Score the Best Seat on the Plane

Would you like to stretch out in the front row, or perhaps an elusive exit row seat on your next flight? Well, you can!

There’s a trick that’s guaranteed to get you a better seat on the plane.

You may have noticed that when you try to choose a seat, the front rows are unavailable. This is because airlines often “block” these seats for high-status frequent flyers who book at the last minute. But even if you don’t have Platinum status, you can still sit in the front row!

The trick is to change your seat as soon as the airline releases the best seats for general selection.

With Qantas, this occurs exactly 80 hours before the scheduled departure time. So, if you were to log into “Manage Booking” exactly 3 days and 8 hours before your flight, you would find that you suddenly had access to many of the seats that were previously unavailable for selection.

This trick works for other airlines too – although the exact time when seats are released varies. Learn more about this nifty seat selection trick HERE.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.