I’m a travel expert and this is the secret reason I’m GUARANTEED to get a free seat next to me in economy

One of the greatest thrills when traveling is undoubtedly booking an economy flight on an airplane – and having an empty seat next to you.

This turns a cattle class seat into a business class budget berth, with the ability to tilt your feet to one side and use the companion seat for storage.

It’s a scenario that travel expert Nicky Kelvin reveals he’s well used to when flying British Airways – as he’s guaranteed a free seat for his companion. Every time (well, almost).

How? The Points Guy editor in general all revealed in one Instagram post – and further explanation added in an email to MailOnline Travel.

The secret? Level status.

Nicky wrote: ‘I fly a lot for work, and often in economy. I worked hard earlier this year to earn gold status in the British Airways Executive Club again.

‘In addition to the usual benefits of first class check-in, first class lounges, extra baggage allowance and more, a largely unknown benefit is that British Airways has a system to block seats next to Gold members to give them a chance at a free ticket. seat next to them, and only release those seats when necessary.

“So unless a flight is completely full, you will often have an empty seat next to you, which greatly improves your economy flight experience.”

Wondering if this status is out of reach?

Nicky explained that it’s actually easier than ever.

He continued: ‘It has become easier to earn status with British Airways these days thanks to the double points offer on British Airways holidays, which was one of the tactics I used to achieve status quickly.

Nicky wrote: ‘I fly a lot for work, and often in economy. I worked hard earlier this year to earn gold status in the British Airways Executive Club again. Besides the usual benefits of first-class check-in, first-class lounges, extra baggage allowance and more, a largely unknown benefit is that British Airways has a system to block seats next to gold members.

‘For those who spend large sums on credit cards, you can now earn an additional 200 points every year by using the British Airways Premium Plus American Express Card.

‘Another tactic is to find cheap flights in premium cabins on British Airways or one of their partner airlines and cover as many segments as possible.

‘You can often find these cheaper flights by starting your flight at various European airports such as Amsterdam, Oslo, Sofia or Bucharest.

‘I aim to earn tier points at a cost of less than £2 per tier point. That would mean gold status would normally cost somewhere between £2,000 and £4,000.”

For more information from The Points Guy, visit thepointsguy.com/uk-travel.