The airlines might hate me for sharing this, so may some of my friends and family who swear by this simple and easy trick to get the exit row on an Australian domestic narrowbody flight.

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Firstly, you have to be a fit and able bodied person and not travelling with children, why? This is the emergency exit row and as such in the event of an emergency, the crew will need your help.

Fit the requirement? The next step is DON’T CHECK IN ONLINE! Checking in online will assign you a seat and it most definitely wont be an exit row as the ground staff need to sight you to make sure you are a fit and able bodied person. Some airlines will let you pay for the exit row or ‘extra leg room’ seat but you still need to be sighted – and paying for it kinda beats this hack yeah? If you are travelling with baggage, checking in online will mean you will still have to line up for the baggage drop, sometimes that line is longer then check in one.

Still with me? Ok, so now you’re at the airport, head to check in. As mentioned, most people would have checked in online and been assigned a seat and people hate to have their decision of seat assignment changed. The airline needs to make sure these rows have someone in them they may ask if you are willing to help the crew in the event of an emergency – if you are, you might very well be offered the exit row, If you’re not offered it then ask. If you don’t get it, then I’m pretty sure the check in agent will try to accommodate you in a seat of your choice, window or aisle for example.

✈ This isn’t a sure fire way but its worked for me and my friends numerous times.

✈ This generally only works on narrow bodied aircraft, Boeing 737’s Airbus A320’s as there are two rows and no bulkhead where a flight attendant would usually sit for take off and landing,

✈ This has only worked for me in Australia

Have you tried something similar? Whats your favourite airline seating hack?

FreakyFlier has not paid for exit row seating.

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