Travel expert reveals a simple hack to bag a whole row on a plane when travelling in a pair

Thirteen is deemed an unlucky number – but it has its positive uses, according to one travel expert.

Chelsea Dickenson, who runs cheapholidayexpert.com, has revealed a simple hack to bag the whole row on a plane when travelling in a pair – and booking row 13, making use of the superstitions surrounding the number, is one of the tricks. It’s not a popular row.

Explaining her hack in a TikTok video that has gone viral, with over 260,000 views, Chelsea says that the other vital ploy is to book a window and an aisle seat, leaving the middle seat free.

Chelsea Dickenson, who runs cheapholidayexpert.com, has revealed a simple hack to bag the whole row on a plane when travelling in a pair. She explains her hack in a TikTok video (stills from it above) that has gone viral, with over 260,000 views

The theory, the 31-year-old says, is that passengers are less likely to book a seat in between two strangers.

London-based Chelsea filmed her video on a British Airways flight from Heathrow to Corfu she took with her boyfriend, James, last week.

The footage shows the pair boarding the flight, looking understandably delighted at the sight of a whole row to themselves, then waiting on tenterhooks while the rest of the plane boards.

When they hear an announcement that boarding has been completed, with the middle seat between them still free, Chelsea declares that they’ve ‘bloody smashed it’.

She tells MailOnline Travel: ‘Having the whole row to yourself is just that extra bit of comfort – in fact, it’s exactly the same space you’d get if you were flying in British Airways’ business class offering for Europe, so it’s a great way to get the most for your money.

London-based Chelsea filmed her video on a British Airways flight from Heathrow to Corfu she took with her boyfriend, James. Chelsea says: ‘I wish I could say I was a window seat flyer, but I need the loo too much and so it’s the aisle for me, always’

‘What’s more, in times of Covid, it does feel like a safer travelling experience when you’ve got more space to yourself.’

And her favourite seat on the plane?

Chelsea says: ‘I wish I could say I was a window seat flyer, but I need the loo too much and so it’s the aisle for me, always.’

She adds that travellers should set an alarm for when check-in opens for their flight to up their chances of securing their favourite seat location.

For more tips from Chelsea visit instagram.com/cheapholidayexp, vm.tiktok.com, youtube.com/cheapholidayexpert and cheapholidayexpert.com.

This image shows Chelsea’s middle seat ploy working yet again