Booking seats on flights

[e5]

Hi,

Has anyone done it before where you are booking your seats on a flight, and you tactically choose an aisle seat and a window seat, in the hope that if the flight isn't fully booked that noone chooses to sit in the middle seat?

That's what we've just done on our flight with Ryanair. I'm wondering if it's actually worked with anyone before as I'm sure I have seen this trick on the TV which is what prompted me to do it...

Is it clever or do people think you're a **** for doing that?

[Neversoft]

Since you have to pay to choose your seat on Ryanair, this probably isn't a very valid tactic. Solo passengers or anybody who either doesn't want to pay or doesn't care where they sit could be randomly be allocated a seat in the middle, but I guess it's worth a try. I was on a Ryanair flight a few weeks ago, and was given a window seat on the way out (which I ended up giving away by accident) and a middle seat on the way back. If you're flying with somebody else, wouldn't it make more sense to pick the window and middle seat in case an undesirable is sandwiched between you?

[Hannah]

I've seen people try it who have failed miserably and ended up with someone who didn't book their seats sat in the middle. Whenever I've flown, we've always had the window and middle seat.

What're you gonna do if the flight becomes fully booked? :O

[-:Undertaker:-]

It depends where your flight is. If you're going somewhere mainstream, like Barcelona/Benidorm/Amsterdam/Berlin/etc then the flight is likely to be fully booked so the plan won't work. If you're going on the other hand to Hanoi/Moscow/Bombay and out of season, then it may.

I just tend to pick (for free) the emergency aisle seats as then I get more leg room.

[Zak]

I book an aisle seat on long flights. I don't like waking people to get up and go to the loo. I think deep down it relates to a time I was ill on a plane and had to keep going to the toilet.

[James]

I've never booked tickets on a flight, awk. I've only ever flown once and that was when I was 10. No intentions of travelling again

[TinyFroggy]

I never did that fearing someone being in between me and my friend and if that person doesn't want to change before the take off, well, that's gonna s*ck.

[e5]

Took the risk, i mean all you do is ask to swap don’t you? Like you gotta be weird if you don’t wanna swap for an aisle
or window seat from the middle in between 2 people that know each other. hopefully worth it and if not we’ll just keep talking to each other to annoy them lol

[TinyFroggy]

Took the risk, i mean all you do is ask to swap don’t you? Like you gotta be weird if you don’t wanna swap for an aisle
or window seat from the middle in between 2 people that know each other. hopefully worth it and if not we’ll just keep talking to each other to annoy them lol

Well, I just noticed this awesome tactic XD

[e5]

Well, I just noticed this awesome tactic XD
I'll report my findings. :P

Best case: noone has booked the seat
Good case: they swap with us
Worst case: We've annoyed them on a 4 and a half hour flight

:D

[TinyFroggy]

I love the worst case scenario! It's the 'best' XD