This Plane Hack Could Get You an Entire Row to Yourselves on a Flight

Struggling to find a pair of adjacent seats for you and your partner for your last-minute flight booking?

This simple hack might do the trick, according to a video shared by 25-year-old frequent travelers Oskar & Dan (@oskaranddan) on Instagram, where it received 7.4 million views. The clip was also shared on TikTok, where it has 5.9 million views.

The Swedish couple have traveled together to 100 countries and lived in six. They said that this hack offers "pretty good odds" of getting an entire row to yourselves, having worked around "80-90 percent of the time."

After grinding to a halt following the COVID-19 pandemic, air travel has been climbing back towards pre-pandemic levels.

According to a March 2023 report by the International Air Transport Association, total passenger traffic globally is "now at 84.2 percent of January 2019 levels."

In a March 2022 report by the IATA, overall traveler numbers were projected to reach 4 billion in 2024. This would amount to 103 percent of the total numbers in 2019.

Willie Walsh, the IATA's director general, said in the latest report: "Air travel demand is off to a very healthy start in 2023." He added that, "with strong travel demand continuing through the traditionally slower winter season in the Northern Hemisphere, the stage is set for an even busier spring and summer."

Walsh said China's recent lifting of COVID-19 restrictions for domestic and international travel "bodes well for the continued strong industry recovery from the pandemic throughout the year."

"And, importantly, we have not seen the many economic and geopolitical uncertainties of the day dampening demand for travel," Walsh added.

Oskar and Dan's footage shows different shots of the pair aboard a plane. It begins with a voice saying: "This is why you shouldn't book seats next to each other when you're flying with someone else."

The voice adds: "Of course, you want to fly next to your travel companion. But it's not very comfortable if you also have some stranger sitting next to you for hours. That's why you should always book yourselves the window and aisle seats and leave the middle seats empty."

The poster of the latest viral video said their suggestion of booking a window and aisle seat is "the best method" to secure a row to yourselves. Most travelers will want to "avoid the middle seat at all costs."

A voice in the video explains: "If the flight isn't full, there's a high chance the seat won't be taken. You can enjoy the whole row to yourselves." One half of the traveling duo is shown stretching his legs out in an empty row of seats.

The poster says: "We've done this on all our flights since our first one together in 2015. We've probably had an empty middle seat 80-90 percent of the time. Pretty good odds."

In the "worst case scenario" where you've not been able to get the whole row to yourselves, the poster said some stranger will usually be "happy to give up their middle seat for a window or aisle seat." The pair of you can then at least sit together.

Oskar & Dan told Newsweek the following other "top flight hacks:"

• For those using Apple devices, the traveling duo recommends putting an AirTag in your checked luggage. "That way you always know where it is, even when the airline doesn't."
• Don't delay your check-in. You should "always check in online as soon as check-in opens" for a better chance of bagging a good seat.
• Have one change of clothes with you always. Those flying with checked bags should "always pack at least one change of clothes and some essentials in your cabin baggage in case your suitcase is delayed."

Do you have any travel hacks you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com and your tips could appear in Newsweek.