Woman secures flight row to herself with booking trick but there's a catch

A woman has revealed her supposed trick for securing an entire row to herself on flights, though her claims have sparked considerable debate online. Rachel, who shares content as @rachelinarealway on TikTok and Instagram, posted her "travel hack for the girls who love a whole row to themselves," acknowledging most passengers would welcome the extra space.

Rachel believes that booking flights using her "corporate email" has resulted in the airline giving her preferential treatment, allowing her to occupy an empty row. She captioned the video: "POV: you started booking flights with your corporate email and started getting put in empty rows."

Nevertheless, numerous people have challenged her technique as inaccurate, including a travel industry professional.

She commented: "Just for anyone genuinely wondering if this is true - I have been a corporate travel agent for a decade and I can confirm it's not true in any way.

"Yes, some companies have discount or loyalty codes (snap codes), but they have absolutely no role in determining which seat you are assigned. Hope this helps!"

Another critic responded: "Omg guys. Do you think the airline isn't going to sell seats because some person has a corporate email? Having extra seats around you is luck. That's it."

One frequent flyer added: "As someone who only flies for business, this is not true. I fly 30ish flights a year and this has never been the case for me."

Amanda Parker, from Netflights, explained: "In the airline industry, there is no credible evidence to suggest that this hack works, besides TikTok videos that have recently been going viral.

"Content creators claim it occurs due to 'corporate companies spending more on business trips than an average consumer'.

"They imply that corporate portals can assign you a plane seat in a section that is less likely to be fully sold out; however, this is not guaranteed, and external factors will impact the results of this hack.

"Airline seating arrangements are influenced by many factors, such as time of check-in, flight bookings, and aircraft type, so passengers can't rely on this hack."

Amanda suggested attempting alternative methods instead to secure an entire row, though she cautioned it remains entirely down to chance, and travellers should likely anticipate sharing their space.

She revealed that selecting a window or aisle seat relies on the psychological tendency of solo passengers to avoid middle seats when making reservations, meaning by choosing the aisle or window position in a three-seat configuration, there's potential nobody else will want the centre spot. "It's a gamble, but you could end up lucky," she noted.

Amanda additionally pointed out that avoiding peak travel periods can prove beneficial. "The quieter the flight, the more likely you are to secure a row to yourself. Flying in peak times will mean flights are more likely to be fully booked, and there is no opportunity for empty seats on the plane," she confessed.

"Avoid flying during holidays and school holidays. Midweek rather than weekend flights, and midday rather than early morning or late afternoon flights will be quieter."