WITH air fares ballooning and plane seats shrinking, it's of little surprise that passengers are looking for innovative ways to secure extra room on flights.
But if you're tempted to try one of the hacks made famous by travellers on TikTok – be warned, as a woman was publicly reprimanded on a flight recently.
TikTok user Sophie, who is known as Boredsoap on the social media platform, revealed in a video that she'd been shamed by a member of the cabin crew for trying to keep the seat next to her free.
A caption over the video read: "You're on a full flight, and called out by the flight attendant for avoiding eye contact so no one sits next to you."
The footage showed Sophie sitting in what appeared to be an aisle seat with an empty middle seat next to her.
In a bid to discourage other passengers from asking to sit next to her, Sophie avoided making eye contact.
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But as she attempted to use the trick, one flight attendant made an announcement.
He said: "If you're trying to avoid eye contact so nobody will sit in the middle, that's not going to work today."
"And if you have a real or fake Louis [Vuitton] bag in the middle seat, so nobody won't sit there, that's not going to work either."
As the announcement was made, Sophie flushed with embarrassment underneath her facemask.
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The video has had more than 3 million views on TikTok, with users rushing into the comments to share their opinions.
One person wrote: "It delays the flight when people deliberately make it harder for people to find seats, so he’s actually being nice."
Another added: "I would’ve broken down in tears."
While a third said: "I love this! I totally would've done the same and still laughed."
Sophie was flying with Southwest Airlines, a low-cost carrier that has an "open seating" policy.
On their flights, passengers can choose their own seats as they board the aircraft.
A statement on the airline website read: "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."
Because of the unusual seating policy, holidaymakers in America often use unusual travel hacks to bag additional plane seats.
One of those is TikTok user @muscadinebloodline8 who used his arms, jacket, and a cap, and fashioned it to look as though the seat next to him was already taken.
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Meanwhile, this is why sitting at the back of the plane could even be safer than sitting at the front.
And this is why some people prefer sitting in the middle seats.
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