Sneaky dad tries it on with airport staff before boarding plane

"My wife is looking at me... just shake your head," he tells them in a video with an epic plot twist.

Sneaky dad tries it on with airport staff before boarding plane. Source: Instagram

A father who was allocated a plane seat apart from his wife and toddler has pulled a sneaky move at the gate.

Content creator @jayplussusan shared his "hack" for getting out of dad duty when travelling - but it also makes him look good, too.

In the clip, he quietly gets ground staff involved, and it's the best dad joke we've seen this year.

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"My wife is looking at me"

The video starts with him telling airline staff at the boarding gate:

"I'm travelling with my wife and toddler. I'm seated really far away from them... But I'm actually here just pretending like I tried to switch.

"My wife is looking at me, and because I'm tired, I don't want to sit with them. Can you say 'No'?"

The staff member laughs awkwardly as he continues his spiel. 

You can just shake your head no - and then I will slowly walk away."

They comply, and he thanks them for their hard work and dedication to his cause. But not before he reveals, "I'm going to walk away now and look upset, but just know I'm very pleased with your service."

Given the father's profile, it's likely that this was all a ploy for clicks, and it worked; the video has been viewed over 9 million times.

One ground crew member even recognised him, saying, "Oh, I watch your videos!" 

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"So NOT a hero"

Although the clip was filmed as a light-hearted prank, viewers were not amused.

"Father is dumping all the work on his wife…so NOT a hero. And the women who helped him…just as bad," one wrote. 

"But why are they laughing? I would give the wife a seat alone, and the husband should sit with the kids," another agreed. 

"Why is everyone okay with this?" a third added.

And this viewer was furious, writing, "So he thinks his wife ISN'T tired?? Doesn't need help with their toddler?? I don't think this is funny at all. It's just cruel.

"And even worse, he thinks it's funny enough to post on social media so other men will think it's acceptable to do the same thing to their exhausted wives." 

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RELATED: A 'mum' tried to trick me into switching seats with her

"What about the mother?"

Most viewers understood this was a joke, but they wanted to point out the double standard if the mother had done the same. 

Then there was this mic-drop comment: "Now put the wife to do the same and see if they're as friendly and cooperative."

This person agreed: "Even though it's a joke... the husband is tired, so he gets out. What about the mother? If she asked for this, she'd be made to look like an absent, inattentive, and uncaring mother.". 

Ultimately, United Airlines was proud of their involvement in the prank and wrote: "We'd never blow your cover."

Originally published as Sneaky dad tries it on with airport staff before boarding plane