A flight attendant has revealed the reason why some airlines are excluding the 13th row in the cabin.
Henny Lim, a flight attendant with the Philippine airline Cebu Pacific, is known for sharing lesser-known aviation secrets.
In a now viral TikTok videoshe said ‘in many cultures the number 13 is associated with bad luck’.
“That is why most airlines prefer not to fuel the superstitions of their customers and have chosen to remove the number of seats from the seating plans,” she said.
In the video, Ms Lim shows how the row numbers on both sides of the plane jump from 12 to 14.
Henny Lim, a flight attendant with Philippine airline Cebu Pacific (left), shared the secret behind the missing row 13 on planes
Ms Lim said this is a practice many global airlines follow to “recognize the unfortunate superstition surrounding this number”.
“The irrational fear of the number is known as ‘triskaidekaphobia,'” she added.
Lucky and unlucky numbers differ between cultures. For example, number seven is considered a lucky number in Western countries, but is considered unlucky in China, Vietnam and Thailand.
Often the number 17 is considered unlucky in some countries, such as Italy.
“That is why most airlines prefer not to fuel the superstitions of their customers and have chosen to remove the number of seats from the seating plans,” she said. In the clip, Ms Lim shows how the row numbers on both sides jump from 12 to 14 (stock image)
In another video, Henny shared the real reason behind the small black triangles that are often seen on flat walls.
She said the stickers above the center windows provide the best view of the wings for passengers, but also let flight attendants know the “best vantage points for the outside louvers and flaps.”
The short clip has since been viewed more than 304,000 times, with many admitting they had never noticed the small sticker before.
“Passengers seated next to the triangles get the best view of the wings,” Henny wrote in the video as she shot the inside of an empty plane.