Can ‘Check-in Chicken’ Get You Best Plane Seat for Free?

Looking to bag a spacious plane seat without paying a fortune? A video showcasing a potential strategy for securing better seats on planes for free by checking in at the last possible minute has gone viral on TikTok.

The clip, shared by user @cheapholidayexpert, has received over 113,000 views since it was posted on October 22. The footage features a woman detailing her approach to snagging prime seats on Wizz Air, a Hungarian low-cost airline.

In the video, the woman explains her tactic—the “Check in Chicken” strategy—while sitting at a table, looking at her phone.

“I am waiting for Wizz Air to give away all the c*** seats because essentially what they do is they palm off the middle seats or the back of the plane in the hope that you will then pay to change your seat,” she says. “And if you sit tight and wait, what you will see is that they all start to go and the only ones left are extra leg room seats and the ones at the front of the plane.”

@cheapholidayexpert

Was this too last minute?! 😰 🛫 Send this to someone who loves to leave checking in a little too late… 🙈 🐔 WHAT IS CHECK IN CHICKEN? 🐔 Check in Chicken is when you leave your online check in for Wizz Air and Ryanair late in the hope that you get allocated a better seat. 💺 WHY DO YOU GET A BETTER SEAT IF YOU L EAVE CHECK IN LATE? 💺 Wizz Air and Ryanair both do three things: 1. They charge for seats 2. They actively split up people travelling together 3. They often place people in ‘bad seats’ – i.e. middle seats and those away from the exits All of this means that as time ticks on, often the seats that are left available are the ‘good seats’ – i.e. upfront and extra legroom 🤔 DOES IT ACTUALLY WORK? 🤔 Yep! I actually can’t remember the last time I didn’t get an extra legroom seat because of doing this!! ⚠️ BUT WHAT’S THE RISK? ⚠️ The small risk – as you have seen in this video – is that you leave check in too late and there’s no seats left. This is because airlines can overbook planes due to the chance that a small percentage of passengers won’t show up for the flight. Now, technically the airline shouldn’t automatically boot off those that were last to check in – they’re supposed to ask if anyone is willing to give up their seat first (they get another flight plus compensation so some may well go for it) but often they just stick it on those who have left check in chicken a little too late… 😭 HOW BIG IS THE RISK?! 😭 Wizz Air and Ryanair both have a fairly high average load factor – around 94% – and so planes are often close to full. However, it is true that some passengers don’t show up and there are still plenty of flights that aren’t completely full. Overall, they wouldn’t overbook if they were losing money on the situation – which they would be if it happened often since they’d need to rebook your flight, put you up in accommodation if needed and give you compensation. 💁‍♀️ MY TOP TIP 💁‍♀️ Don’t leave Check in Chicken until the last moment – you need to be checking the seating plan throughout the day and check in when only good seats are left! 📣 LET ME KNOW… Would you do this?! And has anyone ever been on an overbooked plane?! #wizzair #checkin #overbookedflight

♬ original sound – Cheap Holiday Expert

Is it smart or too risky to check-in at the last-minute to score the best seats on a plane?

Duncan Greenfield-Turk, the CEO of Global Travel Moments, told Newsweek that, while the strategy might occasionally work, it isn’t advisable for most travelers due to significant risks, such as getting bumped off an overbooked flight. “While there’s a small chance the strategy might work, the gamble isn’t worth the potential downsides for most travelers.”

A spokesperson for Wizz Air highlighted the importance of early check-in for a seamless travel experience. “We encourage all passengers to check-in online, as early as possible before their scheduled departure time,” the spokesperson told Newsweek.

Fifty-seven percent of Americans are reported to be preparing for winter travel, with 96 percent planning to travel as much or even more than last winter, according to the TripAdvisor study of over 4,850 consumers released in November.

Air travel continues to show strong growth in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, after grinding to a halt in the height of the outbreak.

An October report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) showed that the load factor—the percentage of available seats an airline sells on its flights—hit a record high of 86.2 percent in August.

The woman in the viral video says that she still has five-and-a-half hours left to check in and continues to assess the “the lay of the land” in terms of seat availability to avoid the risk of being left without a seat if the flight is overbooked.

Eventually, she checks in with just two seats left on the plane and secures a seat in the “extra leg room seats” section, concluding “once again, it worked but it definitely comes with a small risk.”

In a caption shared with the post, she wrote: “Don’t leave Check in Chicken until the last moment—you need to be checking the seating plan throughout the day and check in when only good seats are left!”

The spokesperson for Wizz Air told Newsweek: “We aim to make our check-in process simple for passengers. We provide clear instructions via email on how to check-in to avoid charges and have the most seamless experience possible.”

Those who do not purchase seats with their booking can check-in online 24 hours before departure through the Wizz Air app or website, the spokesperson noted. They said that “passengers who fail to check-in online, or who wish to check-in within three hours of their flight, must do so at the airport.”

Echo Wang, the cofounder of Cool Travel Vibes, noted that the late check-in strategy hinges on the airline’s seat assignment practices. She told Newsweek: “Some airlines, especially budget ones, tend to assign seats from worst to best during check-in, so if you wait until the last minute, you might luck out and score a better seat—assuming you’re OK with the gamble.”

Jesse Neugarten, the CEO and founder of the Dollar Flight Club, remained skeptical of last-minute check-ins. He told Newsweek: “Checking in late rarely works in today’s market. Airlines are focused on maximizing revenue, and most good seats are already spoken for long before check-in closes.”

Neugarten added that premium seats are often reserved for elite members of airline loyalty programs or purchased by travelers willing to pay extra, making last-minute upgrades rare.

Neugarten said: “In recent years, airlines like Delta have decreased pricing of premium seats to encourage more people to pay up front for better seats, making complimentary upgrades much harder to come by and making it even more unlikely that you will get a good seat if you check in at the last minute. The most likely thing that will happen is you will get a seat in the last row or in the middle seat.”

Greenfield-Turk also advised against the last-minute check-in gamble. Instead, he said that travelers should check in as soon as it opens to secure boarding priority and avoid being bumped from an oversold flight. He also suggested using airline apps to monitor seat availability and considering upgrades closer to departure.

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.