The ‘T-minus-80’ hack that lets you book better seats on a flight
A FREQUENT flyer has revealed a sneaky clever hack that lets you get better seats on a plane.
Ben, who often shares his top travel tips on TikTok, recently explained how the “T-minus 80” rule could make your long flight much easier.
He explained on TikTok: “There is a thing on Qantas which you should look out for called T-80.
“‘T’ being take off and take 80 hours off that.
“Quite often, a lot of the seats will open up that have been blocked by the airline.
“So you can still pick a seat even if it looks like there are none available if you login in at T-minus 80.
“You have to be quick because a lot of people who are in the game know about this, but you will get a better seat.”
When asked why airlines block seats in the comments, he added that it “allows them to offer a perk of better seats to frequent flyers [and] to manage the aircraft balance if it’s not full”.
Seats that often open up are the first row of economy, which have extra legroom.
People online tried the trick – and found it worked.
One person said: “I’ve done it on Qantas. Got row 3, I kept refreshing at 80 hours and hot it.”
Another person said: “Have literally done this and the seats all appeared 80 hours before.”
A third replied: “This is basically how I get the front of the plane each flight.”
Others said that if the 80 hours doesn’t work, then to try 48 hours before, as this is when other airlines will release seats.
This is because most people will have checked in online by this point.
While this tip is for Qantas, people tried it for other airlines too, and had success.
One woman said: “Singapore Airlines opened up their premium economy for free about 72 hours before flight.
“I changed economy seat to premium for free.”
Just make sure to also check in as soon as it opens, according to one expert – or risk rubbish seats.
Here’s why you should also board the flight last for the best seats.