Five months ago, I was traveling from Orlando to Los Angeles to lead a basketball camp. Thankfully, my itinerary included a short layover because my legs needed a break from the cramped, close quarters of my middle seat experience. The thought of having to squeeze my tall frame into that small middle seat space on my next flight made me cringe. It also made me irritated and frustrated to be on long flights, week after week, with minimal legroom and maximum discomfort.
I decided, on that day, that I would find a way to sit in the exit row…without paying extra.
From June 2019 through December 2019, I flew on 46 flights and, believe it or not, I sat in the exit row on more than 65% of them. I did it without having to pay anything extra. I took to Instagram story and Twitter to post my success, which I eventually called #ExitRowTheory.
#ExitRowTheory garnered some attention and many people asked how I did it. I can explain it in one concise sentence. I asked for it.
I use a five-step process to get the job done. Here it is:
- Sit and Wait – sit at the gate, wait, and be the last person on the plane. The tradeoff is you sometimes lose out on overhead bin space near your seat, but for me, this doesn’t matter.
- Observe the Gate Agent – I pay particular attention to the body language of the agent. Are they frustrated? Happy? Agitated? Friendly? Paying attention helps inform your approach to the conversation (which is detailed in step 4).
- Build Rapport – by being the last one in line, you’ll have an opportunity to lighten the mood and quickly build rapport with the gate agent. All of this happens before asking the critical question.
- The Exit Row Ask – once you are on friendly terms with the agent, use an open-ended phrase. I say, “by the way, how many exit row seats are still available on board today?” While subtle, this technique works like a charm. I stay away from yes and no questions like, “do you have any exit row seats available on today’s flight?” The first question assumes availability and negates any instant rejection of the request.
- Sit Exit Row and Enjoy – Gate agents want passengers to get on board in a timely fashion so that the flight can leave as scheduled. At this late stage, the gate agent wants you onboard and can offer the seat you asked for. Now you can enjoy the luxury of extending your legs and avoiding knee pain, all for no extra charge.
In my experience, only two gate agents immediately said: “no, you’d have to pay for that.” Over 95% of the time, they quickly glance at the seat map on the computer to check. If the flight is full, of course, you are out of luck, but I didn’t experience many full flights.
It’s a little scary at first, but worth the five seconds of courage to ask for more legroom, especially when you are on long cross country flights.
The next time you fly, try it out and let me know how it goes using the hashtag #ExitRowTheory.