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Chelsea Dickenson, a British cheap travel expert, wants a roomy airplane seat without paying for it. So she tries her luck with Check-in Chicken, a gambit that involves delaying check-in until — if you play it right — the airline has no choice but to assign you a premium seat.
“I’ve tried this hack on over 10 flights and the success rate is pretty high,” said Dickenson, 34. “I’d say it has worked nine out of 10 times.”
Check-in Chicken appeals to budget travelers who don’t want to purchase a seat and who take advantage of airlines’ automatic seat-assignment procedures. Early on in the check-in process, an airline will allocate the least desirable economy seats — middle, back of the plane, by the lavatory — to solo passengers and to groups of travelers that it splits up, in the hopes that displeased fliers will purchase seats together or in a better location, Dickenson explained.
Once the carrier has run out of bad economy seats, however, it will free up the better options, such as ones toward the front or with extra legroom. Passengers who check in closer to their departure time can often scoop up these coveted seats.
“If there aren’t any of the free seats left, they’re going to have to assign a seat that would otherwise come at a cost,” said Gary Leff, founder of the View From the Wing blog.
In a recent TikTok, Dickenson waited about 5½ hours before takeoff to check in for her Wizz Air flight from Tallinn, Estonia, to London. Only two seats with extra legroom remained, and she scored both.
But Check-in Chicken isn’t a game for just any flight. Here’s how to play it and win.
Know when to check in
The key context to remember: For the trick to work, the plane must be nearly sold out. Otherwise, “you could still get a rubbish seat due to the fact that there’s not enough people to fill those seats,” Dickenson said.
Conversely, if the plane is overbooked and you check in too late to secure a seat assignment, the airline could bump you from the flight. Though you will receive compensation and a ticket for a later flight, Check-in Chicken might not be worth the risk if you have a strict itinerary.
To make an informed decision, Dickenson will begin monitoring the online seating chart as soon as check-in becomes available, typically 24 hours in advance, and continues until she’s happy with the remaining seats. She will typically pull the trigger six to eight hours before takeoff, she said, when “a handful of good seats are left” and the odds of a good auto-assignment are higher.
Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group, said some airlines will release the more appealing seats at the 24-hour mark, while others will wait to within eight hours or less of departure.
“Airline revenue managers have become a lot more precise in when and how they make premium coach seating available for free selection,” Harteveldt said, “because investors are saying to airlines, ‘We expect you to make money in any way that is legally acceptable.’”
Leff, for his part, recommends waiting until only premium seats are left in economy before pouncing. Don’t hold out for a first- or business-class seat; it’s not going to happen.
A safer seat-upgrade strategy
If you are too chicken to play seat roulette, you can try musical chairs instead.
With this tactic, you’ll have to buy a more expensive ticket with seat-selection privileges. Travel experts then recommend checking in as soon as possible and choosing a seat. Over the next 24 hours, keep an eye on the online seating map, which will change because of the dynamic nature of the seat-assignment process.
“People who were assigned seats may decide to switch them or get upgraded because of frequent-flier status,” said George Hobica, founder of the deals site Airfarewatchdog, “resulting in newly empty seats that were previously off-limits based on your fare class.”
Basically, you’re tracking a domino effect. And if a more appealing seat becomes available, you can move seats for no extra fee.
“Having that seat assignment in your record is better than having nothing,” Harteveldt said.
But he warned not to wait too long on this maneuver, either. If an airline shuts the window on passenger-generated alterations, only an airport agent can change your seat from there. Game over.