13F
I am noticing a trend – airplane seat 13F seems to be available more often than others when I travel. I took an earlier flight yesterday via standby and was given…seat 13F. The plane was packed, and yet a window seat remained available long after they are normally reserved.
I assume that the reason behind this is superstition. Check out the Wikipedia entry on triskaidekaphobia – the fear of the number 13. But is there more to it than this? Does the “F” make it even more prone to avoidance? Not only are you sitting in the unlucky row, but you’re a failure (”F”)!
Does one believe that sitting in 13F will increase the odds of a crash? By occupying seat 13F, do I make my fellow travellers nervous? Should the airline industry just renumber their rows, as many hotels have skipped the 13th floor? Ack! I am superstitious about some things, but these are patterns that have emerged in my own life, not a superstition drilled into me by others (who are just carrying on a tradition). Not all cultures believe that the number 13 is unlucky. Some even consider it lucky, as it contains the number 3.
Thanks to everyone for making at least one window seat available to me for standby flight. As usual, it was a great flight and there were no fatalities.
Superstitions aside, I love the window seat. It makes the trip bearable. Looking down upon the earth and exploring the land from above continues to be a spiritual experience for me – it is other-worldly. It is the only clarity I can find squished in a confined space with a bunch of strangers who would all rather be somewhere else. I can be in that other place through the window.
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