This Hidden Button Gives You More Room in a Plane's Aisle Seat

If you prefer the window seat on planes, you undoubtedly have your reasons—the view, using the wall as a head rest, not having people climb over you to get to the bathroom. But an obscure button on the aisle seat armrest could make you rethink your seat selection.

Even frequent flyers may be surprised to learn that unlike the armrest closest to the window, the armrest next to the aisle isn’t actually fixed in place, even though it seems to be at first tug. As Time points out, there’s a button hidden underneath the armrest, near the hinge, that lets you lift it up. This will give you a little extra elbow room (but watch out for beverage carts).

While this tip should come in handy on long flights and when you get up to retrieve your bag from the overhead bin, the primary function of this feature is safety. It allows for "a quick and easy escape should you need to make an emergency exit from the plane," Time reports. Although, if few people know the button is there, its usefulness is rather dubious.

“I’ve been traveling pretty consistently for eight years, and not once on any plane has anybody actually said that you can use this to slide in and out much more comfortably if you’re on the aisle,” says vlogger Mike Corey. Watch Corey demonstrate how to operate the button in the video below.

[h/t Time Magazine]