Online check-in means it is possible for on-the-ball travellers to grab the seat they want well before they fly, but it can be difficult to get online if the check-in period opens up at, say, 3am the night before the flight.
According to Springwise, a new online service called Check Me In has started to cater for precisely this circumstance. If you give your flight details to Check Me In, they will get online as soon as the check-in period opens and book you the seat you want.
Check Me In charges €7 per one way flight, although that includes bookings for a party of up to five people. The customers then receive an email confirming their seat and providing the boarding pass to print out.
Check Me In currently covers about 350 airports and 20 airlines around the world, but as yet they appear to be concentrated in Europe and the US.