Ryanair booking system’s random seat allocation is programmed to split groups. This is done to promote the sales of seats. You must pay extra if you want to have a better seat with more leg room or sit together. Other airlines do check-in usually done sequentially. They fill the cabin row by row and groups are placed together if they check-in at the same time. Ryanair, however allocates unpaid seats so that rows are filled from the back and the front at the same time. If you get your seat from the front, your friend will be put to the back. Random seats are also usually middle seats to complicate swapping seats on the fly.

Instruction how to sit together on good seats free of charge

How to play the systems and get good seats side by side without paying extra? Simply do the checkin as late as possible. In the process you will be offered to buy seats. Take a screenshot of the seat map and you have a list of free seats with you when you enter the airplane. Then you just pick up the empty seats you want and that’s it.

If the flight is half empty, nobody really cares where people sit. If the flight is almost full, most likely the expensive seats with extra leg room are left. If you are very unlucky and someone booked the seat you selected, just admit your mistake, apologise and take another seat. Seats are not checked unless there is a problem.

Other ways to exploit Ryanair

• Wear your clothes and put your stuff to pockets to avoid paying extra luggage fees.
• With hand luggage size matters, not weight. They weight only checked-in luggage, not cabin luggage.
• Don’t pay for priority boarding as there is no priority in boarding. Just board when you want, walk faster and take over others if you want to enter earlier, and disregard announcements.
• If you take seats with extra leg room, you must anyway put your stuff to overhead locker. If you don’t, put it there anyway. It’s more comfortable not to share your tiny seat with luggage. Everyone is doing that and nobody can check it. Be early in the airplane to get enough overhead space for all of your stuff.

If you think tricking Ryanair is immoral, think again. Ryanair sends spam and scam emails telling customers to check-in so early that they are forced to buy seats and pay extra to do it. That’s immoral, too. Why should you care when they obviously don’t? I believe that when enough people mess up their system, they will be forced to make it fair and square and allocate seats according to sequence like all honest airlines. Meanwhile, let’s encourage them by messing up their business, or even better, boycotting them.

Happy travels,

Santeri

Nice trick. Just remember that you must check-in at least 2 hours before your flight. Otherwise you have to pay for check-in in the airport.

Haha I just got yesterday perfect exit row seats for me and my friends without paying anything!!!

My ticket was checked yesterday and I was forced to move to my seat.

My flights were rescheduled. I contacted support and they told me to apply for a refund. I applied and got rejected because there was too small time change. I replied and told I was asked to apply for a refund. This time they approved. Just to make sure, I asked them to confirm that I will actually get the refund and they said I will, and I just have a wait a few weeks to get my money. When I didn't receive anything, I contacted them again and they told me they will no refund me because there was too small change.

How can you trust a company who is lying to your face? I just lost my flight and money. I'm not going to waste any more money on Ryanair.

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