Why are rows 13 and 17 often missing on airplanes? 

Created: 11/04/2022 11:01 am

By: Franziska Kaindl

Have you ever noticed that rows 13 and 17 are missing on some planes?

This isn't a mistake, it's intentional.

If you don't want to leave the choice of seat to chance, you can now book the desired seat yourself with most airlines.

As a rule, passengers want to make sure that they are sitting with their family and friends, but sometimes it is also about avoiding the unloved middle seat.

However, that's apparently not all: superstition leads to some passengers avoiding certain rows of seats completely - which is why some airlines no longer even have them.

With some airlines, the row of seats with the number 13 is missing – instead, the number 14 follows immediately. © Imago

Lufthansa does without rows 13 and 17

In particular, the unlucky number 13 is missing on board many planes – then row 12 is immediately followed by row 14. And the number 17 is also sometimes completely deleted, so that after row 16 there is immediately 18.

This is the case, for example, with Lufthansa, as a press spokesman said a few years ago to the news portal

.

“Yes, I can confirm that we don't have row 13 or row 17 on our planes.

Reason: The superstition of some of our customers.

17 is an unlucky number in Italy and Brazil.” It is therefore irrelevant for the airline whether the sequence of numbers is meticulously enforced.

"We just don't want to stress our guests any further," is the motto.

You should urgently avoid these mistakes in travel cancellation insurance

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Condor, SunExpress & Co.: How other airlines deal with unlucky numbers

SunExpress also takes unlucky numbers into account when numbering.

However, only row 13 is omitted here, as the industry

found out.

Row 17 is quite normal.

Condor and Tuifly, on the other hand, don't bother with superstitions about certain numbers, so passengers can sit in rows 13 and 17.

So if you want to avoid the numbers, you should try to reserve a seat.