I always play ‘check-in chicken’ on flights – it works a treat

A few months ago, I was one of the last people to check in for my flight to Krakow – and I was thrilled to be doing so. 

There’s a nerve-wracking buzz to playing what I call ‘check-in chicken’, one of my favourite flight hacks that requires you to leave online check-in until the very last moment in hopes of scoring one of the airline’s best seats – for free.

Sounds risky, I know. But after years of flying on a budget, I’ve learned a thing or two about how they operate. And more often than not, my method lands me a seat with extra legroom without paying a penny.

A few years back, I left it slightly too late to check in for a Ryanair flight to Lisbon.

Panicked, I hurried through the online form with minutes to spare and was stunned to see that, rather than the dregs of the seating chart, I’d been given an aisle seat in an exit row.

I wasn’t about to question my luck, but something clicked. Often, when checking in much earlier, I’d be assigned a middle seat in the middle of the plane. These low cost airlines would then allow me to change it for a fee. 

Therefore, I assumed that if the worst seats are dished out first, it makes sense that leaving it until the very end would increase your chances of getting the more desirable seats that come with a higher price. For Ryanair and Wizz Air, that often means front row or extra legroom seats.

Let me be clear: this is not for those who easily get stressed when travelling.

You need a cool head, a charged phone and a very firm grasp on when online check-in closes. For Ryanair, this is two hours before departure, and three for Wizz Air.

If you miss the deadline, you’ll have to pay a fee at the airport to check in at the desk instead, which could cost you up to £55.

But if you get it right, the payoff is real.

I’ve done this countless times now and 90% of the time, I get brilliant seats. That’s how I ended up in 1C on a completely full flight from Krakow to London.

I didn’t pay a thing for my extra legroom in the first row seat, and my knees couldn’t have been happier.

I often get asked if check-in chicken works on other airlines too and whilst the above logic means that the best seats could be left until last on the likes of easyJet and British Airways, I’ve found that these types of airlines aren’t so deliberate in doling out the worst seats first. 

Plus, if you’re travelling with someone, many airlines won’t actively separate you like Ryanair and Wizz Air do and so there’s even a reason to check in early with them instead to cinch those seats together.

However, if you’re travelling alone, it may still be worth a punt.

If you have not paid for seats, online check in opens 24 hours before your flight for both Ryanair and Wizz Air. 

It’s from this point that I start checking the seat map to see how booked up the plane is looking. To access this, you simply start the online check in process and when it gets to the ‘Seats’ section, you pretend that you’re going to pay for one which will then open up the seat map.

Then, it’s simply a case of checking this throughout the day until you’re happy with the remaining seats, and then opting to not pay for a seat and completing check in.

And this here is the key: I rarely leave it until the actual very last minute before online check-in closes. In fact, I often find that by 6 hours to go there’s only ‘good’ seats left – ones with extra legroom, seats on the front rows or simply non-middle aisle seats.  

Of course, if your plane isn’t particularly booked up then this hack won’t work, but you’ll be in the exact same position as you would have been if you were checking in earlier – so, nothing lost.

Yet, to be fair, there are some risks.

First and foremost, you may leave it so late that you forget to check in and then get hit with a fee at the airport. That’s why I always set several alarms on my phone to remind me.

Secondly, if a flight is overbooked, checking in too late could mean there’s no seats left and that you have to go to the check in desk to be allocated a seat on arrival at the airport, which is a real faff. 

Since there are often passengers that don’t show up for a flight, it’s unlikely that you won’t be able to fly but there is always a small chance that you could be bumped to another flight – though you would get compensation if this were to happen.

Finally, if you’re flying with friends or family, be prepared to be separated. The algorithm isn’t interested in keeping your group together – it just wants to fill every last seat.

But for solo travel or if you don’t mind being split up? I say lean into the chaos!

I now use ‘check-in chicken’ every time I fly with Ryanair or Wizz Air, unless I’ve got a work event or tight connection that absolutely can’t go wrong.

It’s a little game I play with the airline, and the smug feeling of sitting in the best seat while knowing I paid nothing for it is genuinely one of my favourite budget travel joys.

Yes, it’s a gamble. But if you also love luxury without having to pay for it, I promise – it’s one worth taking.

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