Ryanair has confirmed why a certain row on its flights are missing a line of seats inside the cabin of its jets.
The Daily Star reported that Tom Cutter first noticed the missing row during a flight.
He noted that they umped from 12 to 14, missing out a row 13.
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In pictures he shared online, Mr Cutter found it "bizarre" that there was no row 13 and questioned why.
Alongside the snaps, he wrote: "Bizarre how there is no row 13 on Ryanair flights. Why ever not? Superstition? Surely not!"
Believe it or not Ryanair actually commented on why the row is missing and it's all down to superstition.
A spokesperson for Ryanair told a national newspaper that missing the row is an "American manufacturing tradition."
You may also be surprised to learn that Ryanair is not the only airline that hold this superstitious fear of row 13 - Air France and Spanish Flag carrier Iberia enforce a similar policy.
Furthermore, German national airline Lufthansa takes it an extra step by dismissing both row 13 and 17.
Many people are likely aware that 13 is considered an unlucky number in western cultures - 17 is also considered unlucky because when it's written out in Roman numerals (XVII) it's anagram (VIXI) roughly means "my life is over" in Latin.
Lufthansa explained on its website why it does not have any seats for 13 or 17. It states: "In some cultures, the number 13 is considered unlucky. That is why there is no row 13 in planes, because we respect the superstition. That way nobody who thinks that the number 13 is unlucky has to sit in that row.
In some countries, for example, Italy and Brazil, the typical unlucky number is 17 and not 13. Seeing as Lufthansa welcomes a lot of international passengers, we try to consider as many of these specific cultural beliefs as possible."
Some of the other airlines that follow this rule include:
- In Europe, Iberia, Lufthansa, Air France, Alitalia, and Ryanair all skip row 13. There are notable exceptions, though. Amongst the top airlines in the UK, for example, only Virgin Atlantic skips row 13; British Airways, easyJet, and Jet2.com do not.
- For the US, United Airlines (on most aircraft types) and Alaska Airlines (only on the 737-800) do this. Delta, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines all do not.
- In the Middle East, Qatar Airways and Emirates follow the practice.
- And in Asia, airlines adopting it include Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Airlines, Thai Airways, and Singapore Airlines.
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