Aussie's 'risky' travel hack for long haul flights divides: 'Do this all the time'

Australia is one of the best places to live in the world. We have great food, beautiful beaches and landscapes, and excellent people.

But one of the worst parts about living here is the fact we are just so damn far away from most places. With us Aussies just loving to travel, it's unfortunately one of those things we have to accept - which is all well and good until you're sitting in a cramped economy seat for 14+ hours at a time.

Perhaps there is hope, though. Aussie traveller, Lara Severino, has revealed a hack that could get you a full row to yourself if you're travelling with two people and are willing to risk a potentially awkward situation if it goes wrong.

Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle, Lara admitted, "It's definitely a 50/50 thing," but added "it's worth trying".

Aussie travellers' risky hack for long haul flights

Lara shared her hack on TikTok, revealing she and her boyfriend tried it out on a flight to India with great success.

"I had to try out a plane hack I saw on TikTok and to my surprise it actually worked," she said. "This hack only applies if you're travelling with someone else.

"So, when you're booking your flights, have one person book the window seat and the other book the aisle, because we all know when we're booking a flight, no one wants to sit in the middle. Unless of course it's a packed flight and you have no other option."

She continued, "That's it, you literally just sit there, pray no one takes the middle seat."

Lara and her boyfriend managed to use the hack successfully on two flights, one to Singapore and on their second leg to India.

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"So we did this hack for both flights and it worked both times," she said. "So I think that's a 100 per cent success rate."

Lara's followers weren't convinced by the hack, with one user writing, "I've done this a few times and got unlucky! Someone sat in the middle for 14 hours."

Another called her an "icon" and said the hack was "so smart".

"We do this all the time, the best," a third added.

"It's not always foolproof," someone else responded.

Why you 'may as well' give this travel hack a shot

Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle, however, Lara's hack sadly didn't work the next time she tried it, "We tried again, but sadly, it didn’t work. After backpacking Southeast Asia for four months, we quickly realised that a lot of people just don’t mind booking a middle seat. Goes to show that a little bit of luck is definitely involved!"

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In response to some of the people that didn't think the hack was worth trying, she said, "It’s definitely a 50/50 thing, but I say it’s worth trying because you never know! The worst that can happen is someone sits in the middle, and in that case, you can always politely ask if they’d be open to swapping.

"I’ve done this before, and most people are more than happy to move and avoid the middle seat themselves. So, may as well give it a shot!"

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