A RYANAIR passenger spotted something very strange during his flight – and it isn't only on the low-cost airline.
Passenger Tom Cotter was stunned to realise that there was no row 13 on his flight, jumping from row 12 to row 14.
Sharing an image on social media, he wrote:"Bizarre how there is no row 13 on Ryanair flights. Why ever not? Superstition? Surely not!"
While a Ryanair spokesperson previously told Sun Online Travel it was an "American manufacturing tradition," it has been spotted on other airlines too.
Air France and Iberia don't have row 13 either, while some airlines don't have rows 17 either – Lufthansa is one airline that doesn't have rows 13 or 17.
The number 13 is unlucky in most western cultures, as well as having a number of negative connotations, including Judas, who betrayed Jesus, being the 13th person to join the table at the Last Supper.
But the number 17 is also unlucky to some because when viewed as the roman numeral XVII, its anagram VIXI roughly means "my life is over" in Latin.
Lufthansa explained on their website: "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."
It isn't the only unlucky number to be missed out – United Airlines Polaris doesn't have a row 13 or 14 either, with row 14 considered unlucky in China as it sounds like "will die" in Chinese.
It's not just the airlines that avoid the number 13 – some hotels and cruise liners don't have a deck or floor 13 either.
Source: Read Full Article