Everyone has their personal preference when flying; for some, it’s the window seat, while others prefer the aisle seat, however, travellers can agree on the one seat you should never book
Aeroplanes are notorious for having uncomfortable seats. Whether you sit in the aisle, by the window, or are forced into the middle seat, one thing they all have in common is their unpleasantness. However, one seat in particular has left travellers asking, ‘Why did nobody warn me?’
The Irish airline Ryanair is well-regarded in the UK for its affordable ticket prices. These fares enable passengers to travel to over 235 destinations worldwide at competitive rates. However, due to these lower fares, Ryanair has developed a reputation for cutting corners to squeeze more money from its customers.
Seat 11A on Ryanair flights has been the subject of many online discussions. It is the only ‘A’ seat on the plane without a window. The seat has now gained significant online presence, with multiple videos posted on TikTok under the tag #seat11a showing users complaining about it and mocking those who chose to sit there.
One traveller posted a video to TikTok last year with the caption, “POV: Nobody warned you about 11A seat on Ryanair.” The video shows the supposed “window” seat without a window.
Nevertheless, Ryanair quickly responded, mocking their passengers for not paying attention when booking the seat. They also showed proof that everyone who booked seat 11A was pre-warned about the lack of a window.
The video gained over 600,000 views and received a flood of comments. One user asked, “Why doesn’t it have a window?” to which Ryanair jokingly replied, “They’re overrated.”
Over the years, Ryanair passengers have discussed seat 11A with humour and fury, leading to an almost endless stream of jokes, complaints, and memes on social media. But why is this window seat so…windowless?
Despite the backlash, Ryanair is not to blame for the windowless seat; it’s actually due to the engineering behind the Boeing 737 cabin air conditioning system. On modern planes, air conditioning is supplied by two ‘packs’ that regulate the airflow and temperature in the cabin. Most planes will have two packs near the main landing gear.
High-temperature air is taken from the engines or auxiliary power units to the two packs, which cool it before circulating it into the cabin. The cooled air travels from the packs to the passenger cabin via a series of ducts built into the side of the aircraft. Unfortunately, one of these ducts is located alongside seat 11A in the Ryanair 737-800 cabin.
It’s worth noting that the placement of the ducts means that seats 12A, 12F, 14A, and 14F on any Ryanair aircraft will also have partially obscured windows due to the system. So, double-check the fine print the next time you book a window seat.