A Ryanair passenger has revealed how he has been choosing his seats on flights with the airline for free - and it's a simple feature he's discovered on the airline's app.
For anyone who has flown on the budget Irish airline, the experience of wading through the offered extras sections as you attempt to buy a ticket is a relatable one.
After choosing your destination and flight time you'll be offered the opportunities to rent a car, book a hotel room and treat yourself to a bit of holiday insurance.
You'll also be asked whether you want to reserve a seat, which typically costs £15 or more, or allow a random generator to decide your fate.
Of course the latter option could see you located halfway down the cabin in the dreaded middle seat.
However, TikTok user and avid traveller Rod Adcock claims to have discovered a third option.
"What I do is book a flight, go through all the random bits and then take the option of a free random allocated seat," he explained in a recent clip on TikTok.
"Do not pay. And then just before the flight go back onto the app, click manage in the top corner and then click change.
"Then it shows you a list of all the seats that are empty on the flight. Close the app, do not switch your seat, do not pay for nowt."
Rod says he then boards the flight and finds one of the unoccupied seats, ideally with extra legroom, and then he goes and sits in it.
He claims that he's never been stopped by cabin crew or asked for proof that he has reserved the seat.
While the hack received many plaudits in the comments, some were slightly sceptical about how useful it would be.
One person suggested that the canny Ryanair flight attendants would not be so easily fooled.
"They know which seats are filled. You will often be asked to move. Not worth it," they wrote.
Another suggested that the same outcome could be achieved by simply getting on the plane later than other passengers.
"If you board last, you'll hear 'cabin crew, boarding complete' as you get on and choose any empty seat," they noted.
Flight attendants can often be seen refusing passengers' requests to move into empty seats.
While this may be because they want to earn the airline a little extra cash by requiring them to pay for the privilege, it may also be related to the plane's weight and balance which the pilots use when calculating factors such as fuel for the aircraft.
Meanwhile, the hack works well for solo travellers - but may prove trickier for families who want to sit together as it's highly unlikely you'd find a row of seats you can all claim.
Would you try this hack? Let us know in the comments below.
