Viral Airplane Seating Hack Sparks Debate Among Viewers

A mother has gone viral on TikTok after sharing her innovative airplane seating hack, igniting a lively debate among users on the platform.

Jess Darrington, the brains behind ‘Where is Briggs?’, a blog that offers travel tips for parents with young children, revealed her seating hack in a TikTok video that has garnered over 8.2 million views.

In her viral post, Jess explained that passengers can book both an aisle seat and a window seat in the same row while leaving the middle seat empty, with the hope that it won’t be purchased by anyone else.

Her family successfully reserved four seats across two rows without anyone booking the middle seat, allowing them the luxury of having both rows completely to themselves during their 11-hour flight.

Jess shared that she has attempted this hack multiple times over the years, noting different outcomes. Her first experience was with just one child, who was a lap infant at that time. Jess recounted: “It was my husband, myself, and the lap infant, and we were all flying to Europe.

@where.is.briggs
Key word is “sometimes” ✨On our way home from Amsterdam to Salt Lake City we tried this hack and it worked beautifully! We booked four seats (even baby got a seat because she’s not a fun lap infant for that long 😅) #flighthack #travelhack #baby #toddler #familytravel

♬ Star Spangled (Bass Boosted) – SNC

“And when I was booking tickets, the flight was quite empty. So, I thought, ‘I wonder if I put myself and the lap infant in the window and then my husband in the aisle seat… if that middle seat would just remain open.’”

The couple kept an eye on the airline’s seating map, observing that 50 seats were still available. When they boarded the plane, they were pleasantly surprised to find they had an entire row to themselves.

“I kind of gambled a little bit. But when we got on the flight, that middle seat was empty, and it was so nice because we had a little bit of wiggle room,” she said.

While many viewers were intrigued by the seating hack and considered trying it, several solo travelers voiced their frustrations. One user stated, “I can’t stand when people do this and then expect me to move or switch seats.”

Another commented, “Here’s an idea. Just get seats next to each other,” while someone else added, “I’d be the guy refusing to move from the middle just to prove a point.”

This TikTok video is the latest travel hack to capture wide attention, following a viral post that showcased a ‘genius’ airport packing strategy to save money.

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