Flying sucks unless you’re in business or first class. There’s never enough legroom, people are rude, and it’s just an all-around miserable experience. However, things are slightly more bearable if you’re lucky enough to score an empty seat next to you. Well, one guy on TikTok came up with a hilariously genius idea to ensure that happens on every flight he takes.
- TikToker @muscadinebloodnline8 was flying with Southwest Airlines recently. They operate with an open seating policy, which means no one has an assigned seat — it’s first come, first served. “Once onboard, simply choose any available seat and stow your carry-on items in the overhead bin or under the seat in front of you,” the website directs customers. This is the perfect scenario for @muscadinebloodline8.
- He made it look like the seat was already occupied. In a now-deleted video, the TIkToker can be seen sitting next to what appears to be someone with a hat on and a hoodie pulled over their head. If you were a fellow passenger, you’d simply walk by assuming the seat was taken. However, not all is as it seems.
- As it turns out, it was just a bunch of fabric. There was no one sitting next to him at all —it was literally just a hoodie and baseball cap made to look like another person. Of course, anyone who was really studying the seat would have realized that, but it seemed to trick many people passing by.
- It’s unclear whether or not he got away with it. After all, if a flight attendant saw this happening on a packed flight, he’d have to put away his clothes and let someone take the seat. However, assuming there were a few seats left over, he might have been the lucky one to have an empty middle seat.
- This won’t work on most airlines, of course. Most of them assign seats before boarding, so if someone booked the seat next to you, this plan wouldn’t work. However, you’re welcome to give it a go the next time you’re on a Southwest flight!
TikTok/@muscadinebloodline8
