I'm a Flight Attendant and This Hidden Button Makes Your Seat Way More Comfortable
If you like to book the aisle seat on flights, you need to know this hack.
For most of us, air travel can be a bit of a struggle. Unless you've got money to burn on business class seats or those with extra legroom, you're flying economy—and because that means confined space, you've got limited options when it comes to making your flight comfortable. Now, however, a flight attendant reveals a hidden button you can take advantage of to feel more relaxed on your flight. Read on to find out about the aisle seat armest hack you need to know.
RELATED: 10 Secrets Flight Attendants Will Never Tell You.
You often have to stake your claim with armrests.
There's something of an unspoken rule about the middle seat armrests: The person who's sandwiched in between is entitled to both. (Although, some naysayers argue that they're still "common space.") But when you're in the aisle seat, the armrest at the end of the row is, of course, yours to claim.
While some like to lean on this armrest, others find it confining and uncomfortable—and unlike the armrests in the middle, which easily go up and down, that's not always the case with the outer armrest. However, a flight attendant has a solution for this predicament.
RELATED: 6 Things Flight Attendants Won't Tell You About Turbulence.
There's a simple way to move your aisle armrest.
If the aisle armrest doesn't budge when you try to move it, there's a reason for that—you're skipping a step.
In an Oct. 29 TikTok video, Charlie Silver, a flight attendant for TUI Airways in the U.K., revealed the "hidden button" beneath the aisle armrest.
"Are you sitting on the aisle seat wondering why your armrest doesn't go up?" Silver asks in the video, demonstrating a "little hack" for travelers. "Press this little hidden button, and voilà! Your armrest will move freely up and down."
The button in question is located underneath the armrest, toward the back where it's connected to the seat.
RELATED: The 6 Worst Things You Can Do to Your Seatmate on a Flight.
Travelers thanked Silver for revealing the button.
Several travelers were thrilled to learn about the button, calling it a "game changer" and noting that they wished they'd known about it on previous flights.
"Thanks for this always try to move it up but couldn't," one comment reads.
Another added, "I wish I knew about this 3 months ago when I had 6 flights when I went to South Africa."
Those who have taken advantage of the armrest "hack" also said that it's made their experience more enjoyable.
"Thank God I used this on the 9 hr. flight to Italy a few months ago. So much more comfortable," one comment reads.
Still, some critical commenters argued this isn't necessarily a "hack," because it's the design of the armrest—and others added that it might not be a feature on all planes, calling out budget airlines like Ryanair and easyJet. However, Silver responded and said the button is available on several different Boeing aircraft (specifically model numbers 737, 787, and 767) and Airbus aircraft (specifically model numbers 321, 330, and 350).
United Airlines explains why the buttons are concealed.
United Airlines' website actually spells out how to use the "release mechanisms" for the moveable aisle armrests, as well as which seats have them on their planes.
"Armrest release mechanisms vary by type of seats used on the aircraft," the website reads. "All release mechanisms are discretely hidden as a safety precaution to prevent unwanted release during takeoff and landing. They can be found underneath the armrest covers or on the inside of the armrests."
Speaking to the safety concerns, in the comment section of her TikTok video, Silver noted that the aisle armrests do have to be down when the plane is taxiing, taking off, and landing.
For more travel advice delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
