A travel hack has taken over the internet with social media users discussing this risky trick.
“Check-in chicken” consists of flyers waiting until check-in is almost closed until booking a seat.
The gamble is that left-over seats that are more desirable, such as extra legroom or an exit row, will be assigned.
One travel influencer who promotes cheap travel hacks posted on TikTok her experience with airlines in relation to “check-in chicken.”
“They pawn off the middle seats or the back of the plane in the hope that you will then pay to change your seat,” the user said in her video.
She says, “If you sit tight and wait, what you will see is they all start to go, and the only ones left are the extra legroom seats and the ones at front of the plane.”
Also known as “check-in-chicken,” said the text added to the video.
The user said it’s good to check in to see the “lay of the land” without selecting a seat, but to keep checking in order to make sure you get a seat.
Adam Duckworth, president and founder of the Florida-based agency Travelmation, told Fox News Digital, “Being a ‘check-in chicken’ will 100% add stress to your day.”
“To do this properly, you have to regularly monitor seat maps in the last 24 hours before going on a trip. For many of us, the time is better spent packing and getting everything in order around the house before our travels,” said Duckworth.
He added, “This trend will suck up a lot of your time, and you should ask yourself, ‘What is my time worth?’ And be very careful, because if you do this wrong and wait too long, you could lose your seat all together.”
Duckworth suggested factoring in the price of flights into vacation travel budgets.
Other flyers have avoided extra fees when it comes to earlier boarding by trying another viral travel trick.
Dubbed “Gate Lice,” the trend has passengers cutting lines in hopes to board a flight out-of-turn.
American Airlines has implemented a new system that audibly flags when a passenger attempts to board the plane before their designated assignment is called and will automatically reject the ticket.
The technology will be rolled out at more than 100 airports in hopes to crack down on “gate lice.”
