TRAVELLERS should avoid one plane seat hack at all costs — unless you want to annoy the passenger next to you.
Flying often feels like an ordeal, with cramped seats and unwelcome surprises around every corner – but there’s one seating hack that can turn an already uncomfortable flight into a real nightmare.
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It seems that many couples and travel companions use a seating trick, booking two seats and hoping the middle seat will remain empty.
Unfortunately, this tactic rarely works as planned and often leaves the unlucky person in the middle seat feeling quite uncomfortable.
Many travelers have shared their woes about landing that dreaded middle spot.
One solo traveler recounted their particularly grim experience.
They told Thrillist: “I booked a window seat and an aisle seat for myself and a companion, hoping that a procrastinating passenger (like me) wouldn’t fill the middle seat.
“But, of course, it didn’t work out that way.
“Here I am, single and squeezed between two people who are happily passing around iPads and snacks, having a full-blown conversation as if I’m just a ghost floating between them.
“This experience has been haunting me, to be honest.”
It seems the travel hack proved a nightmare for this unfortunate passenger who found themselves squeezed between a couple passing snacks and conversing.
Avoiding this supposed hack could save an unsuspected ‘middle seat’ passenger from a terrible and rather awkward journey.
When it comes to flying, there are “unspoken rules”, according to a former flight attendant.
Belinda, who used to work as cabin crew on an international airline, explained that those who don’t follow these unwritten rules make the flight worse for everyone on board.
Speaking to FEMAIL, the former flight attendant explained that before you board, you should always have your boarding pass ready.
She explained how checking the pass is in the interest of the passenger, to make sure that they don’t end up in “Perth if you’re bound for Paris”.
Another in-flight courtesy is to not spend hours in the bathroom, with there being just a few on the aircraft for more than 100 passengers.
Belinda advises passengers to be as “quick and efficient” as possible, being aware of other people using it afterwards.
Being kind to other passengers also involves not opening the blinds during the evening flight if passengers are sleeping.
Instead, she said passengers should avoid this and use the overhead light if choosing to stay awake.
Travellers on a flight should avoid complaining about things outside of the crew’s control, with common grievances being bad turbulence and running out of food.
Belinda explained that they often “don’t know how long turbulence will last,” and they are unable to let them know when it will end.
With regards to running out of your preferred meal options, she revealed that being kind to the crew could mean being given some extra food from their “secret stash” as an apology.
Other ways to avoid annoying the flight crew include bringing extra pens for filling in immigration forms as well as not sleeping in the aisle of the plane in case of an emergency.
Other flight attendants have revealed the worst questions to be asked by passengers.
One is to lift their suitcase for them – something cabin crew are not allowed to do in case they are injured.
