This Jet2 Airlines customer was given a fake seat on an airplane. Some say she should sue.
Usually, the dilemma people face with their airplane seat is whether they got a coveted window or aisle seat or if they ended up with a dreaded middle seat.
Other times, if you’re traveling with people or another person, the issue is trying to see if a kind stranger will switch seats with you so that you can be together.
But this woman faced an issue that we’ve frankly never seen before.
What even is this seat?
In a viral video with a whopping 32.4 million views, content creator Charlotte (@charlotteoandr) shared the absolutely wild seat she was given on a recent Jet2 flight.
Charlotte explained that she’d been at her friend’s hen party (the U.K. way of saying bachelorette) and was flying back home with about 20 other women.
When she boarded the aircraft, the majority of her friends were already on, and she immediately knew something was up.
They kept asking her what seat number she had, and when she answered, they started laughing about how she “had no seat.”
“I can clearly see there’s a space next to Jess,” Charlotte said, unconcerned.
But things changed when she saw what fresh hell was awaiting her.
There was a makeshift seat, the bottom of which seemed to be metal with no padding, between two real seats. And instead of having a proper back, it appeared to be two pieces of caution tape that Charlotte surely couldn’t lean on.
In the viral video, Charlotte is sitting in the atrocious chair, making light of it and smiling with a thumbs up. But internally she was freaking out.
“What is this? Like, this is not happening,” Charlotte recalled thinking to herself.
On top of that, she said everyone around her was laughing at the situation.
Thankfully, the flight attendant got the situation sorted out, and Charlotte didn’t have to sit in an uncomfortable and unsafe seat. But she wonders what would have happened if the flight had been full and there was nowhere else to put her.
What the heck is Jet2?
Jet2 is kind of like the European version of Spirit. They’re known for their affordably priced flights but are generally said to have better customer service than their American counterpart.
Do airplane seats have to have a back?
Yes, they do.
Airplane seats must have a back in order to meet Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) guidelines. The agency mandates that seats act as a protective measure for emergency landings and other precarious conditions.
Commenters react
“That is absolutely so illegal, call corporate babe get your bag,” a top comment read.
“Would you like Window, Aisle or Crime scene tape?’” a person asked.
“If you hadn’t complained would they have let u sit there for the rest of the flight? omg,” another said.
“I’m surprised they didn’t inform you at the gate cause they can’t takeoff with you sitting there, in case of an accident you’d be gone glad you got a real seat in the end hahah,” a commenter pointed out.
The Daily Dot reached out to Charlotte for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to Jet2 via email.
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