bumped due to overbooking".
"I've done this before a few times and it does work! Just a risk though," another person wrote.
Someone else added: "Nooo don’t wreck this hack!! I got 29E on Sunday just by checking in an hour before it shut!"
While according to Adam Duckworth, the founder of Adam Duckworth told Fox News Digital noted how doing this can add significant stress to your travels - which let's face it can be pretty stressful even without this gamble.
"To do this properly, you have to regularly monitor seat maps in the last 24 hours before going on a trip. For many of us, the time is better spent packing and getting everything in order around the house before our travels," he said.
"This trend will suck up a lot of your time, and you should ask yourself, ‘What is my time worth?’ And be very careful, because if you do this wrong and wait too long, you could lose your seat all together."
Elsewhere, flight attendant shares 'life-changing' hotel hack.
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