{"id":542159,"date":"2026-07-10T04:14:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T04:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/542159\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T04:14:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T04:14:17","slug":"6ft9in-man-gets-ryanair-middle-seat-but-uses-genius-method-for-free-extra-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/542159\/","title":{"rendered":"6ft9in man gets Ryanair middle seat but uses genius method for free extra space"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A 6ft9in man was allocated a middle seat on a Ryanair flight but came up with a genius solution at the boarding gate to secure extra space without paying a penny more<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A cabin crew member is seen attending to the needs of passengers aboard an aircraft. The interior of the plane is visible, featuring yellow seats and a white ceiling. The crew member is dressed in a blue and white uniform and is reaching over the seats to assist a passenger.\" loading=\"eager\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0_Stewardess-serving-passangers-on-Ryanair-airplane-flight-on-14th-of-December-2017-on-a-flight-from.jpeg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"He was meant to be in the middle seat (Stock Image)\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">He was meant to be in the middle seat (Stock Image)(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Flying is rarely a comfortable experience unless you&#8217;re fortunate enough to secure a first-class seat. To make matters worse, being assigned the middle seat can feel like you&#8217;ve well and truly drawn the short straw.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Technically, you may have access to both armrests, but that&#8217;s little comfort when you&#8217;re wedged between two fellow passengers \u2014 particularly if you&#8217;re <a aria-label=\"travelling Link opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dublinlive.ie\/lifestyle\/travel\/\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">travelling <\/a>solo and don&#8217;t know either of your seatmates. However, being stuck in the middle seat becomes an entirely different ordeal if you happen to be exceptionally tall \u2013 something one 6ft9in man <a aria-label=\"discovered Link opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dublinlive.ie\/all-about\/viral\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">discovered <\/a>when he was allocated this dreaded spot on a &#8220;<a aria-label=\"Ryanair Link opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dublinlive.ie\/all-about\/ryanair\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Ryanair <\/a>flight back to Rome&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Ben Davies confessed he &#8220;barely fits with two seats,&#8221; let alone when squeezed between two other passengers on either side.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;If I only have a middle seat, I&#8217;m quite literally not going to fit,&#8221; he explained, expressing his hope he might be able to secure an alternative seat on the aircraft.<\/p>\n<p>Content cannot be displayed without consent<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Upon arriving at the boarding gate, Ben anticipated the flight would be &#8220;full&#8221;. Nevertheless, he made the shrewd move of asking a Ryanair staff member whether two adjacent seats could be found for him, given his considerable height.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;Do you know if there are any two seats next to each other? Could you check for me, please?&#8221; he asked a member of staff after they queried about his height.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He added that he &#8220;really appreciate it&#8221; if they could locate two seats side by side, as he &#8220;didn&#8217;t fit&#8221; the last time he flew. The staff member informed him that seats A, B and C in row 19 were unoccupied.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">This meant that upon boarding, he could potentially claim the entire row for himself if fortune favoured him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;So there&#8217;s a full empty row. Y&#8217;all know I&#8217;m taking that,&#8221; Ben enthused, revealing his strategy to simply &#8220;go to 19&#8221; and relocate if requested to do so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Ben made his way to row 19 without any issues, explaining he&#8217;d sit horizontally to make the journey more comfortable.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Interior view of a commercial airplane with rows of blue and yellow seats, and a person in a blue uniform standing in the aisle, likely a flight attendant.\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783656857_982_0_Stewardess-serving-passangers-on-Ryanair-airplane-flight-on-14th-of-December-2017-on-a-flight-from.jpeg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"Staff were really helpful and allowed him to take the extra space (Stock Image)\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Staff were really helpful and allowed him to take the extra space (Stock Image)(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">It demonstrates that by speaking directly with airline staff at the airport, you might secure a superior seat without incurring extra charges.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">However, the travel tip didn&#8217;t impress everyone. In the comments section, someone questioned: &#8220;Being that tall, why would you not just book extra leg room?&#8221; Others highlighted that &#8220;if he can get it for free, why would he?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Another person stated: &#8220;Why should he pay more? He has no control over being tall.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Meanwhile, another tall passenger shared: &#8220;I&#8217;m 2m tall and have just accepted that I&#8217;m always gonna have to pay extra for leg room on any flight.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">In response, a travel enthusiast argued: &#8220;You shouldn&#8217;t have to, though. Airlines should be more accommodating, instead they treat us like cattle and try to squeeze as many in as possible.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A 6ft9in man was allocated a middle seat on a Ryanair flight but came up with a genius&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":542160,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,61,60,1899,6116,1433],"class_list":["post-542159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-ryanair","tag-tiktok","tag-viral"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/542160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}