Viral travel hacks have taken over social media, but some may not be as effective or considered ethical.
A chair hack is catching the attention of Instagram users after a travel enthusiast posted the tip on his personal page, racking up more than 22 million views.
Jorden Tually, a 31-year-old Australian content creator, posted a video of his ‘avoid the middle seat when flying travel hack.”
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Tually has over 3 million followers on TikTok and shares his adventures around the world while on a budget, sometimes even traveling for free.
The latest trending travel chair hack could call your ethics into question and do more harm than good. (iStock)
‘Did you know that with budget airlines when you click on random seat assignment, they deliberately put you in the middle seat, hoping you pay money to get out?’ Tually said in his viral video. “I’m not going to pay nine bucks for a damn window seat.”
He went on to describe his process for avoiding the middle seat while flying.
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Tually pulled up a photo of his flight, which showed some middle seats still open and some window and aisle seats available as well.
The viral hack shows someone purchasing multiple seats in an attempt to prevent the airline from automatically handing out the middle seat. (iStock)
Instead of checking in immediately, Tually opens his browser to the exact flight he’s on and pretends to buy all the middle seats on his flight. In his case it was 10 middle seats.
The website then asked for each passenger’s name, so Tually typed in some random letters as a placeholder.
During the next step he chooses everything the middle seats or “chairs you definitely don’t want to sit in” before returning to his actual check-in.
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“If you do this, the system will hold those seats for about 10 to 15 minutes, and then you book yours,” Tually says in his video.
“You are pretending to book seats that you have no intention of keeping, which is detrimental to the airlines and other passengers who may be looking for seats at the time.”
“So when you go to check in with your authentic ticket, you see that there is no longer a middle seat.”
When Tually went back to his check-in page and clicked the random seat assignment button, he was assigned a ticket a window seat.
Fox News Digital reached out to Tually for comment.
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“To me, this middle seat hack isn’t going to save you enough money for the time it takes to make it happen,” Adam Duckworth, president and founder of Travelmation, told Fox News Digital via email.
Instagram users found the hack both genius and perhaps even problematic. (iStock)
“This video claims the process takes about two minutes, but I’d say it would take a little longer for the average user,” Duckworth wrote.
Besides not being all that topical, Duckworth went beyond the actual mechanics of the hack questions its ethics.
“I also wonder how ethical this hack is. You are pretending to book seats that you have no intention of keeping, which is detrimental to the airlines and other passengers who may be looking for seats at the time,” Duckworth said.
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Other social media users joined the conversation by commenting on Tually’s video.
Instead of trying to hack the system with a travel trend, find a flight that fits your travel budget and avoid additional headaches, experts say. (iStock)
“Finally my algorithm shows me something useful!” wrote one Instagram user.
“Modern problems require modern solutions,” noted another.
“BRO, that’s pretty genius!! Thanks for sharing this epic hack,” one user added.
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While many users found the hack “genius,” others found it problematic.
A viral travel trend shows people going to great lengths to avoid sitting in the dreaded middle seat during a flight. (iStock)
“So because people like YOU make the flights so EXPENSIVE these days! You should be ashamed of yourself,” wrote another Instagram user.
“Embarrassing. People buy the cheapest flights but then cheat on buying the seats. Then they obviously complain about those low cost airlines. Be more mature and fair to others who actually pay for those seats,” one user commented.
Duckworth encourages people to know their preferences and keep them top of mind when traveling, especially when it comes to budget airlines and travel.
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“If you’re looking for a budget-friendly environment, know that you’re getting a budget-friendly seat,” Duckworth added.
“The tip I always give is to include the cost of the flight in your holiday. Find a flight that best suits your budget, choose your seat when booking and enjoy your trip without having to trick the system.”
