What is the latest TikTok travel trend 'check-in chicken'? The new hack that gets you the best plane seats explained

The trend has taken the internet by storm, and was highlighted by travel influencer and cheap holiday expert Chelsea Dickenson on her TikTok channel. She claims airlines, which charge to pre-book seats, separate parties travelling together by putting them "in the bad seats" leaving the coveted spots up for grabs.

In a video she said: "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. And if you sit tight and wait, you will see that the only ones left are extra legroom seats and the ones at the front of the plane.”

"Check-in chicken" involves flyers waiting until check-in is almost closed until reserving a seat, in the hope of nabbing one with extra legroom or by an emergency exit. But the "chicken" tactic could leave you without a seat if the flight is overbooked, Chelsea warned. It's therefore best not to leave it until the very last minute and keep a close eye on the seats throughout the day, she added.

The trend follows the rise of "gate licing" another travel hack which grew in popularity at the end of last year. The term is one used by air travel workers to describe passengers who crowd around boarding gates before their designated boarding time.

The objective is to be among the first to board the plane and secure bag space in the overhead lockers. It's believed the phenomenon became more popular after the pandemic when passengers had heightened travel anxiety.

American Airlines announced this month that it is expanding its new technology to control “gate lice”. More than 100 airports across the US will now use the boarding tech over the busy Thanksgiving and Christmas travel period after successful trials in Albuquerque, Washington and Tucson last month. The new software will not accept the boarding pass of passengers before their group number is called and will make an audible sound to alert gate agents that they have broken boarding protocol.