sneaky

A money-saving expert has shared a simple two-minute Ryanair middle seat hack that could help you avoid being assigned the worst seats on your flight – and it won’t cost you a penny

A savvy deals expert has revealed his top trick for dodging extra seat selection charges on a Ryanair flight with a straightforward two-minute technique. Ryanair is frequently praised by travellers for its budget-friendly fares, as tickets to destinations across Europe can often be snapped up for less than €20.

However, costs can rapidly mount up if you’re not clued up on Ryanair’s various add-on charges, such as bringing additional baggage on board, or opting to check in at the airport rather than online. The fee that frustrates passengers the most, though, is forking out anywhere between €4.50 to €36.50 just to select a specific seat. Prices differ depending on which seat you’re after, and whether you’re keen on extra legroom.

And while the airline recently updated its Family Seating Policy following an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), you’ll still need to pay if you wish to sit alongside someone aged over 11 — or simply want to steer clear of a middle seat.

Now, money-saving guru Jordon Cox, who has featured on ITV’s This Morning and is widely known online as The Coupon King, has unveiled a nifty two-minute hack that stops the airline from lumping you with a middle seat — without spending a single penny.

“Never sit in the middle seat again with this easy trick!” Jordon said at the start of his TikTok video. “There is a way to avoid those awful middle seats on Ryanair without paying for it.”

For the initial stage of his trick, Jordon advises checking the seating chart to identify which seats remain unoccupied roughly five to six hours before the flight’s scheduled departure, and pinpointing those you’d rather avoid. For most travellers, these could be middle seats, or ones close to the toilets.

After you’ve identified your least desirable seats, Jordon proposes opening a second tab on your laptop or phone and creating a fresh booking on the same flight you’re travelling on.

Next, enter some fictitious passenger names, matching the number of seats you’re trying to dodge, and assign the imaginary travellers to those particular seats.

“These seats are then frozen for a few minutes while they’re in someone else’s basket,” Jordon explained.

He noted in the post’s caption: “Hopefully the only ones left are the aisle and the window.”

Following this, simply return to your original booking and opt for random seat allocation. “And boom, you’ve avoided the middle seat for free!” Jordon declared.

Folk quickly flocked to the comments section to express their views on the trick, with one person noting: “Only works if the flight isn’t full.”

Another remarked: “They’ll cop on to this and we won’t be able to do it.”

This isn’t the sole trick Ryanair passengers have discovered to sidestep the carrier’s numerous charges, as many frequently turn to social media platforms to reveal the methods they’ve used to dodge baggage fees, or secure entire rows to themselves for extra legroom.