This Flight Booking Trick that May Get You a Row to Yourself Is Dividing the Internet
What do you think?
Courtesy of JetBlue Airways
International flights in economy can be uncomfortable to say the least, however one TikTok creator’s booking strategy to guarantee a whole row of open seats to themselves is dividing the internet.
In by TikTok creator NDAInternet, the social media user books two refundable price seats, along with a primary ticket, and then cancels the refundable tickets 45 minutes before the flight departure, to get a full refund. This leaves the entire row of three seats empty on flights, enabling the passenger to spread out and relax. (The creator dubs the process “Poor Man’s First Class.")
However, some travelers are calling out this practice as being dishonest.
“Very selfish. Somebody may have needed this [sic] tickets.” commented one viewer, with some noting that seats canceled at the last minute would go to a stand-by passenger anyway — leading to passengers who regularly fly standby to thank the TikTok creator in the comments.
“Even if it would work. it's no honorable way to work and eventually will make flying even more expensive.” commented another viewer.
Despite the video saying there is “no catch,” travelers should be aware of the potential consequences and impact from taking this advice.
Beyond the fact that booking and canceling repeated tickets could become a costly endeavor, some airlines actually explicitly prohibit the same passenger from holding multiple tickets on the same flight, or even same city pairing on the same day.
For example, American Airlines Conditions of Carriage says that “Holding reservations for reasons like securing upgrades, blocking seats or obtaining lower fares” is prohibited. American shares that if it finds evidence of seat blocking, it could result in not honoring the refund or even denying boarding. United Airlines has a similar policy in their Contract of Carriage against seat blocking as well.
A friendly reminder that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is - even at 30,000 feet.
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