Ever found yourself on a plane, anxiously watching the aisle and hoping no one else will sit in your row so you can spread out and relax? Then someone catches your eye and plonks themselves down next to you. Disappointment ensues.
But it seems there’s a simple trick to ensure this doesn’t happen – in fact, you’ll know as soon as you board that you’ll have the entire row to yourself for the duration of the flight. London-based Norwegian influencer Maddie Borge recently tested out this hack, known as Neighbour Free, on an overnight flight to Sydney, Australia, hoping it would allow her to feel more comfortable and catch some sleep.
Maddie revealed she had signed up for a service called Neighbour Free when she flew with Etihad. In a video posted to her social media platforms, she explained: “I bid on the seats next to me on the plane, and if the flight isn’t completely full when I board, I get the whole row to myself. It’s basically like Business Class in Economy. I can lie down, sleep, all that.”
The content creator was “excited” to discover she had “won” the seats, meaning she had the entire row to herself. Maddie managed to sleep for eight of the 13.5 hour long-haul flight.
When asked how much this luxury had cost her, Maddie revealed in the comments section of her video that she had paid £200 to upgrade to three seats. In response to a suggestion that it might have been cheaper to upgrade to Business Class, she retorted: “Business Class upgrade would have cost £1,900++”
Another user worried it might turn a bit awkward if another passenger thinks the seats are up for grabs, but Maddie put those fears to bed. She recounted: “One guy walked past, and asked if the seat was ‘free’ like an hour into the flight, but I just told him ‘no, it’s taken’ and then he kept walking!”
Several airlines like Etihad, Sri Lankan Airlines, EgyptAir, and Qantas have jumped on this bandwagon and offer a means to ensure you won’t be rubbing elbows with strangers by partnering with the Neighbour Free seat service.
In a statement, Qantas explained: “Neighbour Free offers you the opportunity to reserve the seat next to you, so you can enjoy extra space and comfort when travelling in Economy. If eligible, you’ll be sent an email invitation to reserve a Neighbour Free seat from 48 hours before your scheduled flight departure.
And Qantas explained the finer print too: “Neighbour Free can be reserved up to 1 hour before departure for domestic flights and up to 2 hours before departure for international flights.
Neighbour Free seats are subject to availability and may need to be changed for operational, safety or security reasons, even after boarding the aircraft.”
For those keen to sprawl out a bit more on their next economy escapade, checking the airline’s website could prove to be a gamechanger.
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